Log 34; Day 121; Nashville, TN

Friday, September 19, 2008

The fog as we were getting ready to leave our slip. If you look close you can see the two large condo buildings in the backround

Just one shot of the many beautiful hills (and some mountains) we passed
Not sure if this shot does any justice...but this was a typical view out the front of the boat as we went up the Cumberland
This was the view of Nashville as we came around the corner
This is the municipal dock where we are parked...that boat in the picture is Main Course and the bridge above is the one in the picture below
Just after we parked the tour boat General Jackson went by us...I think they go from here 8 miles up river to Opryland
The trolley we took on our Nashville tour
This is very near downtown Nashville and is supposed to be an exact replica of the Parthenon in Greece??
The mural on the wall of The Stage

The band we saw at The Stage...great

Our slip at the Municipal Marina...Deb is standing at street level
The bridge above our boat
Our boat at night in her slip...cool place.


7:10 AM CDT
Location: Municipal Marina, Downtown Nashville, TN
Weather: 61* with calm winds; forecast is for 84* and mostly sunny today

As I sit here this morning I can look to my left and see downtown Nashville...to my right (across the Cumberland River) I can see LP Field where the Tennessee Titans play football. It’s light out, but the sun is not yet high enough to shine brightly...which I think it will do soon, based on the few clouds I see. I’ve got the heat on in the helm area because it’s 61 outside, and the coffee tastes great. Pretty good morning so far.

Yesterday was a great day. As you can see by the picture, it started off very foggy...but cleared up quickly and we left the dock at 8:15. The 32 miles up the Cumberland were some of the prettiest river cruising we have ever done. I put a couple of pictures of the scenery...but as I looked at them, they do not do any justice to how pretty things were. One of the many highlights of the short trip was going by the home of Alan Jackson (the famous country singer). Rumor is he just sold the place to Kenny Chesney...I’ll check it out and let you know. After 32 miles all of a sudden we were downtown. Not a lot of buildup or warning...it was just there. After tying up and getting settled we had a quick lunch and walked into town to check things out. We ended up taking a 1 hour trolley ride around Nashville, and it was not bad. Learned a lot about the history and attractions. After the trolley ride I wanted to find a bar with a live band. I had this vision of “wana-a-be’s” who would play in these bars during the day in order to get discovered...and we found one...a place called The Stage (see the 2 pictures). Turns out they had a great band...just a few guys who were having a blast playing music. We knew we should go back to the boat...but neither of us wanted to leave. It was one of those “one more song and we’ll leave” kind of things. I’ll bet we go back today.
Back at the boat (about 5) we walked up the dock and officially met a couple we had been talking with on the radio since Lake Barkley Marina. Ted and Billie (on Main Course) are from St. Louis and both retired. He was President of a hospital...she was in education. Very nice couple and we ended up touring their boat...then they came to our boat for a tour. After that they decided to go to town for dinner...we ate on the boat.

Side notes:
· Happy to see the market go up yesterday...made the ride a little better.
· So many pictures yesterday...would love to put them all on the web page, but it takes too much of our Verizon data usage to send them all...we get a certain amount each month as part of our package.
· Nashville is a cool downtown...lots of old buildings that are not neat bars and restaurants
· Too many highlights to explain on the trolley tour...but we did see where Elvis recorded most of his records. An old small brick building that had no character at all. The tour guide said he loved it because it had the best acoustics of anywhere in Nashville. How do tour guide know all this stuff? I think they just make it up to sound good.
· Remember the cool bridge we stayed under in Alton...well we are under another one...the pictures are cool...but don’t do it justice.
· Because we are tucked under some trees at the municipal dock our satellite TV does not work for the first time, because it can’t see the satellite. No TV for 2 days. Good thing I have all those Andy Griffith episodes on the DVR
· Deb just got a call from a gentleman named Tommy Greer. He said he has been following our blog and lives 17 miles up river from Nashville and wanted to know if we needed anything. On one hand it was a strange call...on the other...mighty neighborly. If you reading this Tommy...thanks for the offer.

Today...not sure. Just a lazy day in Nashville.

I hope everyone is doing well...I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Log 33 Day 120 Ashland, TN

Log 33
Day 120
Thursday, September 18, 2008

Our slip at the municipal dock in Clarksville

You can see I look excited to get started...but Deb needed another picture
This was taken from our boat...looking out at the Cheatam Lock. Notice the fisherman trying to fish in that current.


6:45 AM CDT
Location: Harpeth Shoals Marina, Ashland City, TN
Weather: 61* very foggy and calm winds; forecast is for 84* and sunny today

Very foggy this morning...actually the first totally foggy morning since we left Michigan. We have seen some patchy fog...but nothing like this. Might have to wait a while to head out this morning. The river is fairly narrow at this point and the channel is even narrower...I don’t need to be out there until the fog is totally gone.

The 47 mile ride from Clarksville to Ashland City, TN was a very nice ride on a beautiful day. The sun rose to a crystal blue sky and it warmed up to the mid 80’s in no time. We had most of the isinglass open all the way and it was great (the only problem we had at all is I was listening to CNBC market watch on our Sirius radio and going crazy listening to the market take another dive...why do I put myself through that?)

As we get closer to Nashville the river continues to get a little narrower and a little higher banks. We are also seeing more channel markers (to keep us in the deep part of the river) and the channel is much shallower than it has been (15 feet verses 40 to 50 feet down river). About 20 miles up river from Clarksville we had to go through the Cheatam Lock (see the picture of the dam next to the lock). A boat who we met down river (Main Course) had radioed us and ask if he could follow us up to, and in, the lock because they had never taken their boat in a lock before, and were not familiar with the procedure. I told them no problem...follow us. On my chart plotter I could see that there was a tow boat heading up river (remember I have the AIS system installed on my boat...a great tool for traveling the river) and I was trying to calculate how fast we would be catching him and how soon he would make it to the lock. I also was thinking about going fast for a while to pass him and possibly get in the lock before him to save us a wait time of up to 2 hours. After some consideration I decided to not go fast...but I did hear the tow call the lock and give the lock his information and discuss locking through. At that point I called the tow and asked him if we could get in the lock with him...which he said no. So I called the lock master on the phone and told him he had two pleasure craft heading up river and we were just behind the tow and could we go in with him...to which he said no. I was very nice with him (which I always am with lock masters) and told him we would be below the lock and would love a “lift” as soon as he could get to us. About 15 minutes later something interesting happened. When the tow originally called the lock he told him that before entering the lock there would be “crew change” which means that a new crew would be coming on deck and that crew would be taking the tow through the lock. When that happens there is normally a delay (because the barge slows way down...or even stops in some cases...to change crews) and so the lock master called the tow on the radio and asked him if he had changed crews yet...to which the tow said no...and so the lockmaster asked the tow if he could lock through a couple of pleasure craft before he got to the lock and the tow captain said sure...so we passed the tow and went right in. We were in the right place...and did the right thing.

From the lock to our slip for the night was about 10 miles of more beautiful river. Harpeth Shoals Marina is a new (no one lives here yet) beautiful condo complex with a new marina attached. The place is so new they don’t even have a credit card machine yet so we had to pay cash ($1 per foot for the night), but the docks are great (all of them covered) and the area is first class. About 1/2 of the slips are full at this point...but I’m sure they won’t last long, being this close to Nashville. The dock master said they had 136 condos in the complex and only 41 were left to sell. They start closing and people start moving in next week. After settling in at the dock Deb did some reading and book work and I did some cleaning on the boat. We had left over spaghetti for dinner and a nice quite evening.

Today we head up to Nashville and will be staying downtown at the municipal marina...a run of only about 32 miles. We plan to stay 2 nights in Nashville and then head down river.

Well I can see the sun now as it peeks through the fog and it is starting to lift a little bit. Hopefully by the time I get this log sent and start to get the boat ready for cruising it will be burnt off. Looks like it will be another great day.


I hope everyone is doing well...I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Log 32
Day 119
Wednesday, September 17, 2008

4:45 AM CDT
Location: Clarksville, TN
Weather: 59* and no wind; forecast is for 82* and sunny today

It is one of those real early mornings today. I woke up early and got up a little before 4 am. I feel great now but will probably need a nap later. There are a lot of things I love about cruising and living on a boat...but on the top of the list are the mornings. I can’t wait to get up each day...no matter what we are doing...but when we are cruising each day I am even more excited. I also figured out a new “hot setup” this morning. Yesterday I mentioned that it stays dark later so I need a light in the morning. Bringing out a lamp to the helm area each morning was a pain, so I thought about it and came up with the idea to use one of Deb’s book lights. I clipped the book light to the top of my computer and “bingo” I have a light for the computer without bringing out a lamp. (Note; the entire helm area has lots of lights...but they are too bright...I just want a little light to work with).

It’s a beautiful morning...cool and no wind. Sitting on the back of the boat I am looking up at the town of Clarksville, TN all lit up and just a very short walk away. We are tied to the town’s free floating dock (with no water...but free 50 amp electric) which sits just off the channel of the Cumberland River and about 2 blocks from Clarksville’s downtown. The weather radar shows no rain anywhere near here and the forecast say it will be nice weather where we will be cruising for the next several days...actually they say it will be nice until next Friday...10 days from now.

Yesterday...we left the Lake Barkley Marina at 8:40 am and arrived at Clarksville, TN at 4 pm. The 67 mile trip up river (as we traveled south) was very pretty. It turned from a wide body of water (Lake Barkley) to a fairly normal river (Cumberland) and it will be this way all the way to Nashville. Actually the river would remind you of the Illinois River (very pretty with lots of trees) except the banks are much higher, and rocky, and the channel is much deeper. We also passed a couple of Civil War battle fields (can’t remember the names) that looked really cool. Once we arrived at Clarksville and got the boat settled down Deb and I decided to take a walk into town. I had talked to a guy on the dock at Green Turtle Bay and he told me there was a great brew pub in town that had the best pizza he had ever had...so we went in search of this place...and found it. I’m not sure if it was the best I ever had...but it was very good. We will be stopping here on our way back from Nashville...maybe we’ll go back. (We will definitely go into town again...it looked very nice and I’m sure they have more than one pub. Deb saw a few stores that looked interesting as well). Back at the boat it was not long before we retired for the night.

Side note: The heavy rains and flooding in the Midwest has caused lots of problems for other Loopers behind us. I belong to the America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association (AGLCA) and follow lots of Loopers...via email blogs. Many of these emails tell stories of several boats staged in different locations (from downtown Chicago to St. Louis) waiting for the rivers to crest and then get to a level they can travel on. Locks and rivers are closed from Chicago to Cairo where the Ohio River meets the Mississippi. Many of these boats have been waiting for over a week and may have to wait another week or more before they can head south. I am so glad we left when we did...because the rivers were in great shape and we had no issues. I really feel for those folks on the Illinois and Mississippi...they have a tough time ahead of them.

Today we will go 23 miles and go through Cheatam Lock and then another 9 miles to Ashland TN...our stop for tonight...and the last stop before Nashville. So today will be an easy day. Before we leave I need to see if I can fix our internet connection. For some reason our wireless modem stopped working yesterday and we can not log onto the internet without hooking the wireless card directly to our computer. There are certainly a lot worse problems we could have, but Deb and I really rely on the internet for cruising. Everything from weather...to paying our bills at home...to making reservations for slips. It’s an important tool, so I need to get it fixed as soon as possible. Maybe that’s why I got up so early?

I hope everyone is doing well...I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

This is a Kentucky prison (that looks like a castle) just up river from Green Turtle Bay Marina

A shot to show how close the channel is to the shore as we went the 2 miles off the Cumberland to Lake Barkley Marina
If you look closely you will see the house boat we parked next to at Lake Barkley Marina is also called Headquarters...only the 2nd one we have seen in all our years of boating.

Claudia will hate me for putting this picture on here...but this is how she looked trying to climb in the boat after we went swimming in a cove.
Steve and Claudia with us at Patti's restuarant in Grand Rivers, KY
Deb, Claudia, and Steve taking a dip to cool off in a Lake Barkley cove
Just one of the bass I have been catching...actually the biggest one.

Log 31 Day 118; Lake Barkley Marina, Cadiz, KY

Log 31
Day 118
Tuesday, September 16, 2008

6:00 AM CDT
Location: Lake Barkley Marina, Cadiz, KY
Weather: 58* and no wind; heading for 77* and sunny today

It is staying dark so much longer that I have to use a light out in the helm area each morning when I get up and get on the computer (it is light enough to see without a light at about 6:15). I like it better when the sun comes up early...but I also like it when the sun sets early.

Cool out this morning...I think the coolest morning since we were in South Haven. It’s nice to have the heater in the helm area to warm it up. We are sitting in a very pretty area about 2 miles off the main Cumberland River channel at MM 59.5. We changed our minds and decided to head up the Cumberland River (but heading south) to Nashville and then turn around and come back down the Cumberland and join the Tennessee again next week.

The last few days...Steve and Claudia arrived at GTB last Thursday evening. We had a great 4 days with them. Steve brought his fishing boat and we fished both Friday and Saturday, both beautiful days on the lake. I’m not sure what has happened in the bass fishing deal...but all of a sudden I have learned how to catch bass. I have been going out in the dinghy by myself and practicing. My secret it to only use 1 lure...a rubber worm, and reel it VERY slow. Not sure why...but it works great. Between the 2 of us we probably caught 20 to 25 bass and had a great time. After we fished in the morning, we came back to the boat for breakfast and some relaxing and then both days took the boat out to one of the local coves for some swimming...lots of fun.

On Sunday morning we got some of the backlash of hurricane Ike. Not much rain...but winds that were a steady 25 to 35 and gusts reported over 60 mph. It was quite a morning. At about 9 am we lost power (for about 30 miles in all directions)...and it still is not back. The good news is we can run the generator and have normal power on the boat, but I don’t like doing that for a long time so after dinner and a movie (steaks and “Dave”...the movie with Kevin Kline) I shut down the generator and we slept with all the windows open during the night...with no electricity (the winds had calmed down early in the afternoon). On Monday morning (about 7 am) I started the generator again so we could have coffee and breakfast. Steve and Claudia were planning on leaving early and did so at about 9. I talked to folks at the marina about when they planned on getting the electricity back...and the answer was between 24 and 48 hours...so we decided to leave (a day earlier than planned) and head up river to find a marina that had power...and we ended up at Lake Barkley Marina...about 30 miles south. Hard to understand, but we are going south...up river.

For some reason I can’t upload the pictures I had planned with this log, and I think it is because of a very weak internet signal. I’ll see if this log will upload...otherwise I’ll send it later today when we get to Clarksville, TN our next stop. The plan today is to travel about 67 miles and enter Tennessee (the state...not the river) and stop at Clarksville. The cruising guide says they have a free dock right near down town and it is highly rated by some of the cruisers we have talked to...so we are going to give it a try. From there we keep going south and our destination (on Thursday) is Nashville where we hope to spend 2 nights.

Well it is light now...but very cloudy, and 61 degrees. I need to make some breakfast and then I want to wash the boat off before we head out...which we plan to do so at about 9. I also need to completely fill the water tank because there is no water at Clarksville...but they do have power. The forecast calls for the clouds to go away and for it to be very sunny this afternoon...looking forward to it.

I hope everyone is doing well...I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Log 30; Day 112; September 10, 2008; GTB, Grand Rivers, KY

Log 30
Day 112
Wednesday, September 10, 2008

5:10 AM CDT
Location: Green Turtle Bay Marina, Grand Rivers, KY.
Weather: 63* and no wind; heading for 84* and sunny today

Up very early this morning so I have time for a log. Not sure why I wake up so early...I’m thinking it has to do with a clear conscience, and a great night’s sleep. Not that it matters...I love getting up early on a boat. I can’t explain exactly why...so I won’t try...but sitting on the back deck when it’s dark outside and waiting for the first sign of light is something I enjoy. I’ve got the heater on this morning in the back deck, just to take the slight chill off. You can tell summer is winding down.

There are also a lot of things I love about living on a boat, and one of them is meeting other folks who are cruising on their boats. Each one has a different story. Why they are doing it. Issues they are having, and what they plan to do about it. In the last few days there have been a lot of Loopers come in the marina. Some only stay one night, but most stay a few days or a week because this is such a great stop and the first nice stop since Alton, IL. A couple of examples. Jim on TWINS is a 42 Grand Banks classic (beautiful boat). He is from Grand Haven Michigan (where we kept our boat...I used to see his boat there on a regular basis). He left just 2 weeks ago and has been hitting it hard. He arrived at the Mississippi at just the wrong time. The big rains they have had the last week or so across the Midwest made the Mississippi rise 13 feet higher than it was when we came through that area. With all that water, the trash floating increased immensely...and he got a 4” log caught in his prop (sitting at the dock at Hoppies) and now has a vibration. The marina here at GTB wanted $400 to pull the boat and take off the prop. He decided to head out today and anchor out in a cove, and get a diver to pull the prop (because the marina would not let him hire a diver, and dive at the dock in the marina, because they said it was competition for them). I understand wanting to save the money...but can you imagine the hassle of going to a cove; getting the prop pulled; getting it to a prop shop; getting it back and on the boat? I hope he has a big dinghy. Another Looper is a very nice guy named Lorenzo on LIL’ DAVID (African American couple, which is rare for Loopers). He told me yesterday that they were going to leave the boat for a month and drive home to NC because the father of the wife, on the boat next to them (middle aged white couple), was dying and they were not sure how long he would hold on. After a few questions from me...it turns out that the two boats are slip mates at the marina in NC. Lorenzo has been planning the loop for 6 years. About 6 months before they planned to leave they were having dinner with the couple, and the wife of that couple says to her husband “why don’t you retire and we’ll go with them”...the husband could not come up with enough reasons why not...so they did. Lorenzo said “we left together (from NC in March) and we have been together ever since. So when her father is having trouble we need to be there for them. He said he was not sure when they would be back, but when they did they would resume the loop together...and finish together. Like I said...each Looper has a different story.

The last few days have been spent working on our “to do” lists. Deb has done laundry; went grocery shopping again; caught up on mail and banking, and paying the bills. I have finished waxing; cleaned the fenders; set up our anchoring system; did routine maintenance items; and (in general) made sure we (and the boat) are ready for several days and several hundred more miles of cruising. We have friends (Steve and Claudia Larry) joining us tomorrow for 4 days and then we’ll be leaving GTB heading down the Tennessee towards Chattanooga, so it’s good to take advantage of this down time to make sure we’re prepared.

I went fishing again yesterday. I timed it just right...leaving the boat at 6:15 when it was light enough to see exactly where I was going. I went back to the spot where I caught all those fish on Sunday...and caught several (6) again. In fact...I caught a fish on the very first cast. I think I need to reduce the size of my tackle box though, because I have tried several lures...but I only catch bass on one thing...a big rubber worm. It was a lot of fun...back at the boat by 8:30.

The first signs of light are just appearing now. I can see the sky is crystal clear and it will be a beautiful sun rise. This is the tough part of my day. Should I go fishing? Should I get a cup of coffee and take a dock walk? Should I go down and make breakfast? Man...the pressures I have to deal with are staggering. But somehow I manage to get through them. I think it was my CEO training.

I hope everyone is doing well...I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Log 29; Day 110; September 8, 2008; GTB, Grand Rivers, KY

Log 29
Day 110
Monday, September 08, 2008

7:00 AM CDT
Location: Green Turtle Bay Marina, Grand Rivers, KY.
Weather: 66* with 45% humidity; no wind...predicted to be 88 and mostly sunny today

People always ask me...”what do you do all week”...so I kept some notes of what we did last week.

Tuesday (September 2nd)...turned out to be hot and sticky. I had plans to wax the boat, and Deb planned to do some laundry. But it was just too hot, so we reserved the courtesy van (they have 4 of them here) and after lunch we went into Paducah to do some shopping. We ended up going to a Super Wal-Mart for almost everything, except we had to also go to a liquor store for some supplies (hard to believe after what we spent at Herman’s in Ottawa). We were back at the boat by 3 and spent the next hour putting stuff where it belonged (always very important when you live on a boat, because space is a premium). Although we still don’t have a real routine, somewhere between 3 and 4 you can see us closing in the back deck (to take advantage of the air conditioning) and starting to settle down and read or just relax with the TV. That’s also the time that Andy Griffith comes on (although I always keep at least 10 episodes backed up on the DVR...who knows when I might need to watch Andy to calm my nerves) and also NASCAR comes on at 4 central time, so I can get my daily updates on the NASCAR world. For dinner we had steaks on the grill and watched The Closer which had been taped earlier.

Wednesday...Not as hot today, but still very sticky. You could not do much without sweating a lot...so we didn’t do much. Deb did the laundry and I did a couple of inside the boat projects (planning all our stops between here and Mobile). Deb also started to organize her pictures on the camera which could take some time. The afternoon started to really cloud up...but the rain stayed off to our west. Burgers on the grill for dinner.

Thursday...woke up to a pretty hard rain, that diminished as the day went on. I continued on inside projects on the computer and in the engine room. I also made a couple trips to the ships store (at the marina) for some parts and ordered a couple of things we needed that they did not have. Deb spent about 5 hours on the computer working on her pictures and she still has some time to go yet (she admits she waited too long). I also ordered a weather radio (the kind that comes on and wakes you up if severe weather is in your area) on the internet and it will be delivered to the marina. At about 5 we made a cocktail and took a dock walk. We ended up stopping by John and Candy’s boat (Isle of Skye) and also had a conversation with their dock neighbor (Don and Jane). We actually met Don and Jane is a cove not far from the marina, but they had to come back to the dock because their generator impellor went out and they needed to be at the dock for power. After some conversation Don said he had a big problem because the “vanes” on his impellor (like the spokes on a wheel) were missing and he was concerned they had gone in the heat exchanger of the generator (this would mean they would get clogged in the system and stop the water from going through, and shut down the generator). As we talked I came up with an idea...I could come over in the morning with my shop vac and try to suck out the broken pieces. He was very open to this idea and we agreed to do this tomorrow.
Before leaving the dock we talked to John and Candy about joining them for dinner at the Yacht Club...which we did. Food was not all that great...but the conversation was very interesting. They have sailed so many places in the world (while they home schooled their kids on board); crossed oceans; traversed the Panama Canal in their own boat; and had so many stories (I should also point out here that neither of them had ever owned a boat before one day they just decided to buy one) Many of the stories were something I would not want to experience myself...but they were certainly interesting.

Friday...slept in till 7. It was very cloudy and not as warm as it had been. Some of the time the clouds were so heavy it was like a mist in the air. At 9 (while Deb continued to organize pictures) I took the shop vac down the dock to see if we could get the impellor vanes out of Don’s heat exchanger. It turned out to work great and we felt sure we got all the broken rubber impellor out...which is a big deal because it will save him a LOT of work tearing the generator apart to get them. Back at the boat the clouds and mist had cleared some, so I washed the boat and finished waxing the starboard side in the front. The only thing I had left to complete waxing the boat. It felt good to get that off my list. Next (way too long of a story...but here is the short version) I decided to go in the engine room and use the shop vac to try to suck out the broken impellor in my generator. When I replaced the impellor this spring it had 5 vanes broken off. I found one of them...but the others were gone. I was worried about that...but the generator water output was fine and the generator ran fine, so I decided not to tear everything apart and hope for the best. But...because it worked so good on Don’s boat I decided to give it a try on ours. And...it worked perfectly...I got the remaining 4 vanes out of the heat exchanger...and it only took 30 minutes for the entire job.
After lunch Deb finished up on the pictures and paying bills and banking, and I cleaned my mess (from waxing). At 2 we took a dinghy ride around the marina and out in the channel. It was a little cool...and every now and then we felt a little mist...but not bad. Back at the boat by and we got a surprise visit from Sherry Adams and a friend of hers..Sherry is my cousin, who I have not seen in many years. She has a place on Kentucky Lake...heard we were here...and stopped by the marina for a visit. Cool. Italian beef for dinner...in bed by 9.

Saturday...up at 5. No real reason...just woke up...guess I had enough sleep. A little cool this morning 65*...also mostly cloudy. About mid morning the sun came out and it turned out to be a beautiful day. Because it was so nice we decided to get the bikes out (before we moved aboard we bought folding bikes which I store in the engine compartment). This was the first time we have used them since we bought them...and the first time I have ridden a bike in many years. We decided to ride into town...about a mile away...and have lunch at Pattie’s, which is a local landmark and some would say a “must stop” for anyone coming through here. The day before, when my cousin Sherry visited, she mentioned that she and Mary Beth were going to come back to Grand Rivers on Saturday to go to a “Branson type” variety show. While we were in Grand Rivers we checked this out and bought tickets as well. That night Sherry stopped by the boat and picked us up and we went with them to the show...very good...glad we went.

Sunday...up at 4...to go fishing. As I was preparing for Steve Larry’s visit I was searching the web for fishing information and found one that said the best time to catch fish was between 5:50 and 6:30...so I decided to give it a try. Our dinghy works great for fishing, so I set it up the night before. It was a beautiful morning...about 68* and no wind. The only problem was, when I got out on the lake, it was so dark out that I could not fish...because I could not see. I figured that if I caught anything I would not be able to take the hook out. So I got to the spot I had checked out a couple of days before and threw an anchor and had a cup of coffee while I waited for it to get light enough..which was about 30 minutes. The fishing was awesome...I caught about 8 bass (I lost count) and was back to the boat by 8:30. Back at the boat Deb made pancakes and bacon and we decided to just relax for the morning. After lunch we took a long dinghy ride. The lake was so flat and beautiful. We went in and out of a lot of coves and just went exploring. We also went in one of the coves and got in the water and swam (actually floated) for a while. Back at the boat about 4...I watched the race I had taped and Deb read her book. For dinner Deb made some great tuna patties...and we watched the Bears game until bedtime. Great day.

Today (Monday)...no plans as of yet. My boat list is getting smaller, but I need to wax the rails...which I have been putting off. I also have a couple of fun things on the list...but who knows...maybe I’ll just go fishing!

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Here are our folding bikes...one folded...one ready to go. It takes less than a minute to fold or unfold them.

This is a picture of Lake Barkley yesterday...it was flat and beautiful. Great for a dinghy ride.
One of the many coves just off the Lake Barkley channel. These folks found a great spot...deep all the way to the shore so they could just step off their boats.

Log 28; Day 104; September 2, 2008; GTB, Grand Rivers, KY

Log 28
Day 104
Tuesday, September 02, 2008

6:15 AM CDT
Location: Green Turtle Bay Marina, Grand Rivers, KY.
Weather: 77* with 67% humidity; light wind...predicted to be 92 and mostly cloudy today

The lowest it got last night was 77*. This morning when I came to the back deck it was very warm and muggy. There is a light breeze so I opened up the side doors and some of the isinglass and it feels pretty good. The sun is not up yet...when it does come over the hill I’m sure it will warm up fast...but they are predicting it to be mostly cloudy today. I hope so, because I am not a big fan of the heat.

Yesterday was a relaxing day at GTB. Deb made pancakes and we both enjoyed a lazy breakfast because we knew we were not on any cruising schedule. About mid morning we took a dock walk...one of my favorite things to do.
(Side note: When I typed the above sentence I thought about all the dock walks I have been on, at the many marinas...and decided to take another one...now. So I stopped typing and took a long walk...I’m back now) Anyway...this is a big very nice marina with probably at least 200 big boats docked here. A place where most folks doing the loop stop for a while. Deb and I also wanted to take a dinghy ride so after lunch we dropped the dinghy and headed out on Lake Barkley. The wind was out of the east, and it made it tough going heading into the waves out on the lake so we hugged the shore and ducked in and out of coves...and there are lots of them. We wanted to go to the cove we stayed in for a week when we rented the houseboat with Beccah’s family in July because we thought it would be loaded with boats partying. Well, we made it to the cove, but found only a few boats anchored...maybe because it was the end of the holiday weekend. It was so hot we came back to the boat and Deb went up to the pool. I sat in the air conditioning and watched the end of the NASCAR race that I had taped the night before. Deb cooked some great tilapia (I think that is how you spell it...anyway it’s fish) on the stove and we made it an early night.

The next few days will be spent getting a few things done on the boat list. Steve and Claudia Larry (we worked at TLC together, and he retired 1 week after me) will be driving down from Dixon, IL on the 11th, and Steve will be bringing his fishing boat down as well. He and I plan to see if we can catch a few fish and enjoy the area. People come from all around to fish here...maybe we can figure out why.

I probably will not be sending many updates over the next few days...as there will not be much to report that is of any “cruising” interest. If anything of significance happens...I’ll send out a note.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Deb's 2 cents Labor Day 2008

Labor Day 9/1/08

Ahoy All!

As you know, we’ve landed at Green Turtle Bay and will be here for a couple of weeks. It’s a great marina, lots of boating activity all around to watch. Bob tells me that the ship’s store is a very good one…lots of boatical things to buy. (I saw a cute tee-shirt!)

We’ve had a couple of cruising days and understandably, things are a little disheveled right now. After enjoying the rest of the Labor Day weekend, we’ll get right on that!

We had a couple of wakeful nights at anchor, on Friday and Saturday night. It was beautiful where we were both nights…very calm and quiet (the locusts and frogs were the noisiest things around!)…but still, I constantly wondered if the anchor was holding. I would set a landmark out the back window before we went to bed (a tree, or a break in the tree line or something that stands out) and all night long, I would wake up and look out that window to make sure my "mark" was still in the same position! I remember one anchorage a couple of years back, I looked out the window and SWORE we were moving! I went out to the helm area and stood for long minutes, staring out the window and watching the water move by (seriously!) I even woke BK up saying, "I think we're drifting." Turns out it was just the wind on the water making ripples in the moonlight. Sheesh! So that's usually how I spend my nights at anchor. On Saturday night at the Cuba Towhead (behind the island on the TN River) I was looking out that window regularly until 2:00 am and I'll have to admit...when BK went topside and kept watch...then I slept like a baby! I think I owe him a night on watch duty!

But yesterday we pulled into Green Turtle Bay Marina and tied HQ securely in a slip. We put fenders and lines all over the place! And after a quiet afternoon at the pool for me and a cool afternoon on the boat watching the race for BK, and following a couple of long days and sleepless nights, at 9:00 pm when we headed for bed, we both looked at each other and smiled...looking forward to a great night's sleep!

We were here on vacation in July on a rented houseboat with Jeff, Beccah and the kids. It'll be fun to check out the places we explored while with them. At that time, we found a great cove to anchor and stayed there all week. It was quiet enough to be able to play on the houseboat slide and swim all day long without the worry of other boats getting too close. We got there on a Monday and had it all to ourselves all week long. But early on Saturday, boats started trickling in, rafting off each other and cranking their stereos up! Seems we had stumbled upon this part of KY Lake's version of "Party Cove"! So today we're going to pack a cooler and take a dinghy ride over to that cove to check out the Labor Day partiers! It's supposed to be 95* and sunny and this being the unofficial last weekend of summer, the cove should be packed!

But first, a little TLC for HQ. BK's outside washing the last few days of cruising off the boat. Seems the anchor is a little muddy (hm-m-m...I must have missed a spot) and we're bowed into the slip so he's excited about the fact that he can get to the bow and really get it clean! (Simple pleasures!) I'm going to straighten up a bit (nothing too strenuous...it's a holiday after all) and then get the cooler ready! Another great day on a boat!

Enjoy your days off...I'll chime in again soon.

----- First Mate Deb -----

~I found out that the first mate runs the ship...everyone reports to the mate, except the captain. Doesn't that sound like a position of importance? (Now I just have to get someone else on board to boss around!)

Log 27; Day 103; September 1, 2008; Green Turtle Marina, Grand Rivers, KY

Log 27
Day 103
Monday, September 1, 2008

7:30 AM CDT
Location: Green Turtle Bay Marina, Grand Rivers, KY.
(Click here to go to Google Maps and see where we are today)
Weather: 78* with 70% humidity; light wind...predicted to be 95 and sunny today. HOT

Based on my timeframe the last couple of days, I slept in this morning...getting up at 6 am. Even then it was getting hot and humid and you can feel it is going to be very warm today. I have already put up our sun screens (they are white mesh material made of a soft type of canvas that we put over the windows and isinglass to keep the sun out of the helm) on the boat and turned on the A/C in the helm area, and the other 3 in the cabin as well. I’m sure the A/C in the helm will have trouble keeping up today with this kind of heat...but it will keep the humidity out and feel very good compared to outside. This is important, because when we’re on the boat (and not sleeping) we spend about 90% of our time out in the helm (see the pictures of Deb and I in our “positions”).

Yesterday...we had a nice comfortable day of cruising. We left our anchorage just off the Tennessee River and went about 1 mile to get back on the Ohio. We traveled up the Ohio about 12 miles to join the Cumberland River and then went up the Cumberland 31 miles to the Barkley Lock (the picture will give you an idea of the size of this lock). Barkley Lock is one of the biggest we will be in on the entire trip. We went up 64 feet in less than 10 minutes. It is amazing to think about the amount of water they put in that chamber that fast. After exiting the Barkley lock we only went 1 mile to GTB (Green Turtle Bay Marina) our home for a few days. (Note; If you click on our location it will take you to Google Maps and you can get a good picture of where we are. To the right of the blue marker is Lake Barkley; to the left is Kentucky Lake; just above it is the Cumberland River; and above and to the left is the Tennessee River) Upon arrival we stopped at the fuel dock and got fuel (the first since Alton, IL) and also pumped out our holding tanks. I put 235 gallon of fuel on. 105 gallons in the starboard tank and 130 gallons in the port tank. I put more in the port tank because this is the side the generator pulls from and I calculated that is about how much we have used since we left Michigan. Once in our slip we did not get much done the rest of the day...it was so hot and neither Deb or I had the energy to do much. So Deb went to the pool and I sat in the air conditioned helm and watched the NASCAR race. After a dinner of pork chops on the boat grill we were both in bed by 9 pm.

Today...not really sure. We both agree that we need to clean and organize the boat because we have not done anything as we have been cruising the last several days. But it is Labor Day and we should honor this holiday by taking it easy. The good news is we will be here several days and so there is plenty of time to do any chores necessary. We also plan to do a lot of exploring on the dinghy while we are here...so we’ll see what happens.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

This is Barkley lock at it's lower stage. It took less than 10 minutes for them to fill this and lift us 64 feet.

The first time you enter a lock like this it can be kind of intimidating

You can see them closing the lock doors beind us. In these locks you wrap a line around a floating bollard and then back to the boat. As the water rises the bollard rises also and the line holds you against the lock wall.

This is the entrance to Green Turtle

Here is a shot of GTB Marina...HQ is on the far right side of this picture

This is what I call the helm area and what I mean when I say I am looking out the back of the boat. This picture was taken when we anchored just off the Mississippi River...which you can see in the backround. This is where I sit and watch TV; write the logs; and of course this is where we enjoy cocktail hour.

This is a shot looking at Deb from where I am sitting on the shot above. Deb spends most of here time here reading each morning and late afternoon. The TV you see is where we watch most of the TV on the boat.

Log 26; Day 102; August 31, 2008; Cuba Towhead, Paducah, KY

Setting the anchor in the channel at Cuba Towhead

Looking out from our anchorage to the Tennessee River we can see the Delta Queen going by
Log 26
Day 102
Sunday, August 31, 2008

2:20 AM CDT
Location: Anchored at Cuba towhead just off the Tennessee River near Paducah, KY.

To see our exact location on Google maps (click here)
Weather: 72* with 60% humidity; no wind...predicted to be 91 and sunny today

I really like to get up early...but this is crazy. I got up a few minutes before 2 this morning to check things out...and stayed up. As the location above says, we are anchored near Paducah, KY in the backside of an island just off the TN River. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of anchoring all night in our boat. I don’t mind it on someone else’s boat, or a boat we have chartered, but let’s just say, with our boat...in an unknown area... I would rather be tied to a dock for the night. Because we are anchored in a strange place is why I got up so early. This back channel we are in is fairly deep and easy to navigate, and I was not certain that this might not be used by local tug boats as they moved around...because they are everywhere. So I wanted to get up (actually I did not want to go to sleep, but Deb and I agreed that with enough wine we would go to sleep) and make sure we were not in anyone’s way. It would not be good to get run over in the middle of a channel (in the middle of the night) by a barge. I’m not sure if one came by now what I would do...but at least I would be awake to try to do something.

That said...it is a beautiful morning (or is it still night at 2:45 am?) I went out on the bow when I got up and the crickets; frogs; and whatever else is in these woods are very much awake, and very loud. I can not imagine having to sleep without a generator and the windows open last night. I just checked the weather radar and it looks like the closest rain to us is in Florida associated with hurricane Gustav...so we are in great shape weather wise as well. Bottom line...no wind...no rain or bad weather...no tugs going through our channel...no issues what so ever. I should be in bed! But the weather channel is on, and the coffee is very good, and I’m boating so I may be up for the day (but I bet I take a nap later).

Yesterday we left Little River Diversion Channel at 6:45. Once we pulled up the stern and bow anchors, it was only a few yards back to the Mississippi. As soon as we pulled out into the river I wondered if I had made a mistake. It was light out and not bad in the channel, but on the river the fog was pretty thick in places. We were not a 1/2 mile down river and I could see a wall of fog ahead of us. I could also see the sun coming up, and very bright, so I was hoping it would burn the fog off...and in a hurry. There was also a barge coming up right behind us, and he only had one barge, so he was moving fast. With my electronics I could see the name of the tow on the screen so I called him and said I was going to slow down and pull over so he could come around us. My plan was to follow him for a while in case this patchy fog continued. It took only 30 minutes or so for the fog to burn off...and we had no issues after that.
By 9:45 we were in Cairo, IL...the end of the Mississippi (for us) and the junction of the Ohio River (actually the Ohio River ends here...918 miles from where it begins...but we will be going upstream) Speaking of going upstream. We were getting anywhere from a 2 to 5 mph push on the Mississippi...now we were fighting a couple mile an hour current. So with the same rpm (1100) we went from 11 to 12 mph to 7 to 8...a big change in speed and fuel consumption.
In order to get to our anchorage at Cuba Towhead we had to go another 48 miles and two locks. The first lock (lock #53) was 18 miles away, and no issue at all. I called them and by the time we got there the lock was open and we went right in. The next lock (lock #52) was another 24 miles and had traffic backed up everywhere. They really had a mess on there hands...I’ll bet there were more than 10 barges on both sides of the locks. We ended up anchoring for a while and it took a little over an hour, but we were lucky enough to get in the lock with another tow and we got out of the lock about 4 pm.
Once out of the lock we only had about 5 miles to our anchorage. I found it with no problem and took a fair amount of time exploring the channel to decide where to anchor. Like I said above I was nervous that this channel would be used by commercial traffic, and I did not want to be in there way. Not barges...but tows running back and forth getting barges. After studying things and trying to get the anchor set (the anchor first drug a little so I let out 150 feet of chain and that did it) we finally shut the engines off at about 6 pm. Not much else to report except that when Deb went to cook dinner the generator shut down. It was a little scary (because I did not want to sleep with no A/C in this heat and humidity)...but after a fair amount of work and investigation I think the problem was we were just running too much stuff and when she turned on the stove (two burners at once) the generator said “enough...I’m shutting down”. So I shut everything down; started over; reduced the load; and it has been running fine since then.

Today...an easy 12 mile run a little further up the Ohio River to the Cumberland River (this is where the Cumberland River ends) and then 31 miles and 1 lock to Green Turtle Bay...at MM 32 on the Cumberland. This is our home for the next 16 days or so. We had plans to go up the Cumberland to Nashville, but a lock along the way is down until September 10th and we have folks coming to see us on the 11 at Green Turtle so we will just stay there and explore the area.

Well it’s now 3:30. I’ll look for a couple of pictures to go with this log...upload it...and then I think I’ll get my pillow and blanket and try to sleep here on the back of the boat. The only sign of barges are the ones going by out in the Tennessee...about 1/2 mile away. So I can rest easy.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Log 25; Day 101; August 30, 2008; Little River Channel

A picture of our anchorage at Little River Diversion the evening we arrived

The same anchorage when we left
A picture of our chart plotter showing what it is like the last few miles before the Mississippi joins the Ohio River

Log 25
Day 101
Saturday, August 30, 2008

6:05 AM CDT
Location: Anchored at Little River Diversion Channel just south of Cape Girardeau, MO.

To see where we are (click here)
Weather: 69* with 80% humidity; no wind...predicted to be 88 and sunny today

Not much time to do a log this morning. After tossing and turning most of the night (I do that when we are at anchor) I went back to sleep about 3 and slept until 5:30. We want to leave just after sunrise (which should be 6:30 to 6:45)...so not much time to sit and write this log.

I’m sitting on the back of the boat and it is just starting to get light out. We are at anchor in a little stream just off the Mississippi south of Cape Girardeau, MO. If I look out the back of the boat the Mississippi is about 100 yards away. (As I write these words a fishing boat, with what looked like a Grandpa and his grandson, just flew by heading out to the Mississippi). It is a beautiful setting...and a beautiful morning.

Yesterday we left Hoppies at 7 am and went the 110 miles to Little River and arrived at 5 pm. The entire day we went between 900 and 1100 rpm at a speed of 10.5 to 13 mph. I would say the river was giving a push between 3 and 5 mph all day. No issues...and not much stuff floating to worry about...the only real challenge was the very crazy water eddies that we crossed from time to time. The water was swirling and bubbling and it looked very scary. These eddies have the power to toss boats around and throw them sideways in their swirling water. I have talked to more than one captain who’s boat has been thrown sideways and nearly out of control. I discovered a couple of thing about these eddies. First is that they seem to be caused by fast water flowing over shallow and then very deep areas. We would be going along in 10 to 15 feet of water and when we went over the eddies the depth would go to 40 to 60 feet and then back to 10 to 15 again in just a matter of a few yards. I have no idea if this is what causes them...but in every case this was happening. Secondly I found out that if I set the auto pilot to it’s most sensitive setting it would do a better job of keeping the boat straight in these eddies than I could be steering it myself. So I went through these eddies with the auto pilot on and we were tossed around much less.

Today we have about 95 miles (and 2 locks) to go to our next anchorage near Paducah, KY. It looks like a beautiful day for cruising...so I better get to it.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Log 24; Day 100; August 29, 2008; Kimmswick, IL.

Log 24
Day 100
Friday, August 29, 2008

5:45 AM CDT
Location: Kimmswick, MO.
Weather: 70* with 76% humidity; no wind...predicted to be 88 today with a 30% chance of rain.

A barge came by last night at 2:13 and almost knocked Deb and I out of the bed. Well maybe not knocked us out...but woke us up very quickly. Another one came by at 4:12 and did the same thing. I went back to sleep after that...but did not sleep very well. Finally got up at about 5:30 and will have to make this log short because we will be leaving at first light. Just as I write this there are two barges passing out in the Mississippi so I’m sure the boat will be rockin’ in a couple of minutes. Also I won’t be sending any pictures today, because the Verizon signal is not strong enough, or fast enough to get that done in a reasonable amount of time.


Yesterday we ended up going 40 miles from Alton, IL to Hoppies Marina in Kimmswick MO. Hoppies is a very unique spot. It has been run by Hoppie and Fern for who knows how many years (lots...they are probably 75 or 80 years) and they run it their way. It is nothing more than a couple of barges tied together just off the Mississippi River channel (which is why you get rocked by barges going by) at MM158.5 but everyone stops here because it is the only place to tie up between Alton and Green Turtle Bay...a distance of 240 miles. The only other option is to anchor...and we will be doing that the next two nights. It is about 1 mile to Kimmswick...a very small town know for it’s antiques and one great restaurant called the Blue Owl. I walked up the hill at the marina to a couple of elderly gentleman sitting on chairs just looking out at the river (assuming they were locals and knew everything) and asked them how far it was to town...and was there a place where Deb and I could go in and have a beer. It took them about 10 minutes to tell me this, but the quick summary is...the town is only 4 blocks square; it only has one restaurant (Blue Owl); but hell...they only open from 10 to 3; used to be 4 taverns and a pool hall...all closed; town says they have 150 people...but if you took a census I’ll bet there is less than 100. When I asked why things were getting smaller and changing they said “folks died...and some moved away...and the town is too dam political”. So there you have it...the story of Kimmswick, MO. Does anyone wonder why we are only staying one night?

Today we plan to go 110 miles to a little river/creek just down river from Cape Girardeau, MO. It is called the Little Diversion channel to folks running the river and it’s one of the only places to safely stop for the night between here and the mouth of the Tennessee River...over 200 miles from here. So I need to top off the water tanks (so well have water for the next two nights) and head out. It’s 6:15 now and starting to get light. Looks like a good day for cruising.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Log 23; Day 99; August 28, 2008; Alton, IL.

Log 23
Day 99
Thursday, August 28, 2008

5:20 AM CDT
Location: Alton, IL.
Weather: 72* with 70% humidity; no wind...predicted to be 91 and sunny today with a 50% chance of rain tonight.

Up at 4:45 this morning in order to be prepared to leave early...plus I just love this time of morning sitting on the back of the boat. One of the first things I did was call lock #27 to see how things were going and if they could lock us through. I reached a very nice lady who said to come on down...it might be slow going, but we would get through. Which is what I hoped for because they have been working on that lock and only using the small chamber (these locks have 2 chambers, one big one and one small one...different from most locks on the great loop). So that is good news for us.

Yesterday we had a lazy day. Deb went to the botanical garden with her cousin Karen and I worked on a few boat projects. After doing outside cleaning, I did some caulking on a hardtop leak we are dealing with. Not a big deal...just a drip, that is a pain, and I have been trying to locate the source of the problem. I also went in the engine room and checked all fluid levels and gave everything a good inspection. (I don’t check the fluids as often as some say you should (which is daily) because this does not make sense to me. Who checks their car fluids each day, or before each use? If the temperatures are all normal; the engines are running fine and no smoke; and there are no fluids under the engines then my theory is that the fluid levels should be fine, and a daily check is not necessary). After that it was about 11 and I decided to take a walk into Alton and find a cheeseburger. I talked to a local and he pointed me to a “billiards bar” that was about a 20 minute walk. It turns out they had a $1 cheeseburger special (1/2# that was good) so I had that and walked back to the boat. Deb got back to the boat about 3 from her trip with Karen and we decided to head over to Fast Eddies. This is a local tradition and quite a place. It’s like going back in time because the place has not changed in years...lots of years. In fact, the food prices are the same as they were when they first started serving food over 15 years ago. $1 cheeseburgers; 29 cent shrimp; 99 cent French fries. We had chicken on a stick (7 chicken wings) for $2.29 and beef tenderloin on a stick (6 big pieces with green peppers) for $2.29. We were stuffed and spent less than $8 on food. The beers were $2.75 a piece...so even that was not bad. All in all a great stop...and we walked back to the boat (a 30 minute walk) to help digest the dinner.

Today the plan is to leave the slip about 7 and go a little over a mile to the first lock (Mel Price). Then we head right through St. Louis and right next to the arch. The next lock is about 14 miles south (lock #27...the one they are working on). Our destination is Hoppie’s Marine Service at mile marker 158.5 near Kimmswick, MO. This is a very unique stop, which I’ll describe in more detail tomorrow...assuming we can get internet service because we are going to be in the middle of no where for a few days now.

Well it’s starting to get light out now, and the sun will soon be coming up, so I need to end this log and get the boat ready to leave the dock and go into the lock. While I have been writing this I have been monitoring the lock traffic on the VHF radio and I think we will be able to go right in as traffic seems very light. Let’s hope so.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

A local hero in Alton...this is a lifesize statue of him...over 9 feet tall.

The outside of Fast Eddies...the place was originally owned by Budweiser and called Bon Air
The highlight inside is the kitchen...right out in the open of the bar.

Log 22; Day 98; August 27, 2008; Alton, IL.

Log 22
Day 98
Wednesday, August 27, 2008

6:40 AM CDT
Location: Alton, IL.
Weather: 67* with 67% humidity; no wind...predicted to be 87 and sunny today

Beautiful morning. If you click here it will take you to google maps and our exact location in Alton, IL. We are sitting almost directly under what is marked Clark Bridge on the map. The picture below is a shot of that bridge last night. I never knew I would be interested in a bridge...but this one is huge and very pretty (can a bridge be pretty?). And it happens to be right out the back of our boat so I am staring at it right now. Also in the google maps you will see the lock about 1 mile to our south. That’s the first thing we need to do...tomorrow.

Yesterday was a very easy cruising day. After a very nice early morning breakfast (I have eaten rasin bran and sliced peaches for the last 2 days so I’m feeling pretty good about myself) I wiped down the boat and got it looking great. After Deb enjoyed breakfast...a chapter in her book...and a few emails, she vacuumed the inside of the boat and made sure everything was ready for cruising (all drawers closed and locked and things put away so would not fall). All of this and we untied the lines at 9:15. I have been at this spot on the river (where the Illinois meets the Mississippi) a few times but each time it is very special. It is very wide here (see picture and size of hills in relation to the truck) and you know you have just traveled the entire Illinois River system and are about to join one of the largest rivers in the US. As wide, and as deep, and as well marked as it is at this point I always am more cautious for a while for some reason. It feels new and strange and I keep thinking I’m going to hit something. The good news is this feeling goes away in a few miles...and we had no trouble at all.

After a short 17 mile trip we pulled into Alton Marina at 11:30. I decided to get fuel (100 gallons) and we were in our slip about noon. There have been rumors about low water here...but I never showed anything less than 6 feet...and we have 8 feet at the dock we’re at. They planned on putting us under a covered slip (lots of them in the South) but I asked if they had cable TV at the dock and they said no...so I asked them to put us on a T dock (at the end of a normal dock is called the T) so we could use our satellite TV on the boat (won’t work under a cover because it can’t find the satellite). After lunch on the boat Deb and I took a walk and checked out the marina. Great place with almost new covered docks and very clean. Everything is floating...including a nice pool and the main office...which has a deli and store in it. At 4:00 Deb’s cousin and husband (Karen and Dale) came to the boat for a short visit. They live about 20 minutes from Alton...and it was nice to see them. After they left we had a nice salad for dinner (seems like I’m eating healthy...but not really) and watched Closer on TV. It was a great day...nothing special...but great none the less.

Today Deb is going with her cousin Karen to the botanical gardens somewhere in this area. She’ll be leaving in a few minutes and plans to be back later this afternoon. I plan to work on my boat list this morning and then this afternoon we plan to head into Alton to check out the sights. Actually we plan on heading to a place called Fast Eddies...a bar and grill that is somewhat of a legend in this area. Everyone who we tell we are stopping in Alton says we MUST see Fast Eddies. I’ll give a report tomorrow if it is worth the hipe. Sun is up over the bridge now and looking great. Promises to be a great day...guess I better get doing something constructive.

BK.

BK; Karen; Dale; and Deb

The Clark Bridge just behind our boat
Hills on the side of the Mississippi River just south of Grafton, IL.
Our Lady of the River Statue along the river.

Log 21; Day 97; August 26, 2008; Grafton, IL.

Log 21
Day 97
Tuesday, August 26, 2008

6:20 AM CDT
Location: Grafton, IL.
Weather: 67* with 65% humidity; NE winds at 9...predicted to be 84 and sunny today

Lunch at the bar next to the flea market.

The floating pool at Grafton Harbor...nice stop
Sunset last night. Red sky at night...sailors delight.
It is predicted to be sunny today...but lots of clouds right now. I went out side a few minutes ago and it was a little chilly, but felt great. I’ve been watching the weather channel this morning and hurricane Fay is really dumping the rain on Tennessee and Alabama. Good news for us because these water levels were really low and this should help us as we go down the Tombigbee Waterway later this fall. The water levels on the Illinois and Mississippi seem to be stable the last couple of days which is also good for us. The locals at Grafton say they never remember the water being this low, and it is causing several of the tows to have a problem because they are running aground. I have called the next two marinas we are going to and I don’t think low water will be an issue for us.

Yesterday was just one of those lazy days when you’re cruising. In the morning Deb worked on keeping up with our banking and paying the bills. I cleaned all the isinglass and worked on a couple of small projects. I also spent time planning our itinerary for the next month or so, and made some reservations at marinas. At lunch Deb and I walked back to the area where they had the flea market the day before. The good news was (for me) the flea market was not there (must only be there on weekends) but the bar and grill right there on the water was. So we split a cheeseburger and had a beer for lunch (you can see in the picture the smiles on our faces...must be enjoying it). After lunch I went back to the boat to keep working on our cruising plans and also get the marina to pump out the holding tank, and Deb went into town to get some fresh sweet corn...which we had with BLT’s for dinner.

Since we have been in this marina 3 or 4 “loopers” have come in...so folks are starting to head south. Except for one couple (Peaceful Day) in a beautiful 40’ Tiara who are heading north. He found out we were heading south, so he come over to our boat to ask me a few questions about the trip north. I spent about 30 minutes with him explaining about the different things to watch out for and the things not to miss. Really nice guy, but I was surprised that he planned to go all the way to the Trent Severn in Canada yet this summer/fall and then back down through New York and to Florida. He has a fairly fast boat (cruises at 28 mph) but the rule of thumb (as told by seasoned loopers) is to be heading south by early September and many say leave Chicago after Labor Day. He will just get to Chicago by Labor Day...and heading north. I would think it will be pretty cold in Canada and the Northern parts of the East coast before he gets out of there. Heading South sounds better to me at this point.

Today is planned to be an easy cruise. We plan to leave the dock between 9 or 10 and head 15 miles south to the Alton Marina. The only question I am dealing with is where to get fuel. I believe in supporting the marina’s we stay in, but the fuel costs can be very different. Grafton Harbor is $4.37; Alton Marina is $4.30; and Hoppies is $4.76. I think I’ll just get some at Alton...and then top off at Hoppies before heading further south.

BK.

Log 20; Day 96; August 25, 2008; Grafton, IL.

Log 20
Day 96
Monday, August 25, 2008

6:40 AM CDT
Location: Grafton, IL.
Weather: 62* with 83% humidity with light NNE winds...82* and 20% chance of rain predicted today.

Here is a shot from the back or our boat this morning in Grafton Harbor...just before the sun came over the hills. That's the Mississippi River in the distance.

I know I mentioned this before but the view off the back of our boat is really cool. I’m looking due East...I can’t see the sun yet...but there is this beautiful “glow” of the sun behind the hills (I’ve included a picture I just took, but it does not do it justice). It’s a little cool out, so I turned on the heater in the helm area and it’s a perfect 72* inside. The morning is awesome, and the coffee’s tasting great. I’m only going to give a short update this morning because I am going to include “Deb’s 2 cents”. People have asked for Deb to chime in on these updates...so she is going to do so.

Navigation note: I’ve mentioned I keep track of river heights “called stages” along the waterways we travel because it can really effect where we stop. Well I have been tracking this (every day) since June 24th when the Mississippi had all that rain and terrible flooding. Anyway...the river stage in St. Louis during that time was 38.57 at it highest point (flood level is 30.00 and the highest ever recorded was in 93 when it got to 49.58) today that same river stage is 4.15...and predicted to drop even more. On August 2nd the river stage was 30.66...it has dropped over 26 feet in a little over 3 weeks. Amazing.

Yesterday was a lazy day on HQ. It was not a travel day so we were in no hurry to get going. Deb made pancakes and bacon (one of my favorite breakfasts) and after breakfast we cleaned up the boat because we did not do that on Saturday. About 11 we walked into Grafton...a short walk...and looked at all the local establishments. Grafton is a small river town and has definitely decided to cater to the boaters and people who enjoy the river. Small craft shops, and restaurants all along the water. I even went with Deb to a flea market just down the street. I didn’t last long...maybe Deb will go back today. They do have an outside bar that sits right in front of the flea market...and right on the river...so maybe I’ll walk with her. After lunch we bought fresh catfish (which Deb cooked for dinner) and came back to the boat. I watched the NASCAR race I had recorded the night before, and Deb went to the marina pool. During our catfish dinner we watched the movie “Shooter”...and I made it all the way to 9:30 before going to bed (must have been the nap during the NASCAR race).

Today we really have no plans. I keep a list of items I want to do to the boat...so maybe I’ll work on that. Also maybe walk back into town and check more things out. Heartland Boating Magazine had an article on Grafton in it’s latest issue and Deb and I read it last night...so she has some ideas of places to go (although I really think we saw everything yesterday)

Tomorrow we plan to travel a short 15 miles to Alton, IL and spend 2 nights there.

So much for my update...here is “Deb’s 2 cents”...

Here is how Deb spend some of here time while we are cruising along...sitting out front reading here book.

Saturday, 8/23/08
Hey All!
It’s Saturday night, 10:15 pm and BK’s in bed. There are several kinds of music blaring from different boats in the covered dock that we are tied to and cocktails are being passed around. While Bob has always enjoyed the early morning quiet of the marina to update the web page and plan his day, I like the evening marina noises and sitting up top to people watch…which is what I’m doing right now! I thought this would be a good time to take a few minutes to add my 2 cents to BK’s daily logs. (I love laptops!)
We are finally on our way south again after spending a wonderful summer in Ottawa. It’s hard to believe that we pulled into Heritage Harbor on June 2nd and it’s already the middle of August! When we came to Heritage Harbor it looked a lot like a construction zone…dump trucks, cement trucks, gravel trucks, landscapers, people building docks, planting trees, seeding hillsides. Now, after only 2 ½ months, there’s a new pavilion, a sand volleyball area, beautiful landscaping and even grass! They’re putting in the infrastructure for the housing area and I they’re going to start the hotel & conference center this fall. Things are moving along quickly! Everyone there was so helpful to us and we can’t wait to see what the Harbor looks like in a couple years when we get back!
The weather started out a little funny in June...lots of wind (I hate the wind!) and a few weird storms, but then it settled into a hot and sunny couple of months...perfect for water fun! There were lots of people around with boats (sisters, brother, niece, friends), so there was always something happening on the river! Beccah, Jeff & the kids made the hour and a half drive quite a few times to play on the river with Grandma & Grandpa K. Both grandkids are 11 years old now and true water rats...we love it! We packed a lot in during our stay…boating, fishing, swimming & hanging with family & friends…(not to mention, Bianchi’s pizza, Polancic’s tenderloins, and Tones Cones!) We had our truck and our 21' Boston Whaler with us while we were in Ottawa and so had wheels on land for groceries & laundry, and a fun small boat to use while we were there.
We also squeezed in a family vacation in July, renting a houseboat on Kentucky Lake for a week with the kids and grandkids. The weather was hot enough to keep us all in the water pretty much all the time and we got the kids on a double tube that was a blast! They bounced off, rolled off, and slid off so many times I thought they'd get discouraged, but they always came up coughing and sputtering, with huge smiles on their faces and grabbing for the tube... "Let's go again!" And it was very cool to realize that after a week, when we got back to Headquarters, we both felt glad to be 'home'. After living aboard since May, it finally feels like home! All in all, it was wonderful to have this bonus time with everyone...a GREAT summer!
But after 78 days of fun in the sun and on the water, it was time to move on and on Wednesday, May 20th, we pulled out of Heritage Harbor to resume our cruising life. Passing under the railroad bridge at the west end of Ottawa for the last time (at least for a few years anyway) was with mixed feelings...excited to once again be on our way, but realizing that we would be away from everyone for so long. We've been 'living' in Ottawa for over 2 months and have gotten kinda dug in.
The night before we left, we had 'one last evening' together in Ottawa with family (Bianchi’s pizza!) and then at our first stop on our way down the Illinois, my sister (Annie) & bro-in-law (Les) plus a couple of friends came for another 'last evening' together. Then, at our 2nd stop (in Peoria), my sister Jeanie & Terry met us on HQ and we walked across the street to a pub for one more 'last evening' together! (It's hard to let go!)

But on Friday morning Bob and I headed south again on the Illinois, knowing that it will just be the 2 of us for awhile. This is what we’ve been looking forward to…just cruising and checking out new places together. Tonight we’re in Grafton, IL. We have heard that Grafton is a great place to visit and so will stay a few days to check it out. (We’ve already spied a restaurant that serves Cajun food called “The Rotten Apple” that has definite possibilities!) We’re tied to a T-dock and it’s a little rocky-roley but promises to calm down tonight. But even with the little bit of rocking, this slip is way better than last night…tied to a work barge with 2 oil drums on deck burning something that was making black smoke. (I saw paint cans on fire on the barge at the base of the oil drums…not IN the drums! Yipes!) They put it out right away, so I think the lung damage was held to a minimum. Oddly enough, the overnight charge is the same for both places!
After getting the boat secure and checking in with the dock master, we put away our Illinois River charts and will get out the Mississippi River charts for awhile. But that’s not for a couple of days. Tomorrow (after the boat is washed and wiped down of course) we’ll take a walk into town to explore…maybe split a cheeseburger for lunch. That’s as far as we got in our plans for the future!

Keep reading the blog…we’ve got a new system for the pictures so you’ll see more from now on. Enjoy the rest of the summer…cold weather will be here soon enough. Well – for some of us anyway! Key West – here we come! -Debbie