Lady Royal: 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.