Friday, August 31, 2012

Yesterday we left Hamm's Holiday Harbor Marina at 6:15 A.M.  It felt good to be on our way again.  By 9:00 we were through the Peoria Lock.  We were the only boat in the chamber and the drop was only about 4 feet, so the lockmaster told us to just float in the middle and not tie up.  That was a first.  The boat is running smoothly since the pressure plate repair. 

The Asian Carp jump all over the place.  They hit the sides and bottom of the boat with a "Thunk".  It sounds horrible.  One man said an Asian Carp landed on his boat right next to the cabin door.  Fortunately, it was closed at the time.  We are now cruising with the door closed, no matter how hot it becomes.  Apparently, these fish are a muddy, bloody mess to clean off of your boat.  I took a video of the flying fish, but the Internet service is not very good here and the video will not load.  I'll try to post it at a later date.

So last night we were anchored behind Bar Island.  It was a good, quiet, and isolated anchorage.  There was no Internet service there.  There was no town or anything around.

Today we were up at 5:00.  We pulled up the anchor before it was light.  We reached the LaGrange Lock and had to wait for two hours for a barge that had to be split up in the chamber.  This is the last lock on the Illinois Waterway. 

Along the way we saw cows in the water and then a baby deer swimming across the river.  We watched as the deer climbed out of the water on shore and ran into the woods.  It rained steady from about 9:30 on today.  We got to Grafton Harbor just before 4:00.  The rain actually stopped while we docked, but then picked up again shortly after.  There is even a tornado watch.  We are grateful to be tied to a covered dock.  The people on this dock are all friendly.  In fact, we had dinner with Tim and Valerie, our next door neighbor here. 

I will try to put a couple of pictures on.  If they don't show up here, I'll add them at a later date.