Thursday, August 23, 2012

There are a number of floating houses on this river.  They are really cute, but awfully small.  I think a larger one would be cool though.  I am posting some pictures  of a few.

First thing this morning we had our boat pulled so we could swap out our props.  Things went pretty well at first.  The props were swapped and the mechanic named Shane asked if we cared if he looked in our engine room because the port shaft seemed to have a little too much wiggle room.  Once he and John looked in the engine room, they found that the same bolt that had broken off when we were on the Hudson River, broke off again.  It took another hour and a half to fix it.  Shane said he thinks it happened because the prop was bent and the vibrations caused the bolt to break.  I hope it is permanently fixed.  I am also posting a picture of the starboard prop.

 

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Yesterday as we were cruising along, we came across some things that made us think of home.  The first one was the Dan Ryan Bridge which made us think of Dan Ryan at home in Delhi.  We also passed a really big "mountain" with methane gas release valves which reminded us of Mt. Rumpke back home in Colerain Township.  We also passed a town named Robbins that made us think of Ron Robben also back home in Delhi.  Do you think we are getting a little homesick?

We spent a very comfortable night on the wall just before the Lockport Lock.  We zipped right through that lock first thing this morning at 5:45.  Besides Lockport, we also locked through The Brandon Road Lock, the Dresden Lock. and the Marseilles Lock, all without a hitch.  We arrived at our chosen destination (Starved Rock Marina in Ottawa, Illinois) at 2:45.  We had a wonderful dinner at "Captain's Cove Bar and Grill" on the marina premises.

We have arranged to have our boat pulled in the morning and the props switched out.  We hit something back on the Severn River.  We didn't notice too much of a vibration on Lake Michigan because of all of the wave action.  However, once we got back to the river system, it became more noticeable.  We carry a spare set of props which we will swap for the dinged ones and then get the damaged ones straightened out once we are settled in for the winter.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Yesterday we were visited by a woman named Brenda who is a Harbor Host for AGLCA (American Great Loop Cruisers Association).  She saw our AGLCA flag and came around to see if we needed anything, like to go to the grocery store or something similar.  This is the first Harbor Host we have met this year.  We didn't need anything, but it was really nice of her to ask.

We got a really early start this morning, leaving the harbor at 5:45 A.M.  We were planning on making it to Joliet, Illinois.  We cruised the Calumet River and the Chicago Sanitary Canal.  Both of these are very narrow with lots of barges and barge staging and slips around.  There are also a whole lot of bridges to go under.  The lowest fixed bridge along the entire Loop is here at 19 feet 1 inch.  When we got to this bridge, I climbed up on the roof and took the light down and stood up there to make sure we weren't going to hit.  We made it under with about 5 or 6 inches to spare.  We would have cleared without taking down the light, but only by one inch.Whew!

The next interesting thing we came to, was the electric fish fence.  We had to wait before scooting through this section for a few minutes because they were counting fish.  We turned our electronics off as we passed through here even though the Coast Guard man told us we didn't have to turn them off.  We thought:  better safe than sorry.

Then we made it to Lockport Lock.  The Lockmaster had us tie up to the wall because they had an electrical problem they were working on.  He told us that he didn't know how long it would take. Well, we arrived there at 12:30 and the lock wasn't ready for us until 6:45.  We asked the Lockmaster if we could just stay on the wall all night and lock through tomorrow morning.  He gave us permission to stay here.  So, we didn't make our intended destination today, but we are only one lock and three miles away from Joliet.

Sunrise this morning.

Pretty

Electric Fish Barrier Signs

Monday, August 20, 2012

What a difference a day makes.  Yesterday this place was hopping.  There were boats coming in and out in lines.  But, today, there is no one around. It's so quiet and the water is so calm.  John read that five water spouts were cited yesterday only about twenty miles from where we were cruising.  Wow!  Glad we didn't experience that. 

Today we each had our chores to do in the morning.  I won a free 8x8 inch, 20 page book from Shutterfly.  So this afternoon I went through our pictures and decided which ones to put in the book.  It took forever, but I've got the file ready to upload to Shutterfly.  Now I have to wait until we get somewhere that has high speed Internet.  It certainly isn't here.  Sorry, no pictures today.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

We left this morning at 6:30.  The weather was comfortable, but hazy.  No rain or wind.  Waves only one foot high.  We could see Chicago for more than 50 miles before we got there, even with the haze.  It was another of those perfect cruising days.  We arrived in Hammond, Indiana at Hammond Marina at 1:00, after cruising 57.5 miles.  This marina has a special going on right now, pay for one night, get the next night free.  So, for us it's two nights for $50, not bad.  On the same piece of property as the marina is a casino named "Horseshoe".  We just had to go check it out.  John played Texas Hold 'em, and was up pretty good at one point, but he gave it all back.  I lost 3/4 of my allotted funds, playing penny and nickel machines.  It was fun and not too expensive. 

This is another really huge marina, but even more empty slips than North Port Marina.  The marina office is even farther away than the one at yesterday's marina.  This time no one gave me a ride back.  I guess I got my exercise today. We are now finished with open water.  When we leave here, we will go right to the Calumet River and start toward the Illinois River.  We won't have to be so careful about the weather. 

This is the best (though hazy) picture of the Chicago skyline.

Can you see the white swirlies towards the right center part of photo?  It kind of looks like a roller coaster, but it's smoke from the stacks blowing in swirls.



There were about 25 sailboats just sitting in the middle of the water.  We think they were getting ready for a race.  It looked kind of weird to see them just sitting there.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

The weather today was perfect for cruising.  We pulled away from the dock at 7:00 A.M.  The seas were only one foot high.  Yea!  It was one of those days that make me feel so spoiled.  We cruised past Milwaukee and Racine, Wisconsin and ended up in Winthrop, Illinois at North Port Marina.  This marina is huge, having 1500 slips.  The walk from where we are docked to the office to pay for the night is at least 1/2 mile.  One man told us that the marina is only 43% full.  When we arrived, there were three very nice men on hand to help grab our lines and tie us up.  Then, this slip has 120 50 amp service.  We did not have the proper adapter, so one of those nice gentlemen loaned us one for tonight.  We are expecting to leave in the morning, heading for Hampton, near Chicago.  The weather doesn't sound quite as good for tomorrow as it did earlier today, so we will have to wait and see what the forecast is in the morning.  I am putting a couple of pictures of the Milwaukee skyline on the blog today.

Friday, August 17, 2012

After doing a little decluttering, I worked on my genealogy research.  No great finds today, but it still was fun.  A sailboat named "Summer Breeze" arrived in the dock next to our this afternoon.  Karen from "Summer Breeze" and I went for a walk.  It was nice to walk with someone.  We had a nice visit while we walked.  It seems to me that every where I go, the female boaters I meet are just like me.  We all love cruising and we all miss our children and grandchildren.  Karen has lots of local knowledge because this is their cruising grounds.  They are from Racine and cruise for several weeks each summer.  So, our plan is to leave here tomorrow morning.  The weather is supposed to be favorable for the next few days. 

After John looked at the blog last night, he said I should post some pictures of the boat we are buying.  So, here they are: