Hoppie's

10/1/14 - 10/5/14
Upon arriving at Hoppie's we learned just how particular Fern was about tying up the boats. And she knew exactly how to do it. Don't think our boat moved an inch during the 5 days we were tied there. There was only one boat when we arrived. But that quickly changed.

We got to know Foster and Susan a lot better; enough so that she started my blog. (I knew nothing, she knew everything!)

Heavy rain n storms, river rising bringing more debris down. We'll probably be here a few days. So we made the best of it, walked to town between rains, rested, and did a little work.

Leaving Alton

9/29/14
After waiting two extra weeks longer than our original plan (because of the weather); we finally made the trip to Alton to get prepared for the trip home. There has been a lot of rain, therefore lots of trash in the water; so we're being cautious. Not ready to mess up a prop.......
A boat named "Quo Vadimus" pulled into the marina, and after introductions we decided to leave together on the morning of 10/1. Thus the adventure and a new friendship begins.........
As we left Mel Price Lock there was lots of logs, so I had to push them aside with the hook. That was a mess! We arrived at Hoppie's at 12:30. Traveled 43 mi.
The only pics I took were of St. Louis. I've got to do better at photos!

Alton, Il.

8/17/14
We pulled anchor at 9:15 and headed toward Alton Marina. Rain and mist all day but the ride was good. We arrived at 1:30 and traveled 34.5 mi. We are 21 mi into the Mississippi River.
We have traveled a total of 471.5 mi (almost halfway home); but will leave the boat here for a few weeks.
We have 2 trips planned; leaving 8/31 for California. Wine country.
The next is to San Destin for the TTA convention. Since Sonny is retiring this year, this will be our last.

Heading to Mortland Island

8/16/14.    We left Logston Tug Service at 7:00, had a 1 hr ride down to the lock at LaGrange and drove right in! Wish this would have happened more!!! It was only a 6' drop and we were on our way. It rained all day and we arrived at Mortland Island at 3:00pm. Traveled 68.5 mi. While anchoring behind the island there was a fierce storm with lightning that struck very near the boat. We finally settled in for the night.

Leaving IVYC

8/15/14
We left the yacht club at 7:00 and arrived at Peoria Lock at 8:00. Barges were backed up and we finally went through at 12:30. We traveled 80 mi that day and arrived at Logston Tug Service (which is only old barges that you tie up to)

in Beardstown at 7:00pm.

Headed to IVY Club

8/14/14
We left Henry at 8:30. It was a slow beautiful cruise down the Illinois River to Peoria. We docked at the Illinois Valley Yacht Club which was founded in 1907. They had a very nice restaurant, club house, bar and pool. We traveled 28 mi.

Leaving Ottawa

After getting a late start, we were hoping to reach Illinois Valley Yacht Club in Peoria, but delays kept that from happening. Starved Rock lock was closed for repairs and our wait was 5 hrs. We finally locked through with a tow. We stopped at Henry Marina in Henry, Il. after traveling 48 mi that day. We tied up to an old lock wall; wow was that ever a challenge. We ate their restaurant (Landings). The burgers and beer was great.

Ottawa, Il.

8/11/14 thru 8/13/14.  

Arrived in Ottawa at 5:30, and tied up on the town wall (free)! Their power plugs did not work for us, even after having a city employee come check them out. So we ran the generator while there. After looking at weather we decided to stay an extra day and catch up on laundry, grocery, etc. We called a cab and a nice fella (Brad) took us everywhere we needed to go. The laundromat was Handy Wash, and the CLEANEST I've ever used. The owners were Richard and Collette. Collette manages the laundromat and Richard runs a construction business. After talking to her for quite sometime, and telling her all about our trip; she had her husband and son come and help Sonny put the mast back up. Remember, we had it put down in Burnham Harbor?!?!?!?! Were going to leave early the next morning, but Sonny was tightening the battery terminal and it broke. So we called the cab company again and he picked Sonny up and took him to a parts store. He fixed it (we got a late start); but we left about 9:30.

Joliet to Ottawa, Il.

8/11/14
We left Joliet at 7:30, traveled 51.5 mi and 3 locks today. As most of you know, I am having to back-track 2 mos for these postings. I did not have a blog set-up yet, and I'm having to rely on memory and a few notes. Where is Foster when I need him????? (Inside joke) he and Susan will totally understand..........thanks to Susan I am finally in possession of a blog!!!!! They are my computer guru's!!! Re: Quo Vadimus..........
Sonny and I will not meet them until 10/1/14.
Now back to our 51 mi ride......can't remember much about it!
We did see some cute "boathouses" on the ride down.
We arrive in Ottawa at 5:30.

Joliet, Il.

8/10/14 thru 8/11/14.    We traveled only 44 mi from Chicago, went thru two locks, and didn't arrive at Joliet until 5:00! It was a long day but a good ride, except for the lock in the rain. Yuk!!! We stayed on a free lock wall with power, and across from city hall and Harrah's casino. Tomorrow is a long day down to Ottawa!

Headed for downtown Chicago

8/10/14.    This Sunday morning was a very pretty day but still windy. It was a rough ride from the marina over to the lock that puts us on the waterway through downtown. We entered the lock with no wait. The ride through downtown was absolutely breathtaking. You'll see that in the pics. Lots of bridges to go under. We had some guys help Sonny put down our mast for that reason. As we left the downtown area, the barge traffic increased. Several places we had to allow them to pass. Shortly after downtown the waterway became the Illinois River. At Lockport Dam (2nd one) we had a 3 hr wait and locked through with a tow boat. Pouring rain, I was absolutely soaked. It was a sand barge, had sand everywhere. On our way to Joliet.

Lake Michigan to Burnham Harbor Marina

8/9/14 thru 8/10/14.    Left Benton Harbor at 7:00am to cross the lake. We traveled 63 mi and arrived at Burnham Harbor Marina at 1:15. What a bumpy ride! Winds were out of SE and made our ride a little hectic. This marina is located very close to Soldier Field home of the Chicago Bears.

Arriving at Benton Harbor

8/7/14 thru 8/9/14.    When we arrived we parked at the fuel dock just to fill out papers. But when we tried to start engines, the port engine would not start. Sooo, we stayed where we were. A mechanic came asap and worked for a couple hrs, then came back the next day (Friday) and worked several hrs. I went to a great grocery that afternoon (can't remember name, but it is what the marina employees suggested) AND they took me there. They had a deli, Starbucks, and a great selection of wine. The guys determined that whatever the issue was, it was ok to run the boat. The facilities were very nice also, and a great place to walk. We left the next morning to cross the lake to Chicago.

Departure

8/7/14
We departed Holland, Mi at 10:00am. We christened her with champagne and asked the gods of the wind and sea to bless us AND forgive us for changing her name. We had a wonderful ride down Lake Michigan going to Benton Harbor. The water was calm and as beautiful as the ocean. We traveled 54 mi and arrived at West Basin Marina at 3:00.