Log 13
Day 69
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
6:30 AM CDT
Location: Heritage Harbor, Ottawa, IL.
Weather: 72* with 71% humidity...going up to about 90 today.
Beautiful morning here in Ottawa. Warm temperatures; no wind; and a clear blue sky. Sun has been up for a few minutes and it is a bright red/orange that makes you believe it’s going to be one of those hot steamy summer days.
It’s been quite a while since my last update (20 days) so I thought I’d get caught up a little.
As of today, we are planning to leave Ottawa in 22 days (August 20th to be exact). We have already been here 57 days...hard to imagine. When we planned to stop for an extended period, I had in my mind all the projects I would be doing on the boat. While I have washed and cleaned almost every day, I have not done the big projects I thought I would. I have done a fair amount of waxing, and plan to get the entire boat waxed (again) before we leave.
Two “Loopers” (people who are traveling in their boats as we are) arrived in the marina yesterday. One couple is from Daytona, FL. and the other from Fairhope, AL. This is fairly early for those traveling south...as the migration through Ottawa normally begins after Labor Day, through mid October. Neither boat had ever been on the Illinois River and were not aware of what the next few hundred miles were like, so I spent time with both of them letting them know what lies ahead and their cruising options. It got me excited about getting back on the water and cruising every day. Just before I started to write this log one of the boats (SiComoNo...the one from Fairport, AL) left it’s slip on their way south. I wish Deb and I were leaving with them.
Our time with the Grandkids and our houseboat vacation was just perfect. It’s really fun to spend time with them, and they could not be more appreciative of our time together. Being able to be closer to them while we were in Ottawa was very special...and we’ll miss that. The kid’s idea of our next vacation together is to spend it at our home in Chillicothe so they can play in the water all day (Illinois River) and drive Grandpa’s toys he tells them he will be buying. We’ll see.
I’m sure our remaining days in Ottawa will go fast. We have a few things to do...people we want to go visit... and people will be coming to visit us. We also need to get the boat ready for about a 2-week trip where we won’t have access to a grocery store as the trip between here and Kentucky Lake is very rural. It is actually one of the prettiest parts of the trip, and the most difficult from a boating perspective. Almost no good marinas and we will have to anchor a few nights on the rivers...not our favorite thing to do.
Well it’s time to get started with this beautiful day by wiping down the boat. Isn’t boat retirement just great!
BK.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
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