Rita

Where did I leave off? Oh yea, I said I’d do better posting more often and try to keep up. That didn’t happen! Thanks for showing me mercy and grace for falling behind again.

After Grafton, we headed to Alton, IL. Yes, we are STILL in Illinois. I promise, we’ll get to a different river and different state very soon. Although you probably already know that because Scott is WAY better than I at timely posting. We decided to spend two nights in Alton. This is another covered marina, and I think that must be more common than I thought. I don’t’ know if it’s a river thing, a geographical thing, or if it has to do with flooding. Both Grafton and Alton are floating marinas. Everything floats, including the docks, office, pool and restaurants which are all connected to large poles. It’s fascinating. I hope I have a pic that shows what I’m talking about. If not, I’ll find one online.

Anyhow, we had a lovely time in Alton. We walked into town and had lunch at the Brown Bag Bistro. YUM! Delicious homemade food. We also walked to a local mom & pop grocery store where we were informed they knew we were loopers because they have 300 customers, and they know them all by name. Super nice people. They even gave us a ride back to the marina Then that evening we got to hang out with Dusty & Don on their boat Gemini. We even got a full tour. They have a beautiful boat, and I love how it’s decorated and organized. It has a cozy homey feel with lots of room. Great people and a beautiful boat!

On Friday the 13th, we left Alton and headed to a place called Hoppie’s in Imperial, MO. Our plan was to fuel up and pump out at 8:00ish and then head out. That didn’t happen because when our buddy boat called the Mel Price Lock, the lock master said if we got there right away, we could lock through without waiting. Otherwise, it would be a three hour wait. We didn’t want to have a long wait and possibly get to our next stop after dark. So we scurried and hurried our boat butts to the lock.

At the lock, they told us to just float in the middle, and when the doors open to just head out first even though there was a barge in front of us. Well, that was a lot of work for Scott. We don’t have bow or stern thrusters, and there’s a lot of water movement in the locks when the water is going in or out. It is not easy to keep the boat in place and facing the correct direction. Then, trying to thread the needle between the barge and the lock wall without going too fast is also very difficult. Scott’s driving, and I’m running from the port side to push off the lock wall and then to starboard to push off the barge. Guess what? THAT was TERRIFYING! By the grace of God, we made it out with no damage. It is only 8:28 a.m.; I haven’t had my morning coffee, but man I am wide awake now!

Lock 27 (Chain of Rocks Lock) is up next. There aren’t many of us traveling, so everybody gets a bollard. We pull up to the bollard they tell us to take, but when I tie up to the bollard, our bow is too far forward and will get hit by the door when it opens if we don’t keep it back. I have no idea what I should do. Usually with a floating bollard, you lasso the bollard and then cleat it off on your boat. At least that’s what I have heard. I decided the full cleat would be a bad idea because once again Scott would have to constantly use the engines to keep us in a safe spot. I worried a full cleat would be too much pressure on the cleat when the boat moved. I did a wrap around the cleat and held tight to that line. Oh yea, you know what I’m going to say . . . THAT was a TERRIFYING! In my head I’m saying, “Can I go home now? Oh wait, I don’t have a home other than this boat and an RV – neither of which I want to drive.” I was not being a good sport, and I was not embracing the adventure at all

Then as I think I am going to be able to sit and just work on giving myself an attitude adjustment, I realize two snaps on the swim pad which is on the bow have become loose, and the swim pad is flapping in the wind. It is windy windy windy, and this whole thing could just blow right off the boat. I snapped at Scott like it was his fault and ran out to the bow to snap it back down. This is stressful for both of us. We’ve both gotten snippy, but we are very good at forgiveness & graciousness.

Things did look up after that though. We got to see the St Louis Arch from the water which I realize means we have left the Illinois River and are now in the Mississippi River. That feels like progress.

We made it to Hoppies, got fuel but no pump out because they don’t do that. Please check out the pics because Hoppie’s has character. It is a marina unlike any I’ve ever seen before. We had a meeting that night with Debbie who went over some info for the upcoming days – kind of like Jeremy at Heritage Harbor. After visiting with our fellow boaters on their boat, Dove, we walked Jazzy and called it a night. This day ended WAY better than it started, but guess what . . . We head out again tomorrow. Stay tuned.

I hope you enjoyed this read and enjoy the pics. When I started this, I thought I wasn’t going to have much to say. Hahahaha! I should know better. Make it a great day! Be a blessing and be blessed.