October 29, 2023 Some Days Are Good, Some Not So Good The rain has not subsided. The wind kicked up overnight. The Captain keeps adjusting the anchor alarm, expanding the distance so the alarm will stop sounding. Leaving Cape Girardeau, Mark on Paradise tries to connect with the boat anchored near him. Mark doesn’t want…

October 27 and October 28 Depart Hoppie’s, To Kaskaskia Lock Wall Early morning, we are up and ready to roll. I can’t believe it is warm enough to wear shorts and flipflops. We are in the back of the pack so the last to pull out from Hoppie’s. Sunshine picks up speed though and soon…

Wednesday, October 25 and Thursday, October 26 For this leg of our journey, the big destination is Green Turtle Bay in KENTUCKY! The Admiral’s beloved home state. We soon find out the journey is not an easy one! Those Darn Batteries We leave Alton headed for the famous fuel stop Hoppie’s Marina, located in Kimmswick.…

Tuesday, October 24 Tuesday, October 24 – to Grafton, Illinois Located near confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers “Big wheel keep on turnin’ Ooh, Captain Pat on Sunshine keep on burnin’ And we’re rollin’ (rollin’), rollin’ (rollin’), yeah rollin’ Rollin’ on the river (rollin’ on the river)“ That song by Creedence Clearwater Revival keeps…

Kuchie’s On the Water and Logsdon Tug Service Sunday, October 22 and Monday, October 23 We leave Henry Harbor and at Fran’s suggestion we head to Kuchie’s On the Water in Creve Coeur, Illinois. This restaurant is famous for creamy thick milkshakes and a Bloody Mary that serves as a meal. They offer free overnight…

Saturday, October 21 Captain Pat borrows a car at Heritage Marina (thanks to the Harbor Master, Jeremy) to pick up oil he has ordered from a store in Ottawa. It’s only a few minutes from the marina. We then join about 12 boats who leave Heritage Harbor for Henry Harbor Marina. We have one lock…

Friday, October 20 On to Heritage Harbor Marina It’s another early morning – ugh! We leave the dock at 7:30 a.m. for our first lock opening – Brandon. It’s dark and the rafted boats have to exit first. So the smaller boats are out but the larger boats have to get in front to lead…

Officially River Rats Finally – October 18, we can enter the Illinois River system and go through the locks, to make our way to the Ohio River and to Kentucky Lake. We are now officially River Rats, joining the Asian carps who are affectionately called “river dolphins.” More on their fate later. As mentioned before,…

Monday, October 16 We finally get the ok to begin our journey through the Illinois River system and locks. Monday, October 16, is our last day in Chicago. We have stayed in DuSable Harbor Marina five weeks! Thank you, Polly and Bruce. Your generosity is overwhelming. We so enjoyed this city. Captain Pat is getting…

One thing for sure – Captain Pat and the Admiral have gotten their steps in during our Chicago visit. We walk everywhere – to the grocery, restaurants, Target, post office, church, coffee shop – everywhere. Captain Pat and the Admiral have walked the Chicago Riverwalk 20 times or more. This path is just a few…