October 13

Green Turtle Bay

After going through our final lock on the Mississippi, we headed up the Ohio River, traveling against the current, and continued up the Cumberland River, through the 57' Barkley lock, and into Barkley Lake, where we immediately turned into Green Turtle Bay. The cruise was picturesque, and it was nice to be back in civilization! Green Turtle Bay has a lot of amenities, and is a good place to stay put for a while. It is located in Grand Rivers, KY, and the town is just about a mile up the road. Patti's 1880's Settlement is right in the center of town. It includes a few restaurants, a coffee/pastry shop, a wedding chapel, miniature golf, beautiful sculptures, shops, an place to take antique photos, and a beautiful landscape. Her restaurant, Patti's, is really popular, serving 2,000 meals a day in a town where the population is 300. We had dinner there our first night, and went back for lunch the next day.

After lunch, Rob, Jean-Marie and Louis went back to the marina, and I stayed in town to shop with Agnes and Louise. On the way back, we saw a cute house that looked like a business with a welcome sign on the door, so we went in. The front had a deli case filled with jars of fruit, spreads, etc., and the lights were off. Someone then said, “come on back,” and we did. The back room was set up as a quaint, small restaurant with a commercial galley kitchen on the left, and the smell from what was being cooked was mouth-watering. We talked with Marilyn Kunz, “The Happy Cooker,” who was teaching a French cooking class that evening. Marilyn told us that she is a caterer (Sugar & Spice), but during October, she prepares a great Octoberfest dinner, serves, and tells stories. She and her husband also live in the house. Last night, 14 of us went back and had an amazing dinner that included Sauerbraten, Rouladen, Lamb Shank, Weinerschnitzel, Jaegerschnitzel, Chicken Paprikash, spaetzle, sweet-sour red cabbage and bavarian kraut. The food, company, and experience were great, and we all had a really nice time. One of the stories Marilyn told us was that the house is the former residence of Patti Tullar, of Patti's 1880's Settlement.

Grand Rivers is in a dry county, and brown-bagging adult beverages is permitted. Just a note for those of you coming down this way!

We're staying here until Tuesday, and then I believe we will head toward Nashville.

The sky while traveling on the Ohio

General Delivery on the Cumberland River

Rob's portrait at Patti's

Me and  Jean-Marie at Patti's for lunch

Marilyn explaining her menu, her love for cooking, and how she got to where she is today,
saying that "the personal charm of the Tullar house combined with
the new commercial kitchen have provided "The Happy Cooker"
with her dream retirement!

Dinner at Marilyn's house

Your favorite loopers!

One happy captain eating one good meal!

Rob's new after-dinner friend

Our Dinner Group and Marilyn
(13 out of 14 are loopers)

October 3

Tall Timbers

We left the IVY Club early, not knowing if we would stop at Tall Timbers or go on down to Beardstown. Both had their advantages. Tall Timbers small, quaint, owner-operated marina was closer, yet Beardstown was more of a town, where you had to tie up on a city wall. Our cruise to Tall Timbers went faster than expected, so we decided to move on, until talking with Tall Timbers' owner, Bob, who told is there is no longer a city wall to tie up on in Beardstown. Our decision was made! Rob and I each have our jobs when it comes to docking. His is running the boat, and mine is tying the lines. No problem... until I reached over and saw fish jumping. Now that doesn't stop a good first mate, so after letting out a few screams, I successfully had us secured to the dock. We walked into town, where the highlight was Dollar General. Party time! But then, around the corner, there was a mexican restaurant that later on proved to be really good. We came back to the boat with our Dollar General purchases (it's really a grocery/drug store) and had the pleasure of meeting Bob, the marina's owner. A few years ago, he had a dream of owning his own marina. He traveled down the river, and found what he thought would be the perfect spot. At one time, there was a marina there, but it had long since been abandoned and was in disrepair. He talked with his wife about buying the land and rebuilding. He does most of the building and repair work himself, keeps the place in top-notch condition, and has a captive audience since there are no other docks around him.

Reflections

Tall Timbers Marins

October 4

Riverdock Restaurant

When leaving Tall Timbers, we had a full day ahead. The next tie up was 100 miles down the river, at Riverdock Restaurant. Since we're still fairly new at this, we have never dropped anchor yet. We know it's coming, because within the week, we won't have a choice. That's one reason we look forward to meeting up with some fellow loopers in Grafton. We spent the day cruising, seeing blue skies, sunshine, the start of autumn, and occasional barges. We also met Rick and Ken on Breaking Away, brothers from California. We had dinner with them at the restaurant, and it was fun sharing stories.

As I write this entry, we are waiting for the fog to lift, and then we're off to Grafton.

Grafton, Illinois

October 5-8

Grafton was a great marina, owned by Jan and Joe. The river often floods, which was taken into account when they built it. The entire complex, including the building and pool, was built on floating docks to prevent flooding. The town of Grafton is small, yet offered more than previous towns on the river. From Chicago to Grafton, we were traveling solo, and it was nice to met up with Louis, Louise, Agnes and Jean-Marie; and to meet Ted and Pam. It was also nice to stay put for a few days. We went to Aeries, which is up on a hill and offers a great view of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. We also went on a day trip to St. Louis and visited the Arch, had lunch at Gia's, and toured the Anhauser Busch brewery, were we saw the Clydesdales, their barn, and the beer-making process, finishing our tour in the complimentary lounge. We also took a day trip to Alton, a small town about 15 miles south of Grafton. On our last night in Grafton, we had a great dinner at Mississippi Half Step, the only fine dining restaurant in the city. The next morning, we headed south on the Mississippi River.

Inside the Rotten Apple... Staple a dollar to the wall,
so if you ever come back and are broke, you can buy a drink!

Randy... This one's for you!

Rob, Louis, Louise, Agnes, Jean-Marie, Pam and Ted

Captain Rob

Clydesdales at Anhauser Busch

Assembly line

Clydesdales Stables

Starting our Tour... 49% of all beer sold in the U.S.
is made at Anhauser Busch

Downtown St. Louis, Missouri

The Arch

Pam, Ted and Rob in pod that took us to the top of the Arch.

Top of the Arch

View 1 from the top.

View 2 from the top.

Cruising from Grafton to Alton

Still Cruising

Eagles Club 2 (Just a walk-by!)

Hoppies Marine Services

October 9

Our first stop on the Mississippi was at Hoppies, where Fern directs you in against the current, and her staff ties you up on one of three barges. Fern's reputation precedes her. She's sweet, kind, knows the river, and with her husband, Hoppie” she has been running the place since the early '70's, when they took it over from her father-in-law. Every day, Fern holds daily informational sessions, providing valuable information that helps boaters navigate down the Mississippi, and all the way to Mobile, Alabama. Conditions changes, many of which are not updated in books. These changes can be dangerous, especially when it come to anchoring. Hoppies is the last place to provision, and fill up with gas and water for the next 200 miles until Green Turtle Bay. They are even kind enough to provide a courtesy van to go to the grocery store. After a rocky night tied up to the barges, we got an early start in the morning and headed to the Kaskaskia Lock.

Docked at Hoppie's Marina

Deb, Fern and Rob
Fern owns Hoppies... and is a wealth of knowledge about the area.

Paddleboat while cruising down the river.

Kaskaskia Lock

October 10

Our 60-mile cruise to the Kaskaskia Lock was smooth and uneventful. Thank goodness for sunshine, the beginning of the leaves changing, and the company with whom we are traveling. After 6 hours of cruising, we tied up at the Kaskaskia Lock, where the lockmaster gave us permission to stay overnight. The lock is used for recreational traffic, and the channel is smooth and out of the way of barges. We had appetizers and happy hour on Lady Royal, cooked dinner and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Docked at Kaskaskia Lock

Little Diversion Channel

October 11

The anticipation has been building since we left the trip... and today was the day! It was the first night that we would anchor, or “sleep on the hook.” The channel, directly off the Mississippi, had deep water and was big enough to hold about nine boats, most of which dropped two anchors to minimize swinging. Two boats rafted together, each dropping their anchor. Dinghys were used to get from one boat to another. Our thanks go to Louis for teaching us the ropes (no pun intended!). Once settled, it was quiet and peaceful. Earlier in the day, we saw two people canoeing down the Mississippi, and Louis recognized them asa the same people we saw two days earlier at Hoppies. When we slowed down by their canoe, to talk with them, we found out they started in Minnesota and were traveling all the way down to New Orleans! Now that's an adventure!

Guys traveling from Minnesota to New Orleans

Anchored in Little Diversion Channel

First night anchoring!

October 12

Last Day on the Mississippi

Later today, we will finish our run on the Mississippi and begin going up the Ohio River. More to come soon as our adventure continues!

Chicago to Peoria Heights

Chicago to Peoria Heights

September 24 through October 2

Following a weekend trip to Cleveland, we came back to Chicago with Darcy, Randy, Sophie, Max and Sadie. They spent the night with us, and the next morning, we went through the Chicago Harbor Lock, which connects Lake Michigan with the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal. Captain Rob took us on a river tour, passing under many bridges in downtown Chicago. As hunger set in, we docked the boat and enjoyed lunch at Randy's favorite restaurant, The Palm. Our thanks go to them for coming down to visit, and getting a small taste of our adventure.

Leaving Chicago

Sadie, Sophie and Max

Sadie, Sophie, Randy, Max, Darcy and Rob
Guess where?

We left Chicago on September 28, once again heading down the river, which was a welcome change from Lake Michigan. When leaving the city, the view was spectacular. The Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal took us into the Des Plaines River, where we passed through the Lockport Lock and docked in Joliet. After traveling all day, seeing only industrial plants, we docked at the city wall with nothing in sight except for Harrah's Casino, which was right over the bridge. It was advised that we should not leave the boat at night because of “inquisitive youngsters,” so we hit the casino shortly after arriving. Hindsight tells us we should have stayed on the boat, but I guess that was the cost of entertainment!

Leaving Chicago

Welcome to Harrah's!

We left in the morning, and passed through two more locks within the first 15 miles. The scenery while traveling down the river continued to be industrial. We saw very little traffic, and most of traffic we did see was commercial. We learned the rules about passing barges, and that lock masters and barge captains are really helpful when you are polite and talk to them with respect. While at Joliet, we met Donna and David who dock in Chicago during the summer, and have their boat hauled at Spring Brook Marina. They told us it would be a good stop for us, and we took their advice. Andrew's restaurant was on the premises, and we had a nice dinner and good time there. Donna stopped by to see if we needed anything in town, which was really sweet, although we didn't, so we took off in the morning.

Cruising down the river.

Reflection

Waiting for the bridge to lift.

Thursday morning we passed through two locks and had a serene, smooth ride down the river, which is much easier to navigate because it is generally much calmer than the lake. There are not as many marinas, and the marinas we stay at are chosen because of location and approach depth, not necessarily because of their proximity to town. While traveling, we see first-hand how materials are transported, because the bulk of what we see are barges and trains. We stayed at the Spring Valley Boat Club, where Cindy offered to let us use her car to go into town. Again, the people couldn't be friendlier!

Housing on the river.

Rail bridge.

Friday, we woke up to our first day of fog, and once it cleared, cruised to the Illinois Valley Yacht (IVY) Club. Earlier this week, we passed through the electric fish barrier, which was set up to keep carp from entering the great lakes. Up until this point, we had not seen any carp. While cruising, we saw hundreds jumping from the water. It was cool to watch, but disgusting when you begin to think about how these waters are infested with carp. To see what's going on, visit youtube! The IVY Club is really nice, and again, everyone is friendly. Thanks, Carol and Stu, for the welcome bottle of wine! While sitting at the bar enjoying it, we met Liz and Mark, who immediately put their car keys in front of us telling us to use their car and take our time to do whatever we wanted to do while in town. Seeing that we were drinking, and that neither of us currently have car insurance, we turned down their offer, and joined them, along with Marsha and Bill, for dinner at the Firehouse. After dinner, they took us to the grocery store, and we planned on leaving this morning.

Friday morning fog.

Flying Carp!

Egret

Blue Herron

Egrets in formation.

Pelican

Today, the winds kicked up to 25 mph so we're staying put.