Rita

Well, we’re still alive and moving. We’ve had some long days, starting at sun up and ending at sundown. I’m sure Jazzy is wondering why she only gets to walk twice a day, but that won’t be for too much longer I hope. Since I last posted, we have locked through 5 more locks. The first three were the locks that just opened around Oct 1.

I really didn’t sleep well the night before these locks. They make me so nervous. I woke at 3:30 dreaming of how to properly tie a clove hitch. Securing the lines is one of my jobs and first mate, and I struggle with learning all the different knots. Well, later that day, I put that dream to the test, and it worked! I have tied that knot numerous times since and am actually pretty confident when I do. Thank you God for dreams

As a flotilla of 12 boats we set out about 6:45 a.m. on Friday, Oct 6 thinking we were getting a lock through time of 7:30, but that didn’t happen. I think we waited about an hour and a half. Because there are so many of us, and our boat is not one of the larger boats, we rafted in all of the docks. I have pics below of the locks.

After those three locks, we headed to Heritage Harber in Ottawa, IL. We arrived just as the sun was going down with LOTS of wind. The staff at Heritage Harbor is amazing! We had four people come help us dock the boat, and we needed them all. The wind was crazy, and the slips are single boat slips with fingers on both sides – not a lilt of wiggle room.

We got tied up safe and headed to the office for a briefing from the marina owner, Jeremy. He provided so much valuable info on what to expect, where to stop, and what to avoid for the next 500 miles! Admittedly, some of that terrified me also, but it’s good to know, and he did an awesome job. They even kept the restaurant open late so we could all get something to eat and drink after.

Scott and I were sitting at the bar discussing the day, and both decided that this really is a lot of work and admitted we have questioned ourselves for choosing to do this. Then we laughed and said that at this point turning around to try and go back would probably be more terrifying than continuing on. Don’t worry, we’re not quitting that easily.

Later, we were talking to a crew from another boat (dad, mom and son). The son said he’d tell us what he tells his mom. ‘This is supposed to be fun so have fun!’ I will take that advice to heart. That’s it for our day Oct 6th. I’ll try to do better at posting more timely.

I hope you enjoy the read and the pics. Make it a great day! Be a blessing and be blessed