Cuba Again?

Breaking Away was in Havana (IL) for 3.5 weeks, and now we're in Cuba again -- Cuba Landing Marina, TN. It's right near Interstate 40, and Bert had to leave today for the Nashville airport to fly home. Bob had to leave us on Friday because he had a business trip to Shanghai yesterday. We had a fabulous time with them here. They and we loved every second, even the running aground a few days ago.

Bert was the breakfast man! He made either fabulous egg or pancake specialties -- or he'd say "Hey, you can have cereal this morning." hahaha Not really, he would have always made specialties if we'd wanted them.

I should mention that Rick is the lunch king. He makes us "Dagwood" ham/turkey/cheese sandwiches with all the fixins every day. YUM!

Isn't this interesting? Bridge to Nowhere. You see some unusual stuff on the Great Loop. Right next to it was an old skeleton three-story building from the days before they created KY Lake and it had been sitting at the TN River's edge.

Isn't he cute? We had anchored in a little cove for our mid-afternoon lunch/lolly gagging, and we kayaked over to the nearby tiny island to explore. Bob first spotted this little armadillo rummaging around for food. He paid no attention to us regardless of how close we got. How did he get there? Janet A. told us later they can swim, although with all that armor they look like they'd sink.

Anchorages here on Kentucky Lake/TN River have lots of bugs, as we've seen many many times on this boating adventure. The midges were squishy, but sometimes we got invaded by the common housefly. Well, Bert was like son Brian was once on our Trinity Lake houseboat trip -- he HAD to kill em all!! Quickly! It worked. The survivors must have flown back to tell their buds there was a madman on that boat, so don't go there.

Bob, Bert and Rick at one of our nightly Happy Hours. We enjoyed our quiet anchorages, our kayaking, our dinghy excursions, these happy hours, our dinners, and finally watching movies. Great times with great friends!

Here's Bob exploring our anchorage. We had just investigated a duck blind, where hunters hide inside a branch-covered shack so the innocent cute little ducks can't see them with their rifles aimed at them. It looked like there was enough room for a stove, ice chests for beer, and a TV to watch football.

This is the scene from Pilot Knob, TN, the highest point in Western TN - 669 feet! It's looking back across the KY Lake/TN River toward our marina called Pebble Isle. After Bob had to depart, Bert, Rick and I took the dinghy across the lake to Nathan Buford Forrest State Park and hiked up to this point. There was a TN cultural museum there (which we enjoyed) plus a monument to good ole Nathan. He was famous for destroying a Union supply depot on the river there late in the Civil War, but apparently he later helped form the Ku Klux Klan and was its first Grand Wizard. What a guy! I think his state park should have been at the lowest point in Western TN.

We later borrowed the marina courtesy car and did some grocery shopping to restock. Luckily there was a liquor store nearby, since grocery stores in TN don't sell booze.

Every morning we get pretty thick fogs rolling across the water, and this sight was one of the coolest. Our nights have become very cold - in the 30s - yet the days are still hot - in the high 80s or 90s. Rick calls these "perfect" days.

Later this same morning from Pebble Isle Marina, Bert and I took a fabulous 30-mile bike ride across the TN hillsides. We crossed this Dog River Bridge and thought the rock walls were stunning. Just last spring when we heard about the terrible flooding in TN, this river got right up to the bottom of the bridge and flooded all the surrounding fields. And, Bert and I twice had to out-sprint a pit bull that came chasing after us, just as TN hunting dogs are bred to do!

Isn't this attractive? Yesterday we departed from the main river channel at a place called Birdsong River to anchor for the night. It was still early, so we dinghied farther up the river to a marina/campground to explore. Well, the first thing we saw was this monstrosity. An old riverboat from Memphis that had sunk, which they had intended to be a floating restaurant. They paid to haul it from Memphis, but this plan didn't work out as intended. The bottom two floors of what used to be a floating hotel in Memphis are under water now, and they have no idea what they're going to do with it.

But this photo at exactly the same place was one of those special "treasure finds" of doing the Great Loop. These are logs that are holding mesh bags of mussels that are producing pearls! This spot is the only "pearl farm" in North America! We did not even know this until we got there and the dock master told us about it.

We went to their little Pearl Museum and watched a CBS segment with Charles Osgood from some years back explaining about pearls and this only fresh-water spot on the continent. An entrepreneur and his family started it back in the early 60s after testing water sites all over the country for the right conditions. It was so much fun to find this "gem" (hahaha) accidentally while exploring in the dinghy.

Today we left Birdsong and cruised 9 miles to Cuba Landing. Bert and I took another incredibly scenic bike ride before his shuttle arrived to take him to Nashville. Then I took the opportunity to change the oil and filter, change the generator oil and filter, change the fuel filter, do three loads of laundry with Rick, and cook up a Nestle/Stouffer lasagna dinner! Rick and I now have 23 days to travel about 700 miles to Pensacola, FL where the boat will rest for two months. We will travel through Mississippi and Alabama, and reach Mobile on the Gulf Coast.

Bob and Bert, and trials!

Here we are solving one of our "trials" this week. We almost ran out of beer! Twice!

We are in Paris Landing State Park Marina tonight in TN (named for a steamboat and freight landing on the Tennessee River that started in 1884), and luckily we could walk to restock our beer supply. Bob Brown and Bert Stock, bicycling buds, arrived last Sunday when Rick and I had completely run out of beer and wine. We planned to restock at the town of Grand Rivers, KY, but how were we to know that most of Kentucky is dry? And on a Sunday, even the wet counties don't sell alcoholic beverages.

As soon as I learned this, I called Bob and Bert who were driving from Nashville Airport. Luckily I caught them just as they were entering KY, so they could turn back to TN to buy us beer (their store didn't sell wine). Only problem was, they didn't buy enough. How could we or they know that every KY county along our trip this week would be dry? Luckily, our supply JUST lasted until we made it here to TN!!

My last blog entry was Saturday morning, and when I finished it we "sped" down the final 8 miles of the Mississippi River and turned east up the Ohio River. This picture is trying to capture the difference between the two major rivers at their confluence- the Mississippi being swift and swirling and muddy, and the Ohio being clean and glassy and calm. Our 32 miles on the Ohio on Saturday were calm and pleasant, and much slower since we were going against a current.

This picture is the Cumberland River, which we traveled up for 32 miles on Sunday. It flows into the Ohio after we had cruised 59 miles on it total. The previous evening we anchored right on the Ohio below a low dam and a lock, but off to the side so it was nice and calm...until the next morning when they lowered the spillway and water churned by us and made us look like we were cruising at 10 mph. While it was calm after we first anchored, we kayaked over to the KY bank and I entered my 11th state on this adventure.

The next morning, we needed to wait about two hours for the lock since tugs/barges had first priority. However, when the operator called us to enter, he was letting us go in front of a tug/barges that had already been waiting there for quite a while. So, we were thankful for small favors. We were the only boat in the lock, and it was strange to look back over the gate at the guys sitting/waiting on the end of their lead barge while we got to lock through. We lifted 8 feet.

We then continued up the Ohio and then the Cumberland River. It was very pretty along this river, with banks of rocky cliffs and trees with their fall colors, as I hope you can see in this picture.

We eventually reached the huge Barkley Dam and lock, and again, we were the only boat in the chamber. This photo shows the tall gates closing, as it was about to lift us 57 feet into Barkley Lake!

And here's Rick doing his locking duty of roping the bollard and holding on as we ascended. Most locks use two ropes or ties, front and back of the boat, but this one needed only one. Note: The two locks on the Mississippi and the two on the Ohio required that we wear life preservers. Otherwise, Rick would not have been wearing one.

After we entered the vast and beautiful lake, which is about 75 miles long and which eventually becomes again the Cumberland River to Nashville, we quickly entered the Green Turtle Bay Marina for the night and to wait for Bob and Bert. The marina had a courtesy car which I used to drive 27 miles to the Paducah airport, where the guys had to drop off their one-way rental car. I also did most of our much-needed grocery shopping on the way. The four of us finally got to have dinner at a Cracker Barrel at about 10 pm!! It was a long day and we were anxious to get going southward the next morning.

And here they are driving southward!! Before we left we had to walk to the market to get the perishable grocery items I couldn't get the day before. Then, the first thing we did as we departed was to take a one-mile canal from Lake Barkley west to Kentucky Lake. It is the lake behind the dam on the Tennessee River, which is the one I need to take south for the Great Loop.

The Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers always had an unusually close course at this location, so when they formed Barkley Lake in the early 60s, they also decided to connect them. This created the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, 170,000 acres of park land with campgrounds, trails, and nature centers, and 300 miles of undeveloped shoreline with countless coves for boaters to anchor in...IF they can get in!!

On our first morning we traveled all of five miles before deciding to enter a cove to play and have lunch. Here's Bert kayaking (he went with Rick), and here's...

...Bob swimming. He swam to the shore and took a long walk. I swam too but ended up cleaning the boat hull and scraping off little clams that had built up on the metal trim tabs.

That evening and the next afternoon, we traveled down the lake only short distances because it was so much fun lolly gagging in scenic coves and swimming, kayaking, and hiking. Last evening we planned to do the same in yet another bay, but it was not to be....

Today, Bob had to work! As in Pepsi work. He's the only one here not retired, and duty called -- three times! In the morning he had a one-hour conference call, sitting on the flybridge while the others of us played. Then, he had to interview someone and that took a while. (Note: Bob is more than a biking buddy. He and I worked together at Carnation/Nestle for many years and remained good friends, industry colleagues, and biking buds after he moved over to Frito Lay/Pepsi in Dallas.)

Then, this afternoon he had a 90-min conference call. It came during his and my bike ride 15 miles into the town on Paris to buy wine. We could walk a mile to buy beer when we arrived, but wine was a ways away. On the return ride, it was time for his call so he pulled over to a road-side park and I continued on back to the boat.

While Bob and I did this errand, Bert and Rick completely washed the boat! It had gotten terribly messy from the swarms of midges that attacked us the previous two nights while anchored out. We were prisoners, afraid to open the doors since that's all it took for swarms to fly in. Then there were smashed and dead ones all over the exterior to clean off. When I returned from my wine run, Breaking Away was clean and shiny again!

Here's another picture that captures the relaxation we have during our slow cruising. Bert is doing his Sudoku puzzles (Bob does them too). Both Bert and Bob drove the boat a lot too.

But I was the one driving when we met our biggest adventure and "trial" in a long time on Breaking Away. I RAN HER AGROUND! The bay we were entering last evening was recommended in my guide book, so who knew it would be shallow in the very center of the entrance, immediately after being in 21 ft of water? It was so deep I did not notice the depth finder showing a rapid shallowing - 20 ft, 9 ft, 4 ft, 1 ft, "SCRAPE". Bob was watching it, but it all happened too fast to stop it. That feeling and sound when your boat runs aground is an agony difficult to describe.

We tried at first to pull it with the dinghy, but after I put on the mask and looked at the situation, I could see we were irreparably stuck in thick mud. So I called TowAssist, for which I have insurance and used once before in New Jersey when I went aground. He arrived in two hours, after dark, but he was able to pull us back off with a strong effort. We were REALLY stuck.

The insurance covered 100% of the $1440 charge, and my annual premium for unlimited assistance was only $125. As I mentioned the last time this happened, this insurance is a no-brainer.

After we tested the running gear (it made it through the ordeal unscathed!) and anchored in front of the cove entrance, I was bushed and we cooked our frozen pizzas instead of my making the beef stew (which we had tonight). It feels reassuring to be tied up in a marina after what happened last night. Especially when it costs only $25, and when shared four ways is only $6.25!! I'll sleep better tonight.

Tom Sawyering down the Mississippi!

This sums up how we felt cruising down the Mighty Mississippi at "lightning" speed (12-13 mph instead of our usual 7-8 mph). Except for the barge tugs we passed all the time, we had the river to ourselves and it was calm and pretty and relaxing. Made us think of being Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn meandering down America's greatest waterway.

Going back to Wednesday morning up in Alton, above St. Louis, here is a picture of the marina with the bridge in the background (it sure looked pretty all lit up at night). Look at the height of the posts. They are floating docks and they rise and fall on those posts. Look how much the river can rise from what it was when we were there! The staff there said it had risen to the top of those posts in past years, and to think our level was 18 feet higher than normal for this time of year.

This was the first of only two locks we faced on the Mississippi, and you can see the bridge over our marina in the background. What was "special" about this lock was the amount of debris inside it, which I had no choice but to drive right over. You can see some of it if you look closely. If this had been in a river I would have avoided it at all costs, but I had to pass right into it here. I increased my speed to build up momentum, then put the engine in neutral and glided over it so that my propeller would not be turning and help to prevent any of the wood from fouling the prop. The lock operator shrugged off our comment about the debris, saying it was a lot better than it had been at an earlier time.

Down river a few miles we came to our final lock, Lock 27, which also is the final lock on all of the Mississippi River. Number 1 is in Minneapolis, I think, and after 27 there are no more. When I rode my bike across the country in 2007, we crossed the Miss River on a ferry at Lock 20, just 20 miles south of the Iowa border. When we got to Lock 27, we had our longest wait yet for a lock - two hours, while tug/barges locked through ahead of us. I had a chance to ride the bike on the trainer and to do some maintenance in the bilge.

The Gateway Arch! I'd been there a couple times in the past, and imagined passing down the river on my Great Loop adventure, and now here we were! What a thrill! We tried to slow down to savor the moment, but with the river current pushing us along and tug activity everywhere, we had to pay attention at the helm.

There is no way for recreational boaters to stop and see St Louis, as there are no marinas or docks between Alton 20 miles north, and where we were headed 23 miles south.

The river was completely jammed with industrial plants and tug and barge activity until we got about 15 miles south of the Arch. We did get to see the huge Budweiser factory, so we toasted a Bud to honor it. Eventually the river got more scenic and we reached Hoppie's Marina, a set of barges lining the bank that served as a marina, the last one until Kentucky, 240 miles farther.

Hoppie's Marina was at the historic Missouri town of Kimmswick. You should Google it because it was a charming river town, established in 1859 to serve river and rail traffic. They have preserved many of the old original buildings, such as this one.

Here's another old Kimmswick structure, the all-important winery.

Fern Hopkins, who owns the marina, is very helpful to all boaters who stay with her. Each afternoon she gathers the transients to go over what we will be facing as we cruise the river south, and gives us the few places we can safely anchor all the way to Kentucky. There were only four places she could recommend!!!! We have stayed in two of them, and will stay tonight at the third. The fourth was only 45 miles from Hoppie's, so that's why we didn't stay at all four.

The barges on the Mississippi below St. Louis are much larger than the already-large ones we've faced on the Illinois River and above the two locks north of St Louis. Why? Because there are no locks below St Louis, so they can be as large as a tug has the power to move it upriver against the current. Here's a picture of a tug passing Hoopie's Marina pushing 42 barges! It was 6 wide by 7 long. The tug has about 10,000 horsepower.

Each barge carries the equivalent of 50 18-wheeler trucks. So, a tug pushing 42 barges is transporting the same as 2100 trucks! The tug pushing that against the current kicks up a HUGE wake, and as we've passed such tugs we have to slow way down to cross the wakes because they are as tall as the worst of the Lake Michigan or Lake Huron swells/waves we faced. On the other hand, if the tug is going downriver, it uses hardly any horsepower and they leave virtually no wake at all. Such is the power of the current in this mighty river.

The scenery along the river can be stunning, as were these cliffs. There were occasional power plants and quarries and other industry, and barges stored along the banks or anchored right out in the middle of river, but most times it was just natural and pretty.

After leaving Hoppie's Marina on Thursday morning, we traveled 112 miles to Cape Girardeau, MO. That distance easily broke our old record of 81 miles in a day. It was a long day, but we still arrived at Fern's recommended diversion canal off to the side of the river at 4:30 pm. The other two boats from Hoppie's the night before were already there anchored up and relaxing.

It was early enough for Rick and me to take the dinghy about four miles back up the river to the downtown section of Cape Girardeau, where there was a cemented "landing". In this picture you can see our dinghy tied up in the background. We had a wonderful time walking around this town. Its distinctive character to us was their painted walls everywhere.

This painted wall is the flood wall facing the river, right above where we landed the dinghy. The paintings went across the entire wall to the right of this picture, depicting the history and river culture of this area.

Inside of the flood wall they had about 400 yards of paintings showing the entire history of Missouri and the city. Rick and I walked the entire wall to view the paintings and read the tablets describing each of them.

Here's the City Hall and an old clock sitting in the center of the intersection of the old town where we walked. We were so glad we took the time to scoot up to this city. We had dinner at a tavern called Breakaway, since its name was close to my boat. Pints of Sam Adams beer were only $2. What a deal; "I'll have another please."

Here's just one more image of how pleasant our cruise down the Mississip has been. Calm and scenic and relaxing.

I hoped this picture could demonstrate how strong the current is. This is a green can marking the right side of our navigable channel as we go downriver. Red bouys mark the left side.

Our anchorage here is off to the side of the river behind a wing dam (underwater wall extending a short distance into the river to keep the water centered in the channel). We are only 8 miles from the confluence of the Mississippi with the Ohio River. Last night we decided to go visit the local town of Cairo (they pronounce it "kayro"). That meant a dinghy ride of about 11 miles one way -- down the remaining 8 miles of the Miss and then up the Ohio 3 miles. Luckily our dinghy is fast and stable for such a long trip on these mighty rivers.

Once we got to the Ohio River, we faced schools of Asian Carp! They were jumping everywhere, scared up by our speeding dinghy. One jumped and brushed across my shoulder! We were lucky we didn't get hit by any, because they can really do damage. They did get us wet though!

When we landed and tied to some rocks on the banks, we found ourselves in an old decrepit waterfront that was well past its heyday as a bustling part of town. This picture shows how run-down this area was, and it was deserted except for a single bar, where we of course had to stop for a beer and talk to the locals about the Asian Carp that jump everywhere and about the rivers, since one guy was a Corp of Engineers guy who works on the buoys and dredging.

They had this big fancy sign welcoming people to the old historic downtown, but it sure seemed out of place given what the area looked like.

We returned in the dinghy for the long ride upriver back to the Breaking Away. Here's what it looked like when we arrived, just as the sun was setting in a beautiful scene.

We were again lucky the Asian Carp did not hit us as we zoomed down the Ohio River (they were only in the Ohio, not the fast-moving Mississippi). They got us wet with all their splashing and jumping, but they missed us.

Once we got back here last night, we feasted on grilled chicken, saffron arborio rice, fresh green beans we had been given free back in Havana, and a fine Merlot wine. Now today we are about to head up the Ohio 62 miles to anchor just below a lock and dam. See ya then!

Deer, Carp, Fog, Mississippi River!

Rick and I returned to Breaking Away in Havana, IL as planned! I brought with me my new Great Loop burgee (the triangular yachtsman flag). Now I'm official. Well, at least now others will know we're doing the Great Loop. I've been a member of the Am Great Loop Cruisers Assoc for over a year now, but I didn't buy the burgee til recently. Others on the Loop fly it, and everyone wondered why I didn't. It helps you meet fellow Loopers and also get discounts at marinas and for fuel.

Last Saturday Rick flew to Peoria from Providence, and I took the bus from Dayton. We met Gary right on time, who had driven us last Sept 7 from Havana to the Peoria Airport. We made such good friends on that trip that we called him and he was anxious to take us back again. He is a local Havana real estate assessor, and Rick had found him via the barber in town when he inquired whether anyone wanted to drive us to Peoria for what it would be to take a cab. Well, not only did Gary drive us there and back, but treated us to dinner at the nicest restaurant in Havana last Saturday. Then, he generously drove us to the grocery market and waited while we shopped to restock our galley. Finally, he delivered us to the marina. The folks along this trip have been so friendly and helpful.

Everything on the boat was fine. We washed it first thing Sunday morning, after using the heater to warm up after the 35-degree night. It mysteriously got colder during our 3 1/2 weeks away. haha We did other necessary chores and then departed back out onto the Illinois River. For the first time on this river it was not horrendously windy. It wasn't windy at all. It was glassy and serene, and we meandered 31 miles down the scenic (no factories or barges lining the banks) to the little village of Beardstown.

We had read in our guide books that the only place to tie up a boat in Beardstown was on a barge tied to the river wall. When we got there, we could not tell which one it was (turns out it changes since it's a working area). We yelled to some guys on a tug and they motioned us to a barge and also walked over to help us land. Then he said it was $1 per foot for the night ($37 for my 37-ft boat). Really? That's what marinas charge, and they have electrical hookup, water, bathrooms, showers, coffee, laundromats, etc. This barge had nothing, and you even had to walk precariously across the other barge with logs to get to the gang plank over the river wall. Why didn't we just anchor and save the money? The charts for the Illinois River do not give depths, so I never knew how deep the water was near the banks. Oh well, the beer at the local tavern was only $1.25.

Oh, let me not forget this: Since this was a working site for tugs and barges, and they can come and go at any time, we endured a 15-minute noisy bouncing in the middle of the night as tugs were moving in and out and all about.

Yesterday, Monday, was just as placid on the river and we again had it to ourselves. And then we saw these four deer swimming across the river!!!!!!

We stopped the boat to let them pass in front of us. Here's a close-up of two of them.

And here they are running off once they reached the right bank. It was SOOO cool to see this "nature moment"!

This shows me passing a tug with 15 barges (the most we saw was 18, three wide by six long). If you want to pass a tug/barge, you must call them on the marine radio and ask whether you should pass on the right ("one whistle") or the left ("two whistle"). You can see he told me two whistle, so I'm puttering by him. But I was barely going faster than he was, so it was taking me forever to pass him. We were approaching a turn, so I had to really give it some gas to get in front so he wouldn't run into me when he had to turn.

Earlier we had to wait 90 minutes for this tug at a lock, as he dis-attached his load to get it all into the lock. We finally decided to anchor while we waited, so I rode my bike on the trainer to pass the time. Another trawler doing the Great Loop arrived and locked down with us, but they motored on ahead when we were done.

This bridge, in Meredosia, is one I pedaled my bike over when I rode across the country in May, 2007. I recall stopping with Dave Thompson in the middle of the bridge and telling him that someday I would be cruising right down this river on my own boat. Well, that day had finally come. As I approached the bridge, I called Dave and told him where I was and he remembered, and we had a nice little chat! This photo is after we passed under it and a tug/barge went by us.

Shortly after this bridge, we reached the westernmost point on the Great Loop as we headed south. Only now, we were going slightly easterly, paralleling the Mississippi.

So there we were, minding our own business in the serene quiet of the river, when we were startled by a loud thumping. Both Rick and I thought we'd run over a log. But then the thumping continued as I put the boat into neutral. Rick went down the stairs and saw this! We couldn't believe that an Asian Carp had leaped over the three-foot boat side into Breaking Away.

It was about two feet long and weighed at least 20 lbs. We'd heard about Asian Carp jumping into boats, but not trawlers with high sides like mine. He continued to flop around while I took pictures, and then Rick, wearing gloves, tossed him back over the side. Amazing! We didn't think we'd fish on this trip, and I guess we didn't need to. They were coming to us!

We arrived late at Mel's Riverfront Restaurant dock, where we tied up for the night. there to help us land were the crew from Lady Royal, the boat we had locked through with earlier in the day. We joined Rob and Deb for dinner and enjoyed comparing stories about our Great Loop adventures. They left from Cleveland, so our paths were different except for the Illinois River. It was a great evening with charming folks.

This morning, this is what it looked like on the river - pea-soup fog. We were not going anywhere until that would lift. This was the first time on the trip when fog was interfering with my travel. After a leisurely pancake breakfast, and it still was foggy, Rick and I walked around the small town of Hardin. By the time we got back, the fog was lifting and we took off for the final 21 miles to the Mississippi River.

For the 3rd day in a row, it was totally calm and glassy and beautiful. We eventually saw homes lining the banks, but look how they must be built. That shows you how the river levels can fluctuate around here. It was the same way once we got to the Mississippi, of course.

The Mighty Mississippi River!! This picture shows the swirling of the water at the confluence with the Illinois. Rick was driving at the time, and he had a heck of a time controlling the boat. We also picked up speed with the stronger current of the Mississip.

But almost immediately we turned upriver and went against the current, heading just two miles upstream to a marina where the fuel price was significantly less than others. We had not gotten fuel since upper Wisconsin on August 26, and there would not be any opportunities on the Mississippi since it is not meant for pleasure craft. So the boat slowed down from 8 mph to 4.5 mph, and we now had to dodge floating logs and branches everywhere.

Here is Breaking Away at the fuel dock, and they have a sense of humor here, don't they? Jaws was just completed a few days earlier.

Once we reentered the Mighty Mississip and went downstream, our speed increased to 11 mph. In other words, the current was about 3.5 to 4 mph to push us along at lightning speed. Dodging all the logs was now easier since they were floating in the same direction as we were traveling. And we got to view the rocky cliffs and stately homes above them along the way. Our destination was the Illinois town of Alton, 15 miles down from the confluence and 202 miles from the Ohio River.

It was pretty cool cruising down the Mississip!

The mass of white in this picture are white pelicans. We had seen huge flocks of them in certain places along the Illinois River too. Now here they were again, and they were also flying overhead in large V formations headed south. It was pretty amazing to see so many of them all over, and they are so regal as they fly by, just as brown pelicans are in Southern California.

After we arrived at the marina in Alton, cousin Carole Prietto drove up to spend the evening with us! Carole has lived in St. Louis for 21 years. She is an archivist, and also a singer with Sweet Adalines. She has composed/arranged about 25 "barber shop quartet" style songs which are sung now as part of the four-part-harmony repertoire.

We walked to a nice Italian restaurant and enjoyed our visit!

Tomorrow we will go through our only two locks on the Mississippi, then pass the Gateway Arch in St Louis, and end the day at Hoppie's Marina 23 miles south of St Louis. The adventure never ends!