Lady Royal

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!