Coming to an end

 Saturday, September 24, 2022-

Today we traveled to one of our favorite marinas, Florence Harbor in Florence, AL.  The trip was uncomplicated and we arrived just as fishing boats were coming back into the harbor after a day's competition.  Seems like every time we come to Florence Harbor there's a fishing tourney going on!  

The transient dock looked packed and several dock hands were out trying to move boats that shouldn't have tied up there so paying transients could come in.  We called the dock master as we were coming in and asked where we would stay for 2 days.  He recognized our boat name, Maggie Jo, and was very close friends with the couple that we bought her from.  He and his wife are still boaters, living up in Florence during the summer and going back to Florida in the winter.  Anyway, he escorted us up to one of about 3 slips near the office and restaurant!  We may just keep this boat name...and change Maggie's to Maggie Jo!! ;-)

Florence Harbor is about 3 miles below the Wilson Lock which we would need to go through to continue our trip home.  Trouble was...Wilson had a wall collapse and are working to fix it.  Meantime, the schedule for pleasure craft like ours is 6AM-7AM in the morning...and another time period later in the day.  We were going to need to get up and travel in the dark to the lock in order to go upstream as planned on Monday morning!  Well, if ya gotta, ya gotta!

Meanwhile we'd make good use of our time here.  Saturday evening we ordered hamburgers on take-out from the restaurant. (Boy, were they busy that evening with all those visiting boaters/fishers!)  We didn't realized they were double patty burgers...but we wasted not.  We had half that night and half for lunch the next day. ;-)  On Sunday we washed some clothes, then checked out the loaner car for lunch at a little Italian restaurant nearby and a shopping trip for groceries, etc.

Monday, September 26, 2022-

We did, indeed, get up at 5AM on that Monday morning and made our way up to the lock in the dark.  Not fun!  We had a companion boat, Moondance IV and we were the only ones going up stream that morning.  Our destination was Decatur, AL, and a little marina there (Decatur Riverwalk Marina) that we've often used coming through.  To get there we went through another lock...and again we got through with no waiting.  We made such good time that morning that we got to Decatur around noon and decided we simply couldn't stop for the day...we had to go on!  So...we cancelled reservations at Decatur and went on to Ditto Landing in Huntsville, AL.

 Tuesday, September 27, 2022-

We are still on the same route with Moondance so we both agreed to leave at 7:30 this morning.  We had one lock, Guntersville, to transit and were able to get through right before they were going to close for some routine maintenance.  Whew!  On we went, then, to another favorite marina, Goose Pond Colony, a resort area in Scottsboro, AL.  The trip up the river had spells of wind that reminded us of Lake Michigan...but the ride was much smoother.

We filled up with diesel at a price of $4.59/gallon!  Best price yet on this trip.  Let's see, $4.59 x 100 gallons.....Yikes!!  We'd wanted a hamburger from one of the restaurants near the marina but one doesn't open until 5 and the other was serving only cold sandwiches on Tues. and Thurs.  Bologna anyone?  Instead we baked a frozen pizza and will snack for supper.

We'd ordered dog food for Mags and picked that up.  In doing so we learned that our next lock, Nickajack, is having power issues and may not be open for business tomorrow when we'd planned to move on up the river.  Wayne called the lock and they are working on the problem now...think it will be fixed sometime tomorrow but not sure when.  We're to call around 7 or 8 tomorrow morning for an update.  Meanwhile, realizing that the lock is about 45 miles from Goose Pond, we decided to go on up near the lock (if not through) tomorrow and anchor below the lock if we can't get through.  We have worked it out on paper to get "home" (Caney Creek Marina on Watts Bar Lake) this Friday!!  Hook, nook or crook!

The rest of the story..

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

So today we moved from Ivy Marina down to Peoria, IL, City Dock.  Now, before we left Ivy we heard nothing good about the city dock in Peoria.  Turns out it wasn't as bad as we were told.  The dock master at Ivy talked of unsafe conditions due to vagrants hanging out around that area.  That wasn't apparent to us at all.  The only issues we saw were that the town is not keeping up the docks.  We got in with 6 other boats but the depth of water at the docks made it impossible or rough for anyone else to tie up.  And...the docks were not maintained.  Bird poop everywhere on the wooden docks.  We ordered food from Costco and had it delivered by Instacart.  Maggie and I walked all along the river bank and felt totally safe.  Peoria is working on the river front area and it shows.  Now they just need to keep the city docks clean and cared for.

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Went through Peoria Lock fairly quickly with about 12 vessels going through.  We hurried along then to Logsten Tug Service for the night. We'd been there before on our last loop trip and knew it was a rough setting...but it was the only game in town for us that day...and for 3 looper boats. Getting to land was difficult from the tie-up to a tow boat. I took Maggie out that evening...but not the next morning.  The stairs from the tow boat to land were precarious and I decided Maggie just needed to use her potty onboard...and she did.

Thursday, September 15, 2022

We traveled to Grafton, IL, that day and stayed the night...thinking we would spend two days there.  Unfortunately they had no diesel service and we only stayed one.  Nice marina with great laundry facility...so we washed some clothes before getting on the Mississippi.

Friday, September 16, 2022

Left fairly early and traveled to Alton, IL.  Loved this marina!  Covered slips, very reasonable, and right next to the town of Alton.  We got there around 2 PM and ordered lunch (burgers, please) from the Bluff City Grill.  I walked to get them and wished I'd taken Mags so she could get some exercise...but I made up for it by walking her around the park area there several times that day.  The next day would start out with a lock...and our plans for going through it were collaborated with about 5 other boats, all loopers.

Saturday, September 17, 2022

Got up really early this morning and took off for an 85 mile run to Kaskascia Lock on the Mississippi River.  First we went through a lock with about 7 boats, again mostly loopers, then traveled on down to the lock where we could tie up to a wall for the night.  Turns out, the lock was doing some construction and, while we were welcome to tie up, the conditions were rough.  Lots of activity in the narrow approach...tie up to concrete walk with no access to land (apologies to Maggie that night) and crowded with...looper boats.  It was a free, safe space to stay.

Sunday, September 18, 2022

Left around 6:30 and headed on down the Mississippi River with hopes of anchoring at a place about 21 miles away from the Ohio River turn.  Made good time and found the anchorage we were looking for only to discover it was too shallow an approach for us.  We traveled on.  And we began looking for good wing dam areas for anchorage.  Finally found one at about mile 19 and anchored there for the night.  One of the boats we'd traveled with took a picture of us as they passed by that evening....

Monday, September 19, 2022

Traveled today, again with an early start, down to the place where the Ohio River comes into the Mississippi.  We made our left turn onto the Ohio and immediately felt the difference in speed: the Ohio River was running against us as opposed to the Mississippi, which was pushing us along.

We stayed that night at the Paducah, KY, Transient Dock.  The dock runs right along the channel of the river so not much protection from boat wake...and many on the dock had issues with the electrical outlets (as did we for a while)....but it was a place to stay for the night.  Looks like Paducah is working on a waterfront venue for the city.  Town was close enought to walk to but we were HOT and tired by the time we got there. 

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Instead of starting out with "early start" every time, I'll tell you if and when we "sleep in!"  Today we left Paducah and headed down the Cumberland River to the Barkley Lock.  From there we made our way over to the Kentucky Dam Marina for the night.  Again we had a really warm day and were happy to tie up to a dock and turn on the air conditioning!

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Spent a peaceful night at the marina...no river wake to shake the boat.  ;-)  Walked Maggie and actually turned her loose in a large grassy field to get some running in.  This dog loves to run!!!  

It was another hot day!  Sounds like tomorrow might be a 70's day and we'll be SO glad!!  We were

Thursday, September 22 2022

 Leaving the marina that morning we celebrated the fact that we were now a step closer to home and familiar waterways.  The Kentucky Dam created Kentucky Lake and that's what we traveled on today.  It's very wide so we didn't have much need to hail oncoming tow boats to arrange a pass.  Instead, we just avoided the tows by moving out of their way.

Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville, TN, was our destination today.  We've stayed there several times before and it was just as welcoming as always.  They are known for their restaurant (which is open during the fall only on the weekend) and, apparently, their cinnamon rolls.  We never knew they had cinnamon rolls let alone famous cinnamon rolls!  I was witness to a boater coming into the office/restaurant at the marina and huffing out when told the rolls would be there the next morning.  He muttered that he wouldn't have waited for the marina office to open (8 am) if it hadn't been for the desire to have a cinnamon roll.  ;-)

One of the really nice things about many marinas in the South is that they often have a "courtesy" car that can be borrowed for an hour or two.  Our plan was to get the car the tomorrow morning bring in more food!  We're out of the essentials: apples, bananas, cinnamon raisin bread (I have a cinnamon raisin bread sandwich of p-nut butter and banana every morning :-).

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Got the courtesy car this morning when the office opened at 8 and drove to the closest Walmart for groceries.  That job done, we headed out for an anchorage tonight.  It was, indeed, cooler today and the trip was pleasant.  

We had picked out several places for an anchorage...but when we got to them we realized there wasn't enough water for anchoring.  So we traveled on and finally hailed a marina for dockage but were told they didn't have enough water for a 4 ft. draft (how deep our boat is).  On we went a bit further and finally spotted a recreation area on the water that had what looked like a perfect place to stay for the night.  We anchored in about 15 ft. at MM (mile marker) 135.  Perfect place and we slept well.

Friday, September 23, 2022

Plans today were the same as yesterday: find an anchorage.  Again we had several options and ended up at Wolfe Island.  That's where we are right now.  I've finally sort of caught up on the blog!

Now's the time to tell you about our change in plans.  We are no longer interested in traveling for a year "or more" on a boat.  We will have traveled about 4,000 miles by the time we get home and we think that's aplenty for us.  We're coming back to Knoxville (first week in October, we think) and we're going to buy a house and boat on the local rivers...and perhaps go to Florida for some winters (though not this year because we have things we want to add to the boat.)

This trip was trying in a number of ways.  First, our course of travel was simply too crowded.  Loopers have been delayed in their travel plans in 2019 because of lock closures on the Illinois River, 2020 due to COVID issues and not being able to enter Canada...so a big number of those delayed Loopers started out in 2021 and are now on their way to Florida for the winter.  When we hit the Illinois River off of Lake Michigan and all the way down to the bottom of the Mississippi we were in the company of as many as 15 Loopers.  Nothing against Loopers, but traveling in a caravan of 15 boats takes all the adventure out of the trip.  You are no longer motoring along, enjoying the views on either side.  Instead, we found ourselves trying to space our vessel in among the others, slowing down, speeding up...very tedious.  Going through locks was a zoo.  When locks were closed for any reason the places one could stop for the night were limited by the number of boats needing the same services.

Other reasons we've changed our mind is that we miss the comforts of a home.  (Probably shows our age, but so be it.  ;-)  And with both of us having had pretty serious recent health issues we are often needing a "check in" with our health professional (via a Zoom-like video session) or a prescription delivery, or a blood draw.  All of those have been hard to arrange while boating and will likely go on for years now.

We had considered at one time moving to a different place at the end of this journey.  That's no longer a consideration.  We both want to live in Knoxville, TN, where we have lived the majority of our 75 years.  And we're both looking forward to seeing our friends and enjoying your company as soon as we can settle in.

More photos to come later....

And we thought we were through the roughest part...

Wednesday, September 7, 2022 -

Well, our time at Michigan City is over, missions all accomplished,  and today we headed out for our last trip on Lake Michigan.  First, a few views of the area around the Washington Park Marina.  Washington Park was an amusement park from the early 1900's until 1970's when they converted it into a park with space for special events, huge park picnic area, marina, beachfront, and even a small zoo.  I was especially taken with the stone "furniture" they had throughout the park area...

 

It was a short distance to travel today...30 some miles.  But...the winds were coming from the North and they rocked us back and forth all morning long.  Pretty rough!  Dropped our table in the salon and moved the HEAVY couch from the wall about 2 ft.!

At last we were on the Calumet River making our way to the Sunset Harbor Marina for one night.  Very interesting place.  They were full, but the woman who runs the marina, Barb, said we could stay on the gas dock for $30/night.  Fine with us since water and power were included.   Then when we came in for the night and found we only had one 30 amp plug she had the crew unhook the boat docked on the other side of the fuel dock and let us have that plug.  Oh, and also said there would be no charge for the night.  Barb always sounded like she had just finished off a fifth of something...

 What we didn't know was that they all left at 5 and locked the gate to the marina.  OOPS!  Maggie didn't get an evening or a morning walk...but she did regularly use the green pad (aka bed until now) for No. 1 business.  

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Took off early, as usual, because we had two locks to go through before getting to our marina for the night, Three Rivers.  Had a slight wait at the first lock, but the second lock brings on a whole new story......

To begin with, we were going through the busy area called the Calsag and were on watch for moving tows/barges.  We also had to navigate bridges that at first were ranging from 17'6".  Our highest point was the anchor light at 17'.  At the first bridge they had crews working on the sides and the bridge was going to remain down for a while.  We waited a while and talked about whether or not to try it...and did.  We were almost out when we hit a piece of metal, like a rod of some sort, and it bent the pole that holds the radar and the pole that holds the anchor light.  SO...we decided to have the next bridges of similar height lifted.  Took a bit more time to transit this area, but soon the bridges were taller.  Meanwhile, we went up and took down the large piece that holds the radar arch, etc, (I'm sure that "piece" has a real name, but Wayne's napping right now.)  Made going under bridges much easier then.

Finally we had come to the last lock we'd need to go through today, the Lockport Lock.  When we hailed the lock to ask for passage they informed us they wouldn't open until 5PM that day.  It was then 11AM.  I had read a piece from the Army Corps of Engineers about how Illinois is doing a lot of lock upgrades and repairs.  I obviously read it wrong concerning the Lockport Lock.  Anyway, the lock wouldn't allow boats to tie up on the wall to wait so we went back up the river a little way and, at the lock recommendation, tied up at a rusty wall by an old grain silo.  FINALLY, Maggie got to go for a walk, grungy as it was.  ;-)

Between 11AM and 5PM about 13 or 14 boats had gathered at various places above the lock to wait.  We decided to just spend the night where we were and leave the next morning when the lock would be on regular hours.  But then, a large towboat had parked his barge on the lock wall and decided to wait in back of our boat...about 20 ft. away.  Not good!  The thrust of the tow's engines coming back on our boat had it rocking and crashing into the rusty wall.  We decided we needed to move further back up the river to a wall where several other boats were waiting.

We got to the wall, sidled up to it, knowing we were going to have a really hard time to tie up there because of the height of the wall and the crumbly condition.  Two boaters came over and tied us up for the night...and then, offered to come over at 6AM and untie us so we could all be down at the lock together when the sun came up.  We couldn't thank them enough!

Friday, September 9, 2022

Headed out early for Heritage Harbor in Ottawa, IL.  We were there on our first loop trip in 2008 when the marina flooded and we stayed, with a bunch of other loopers, for 2 weeks before the water went down enough for us to continue down the river.  It's totally changed and is even better (like WOW better) than it was then.

With about 6 boats ahead of us we were limited in how fast we could go.  Passing 6 boats would have been hard, so we just stayed together...slowly.  Went through a lock or two, or three, and rafted up in each lock.  At the last lock we were tied to the wall and had two larger boats rafted up to us.  Felt a little uneasy with the arrangement, but all went well.  But...we ended up being the last boat to leave the lock.  Must have been 12 or 13 of us leaving and you can imagine the line ahead of us.  Bigger boats quickly arranged for passing and we were finally last of about 5 boats.  We had met the owners of the boat directly in front of us and were pleased to hear them announce that they would like to do a slow pass (we slow down so not to wake the boat...and they slow down to allow us to pass).  We chimed in and said we'd like to do the same.  Still ended up behind a couple of boats and followed them to Heritage.

Saturday, September 10, 2022

As usual, left early and headed for Henry Harbor, IL.  Foggy this morning so we had to stay put for almost an hour until the fog cleared.  We had a great day on the water, though.  No locks, for one thing.  And the cruise took us through some gorgeous, remote areas of Illinois.

Arrived at Henry in the early afternoon.  The little marina is back in a cove that is too shallow for us to enter but the owners, Fran and her husband, have a little area beside an old lock wall that boats like us can use.  When we'd called they were "booked" because they have so few spaces.  But Fran said she'd let us tie up to her boat and we accepted!

Can't say enough about this couple and how helpful and friendly they were.  They ended up moving us to the gas dock in the evening and we topped off our tanks as a gesture of thanks!  The couple both have "day" jobs, but also own and operate the little marina.  Fran is a cabinet designer and he runs a heating and air repair with his son.

Sunday, September 11, 2022

This day we had reservations for one night at the IVY (Illinois Valley Yacht Club) in Peoria Heights, IL  Weather was in the 60's and calling for 90% chance of rain.  We had rain for the first couple of hours, but it cleared up enough then that we could leave the front window open.

The next lock, Peoria Lock, is only 10 miles below IVY.  The lock is currently on a restricted schedule because they are working on the problem up here with Asian carp.  They have infested the river and everyone wants them gone!!  They eat smaller fish and feed off the bottom.  But when a boat comes by causing a certain vibration in the water these fish will rise to the surface and jump all over the place...including onto boats!  They are very thin skinned and will usually injure themselves or die immediately.  And the worse part: they bleed all over whatever it is they hit.  We found out what that is like as we cruised today because we had 2 jump in the dingy, 1 on the swim platform, and one on the back deck.  Looked like we'd slaughtered something!!

 

Anyway, Peoria Lock is only open now from 3PM to 7AM and all day on the weekend and Wednesday.  We could have made it through the lock today...but then there's the issue of where to go after that.  No good anchorages and the nearest spot to tie up is 70 miles down the river.  So Wednesday is our time to approach the lock.  

When we got to IVY Joe, the manager, met us to help tie up.  We asked then whether they'd had any cancellations for Monday and Tuesday since they were booked solid when we called for reservations.  He said he'd go up with us and look again.  Glad he did, because we can now stay on Monday...still nothing for Tuesday.  Our option will be to go to the free dock in Peoria on Tuesday and hope there's a place to wait there.

Monday, September 12, 2022

Making use of our 2nd day at IVY by ordering grocery delivery from the local Kroger.  Have yet to find out if anyone has cancelled for tomorrow night...more later...

Last bit of Lake Michigan...

Thursday, September 1, 2022

 

 

After four nights at White Lake Marina we finally pulled out at 7:15 to ride down to Holland, MI, and the Eldean Boat Yard.  Our sailboat friends next door were headed down that way and we followed them out of the lake since they'd been out once before already.  It was 5 miles from the marina to the entrance to the lake...

We didn't have small craft warnings...but it was an uncomfortable ride.  Waves were hitting on the side of the boat and rocking us back and forth, side to side.  Yuk!

We got to Eldean Boat Yard at about 1:15 and had an awful time finding our assigned slip.  And they didn't have any help rushing out to assist and direct, as we usually find.  We were assigned a slip on Z dock.  As we came in there was a sign on A dock and the rest of the docks seemed to go far, far, down the waterway.  We called to make sure we were going to be headed in the right direction and they answered in a way that left us clueless still.  "Don't go in the direction of the fuel dock sign."  Well, turns out that's exactly the way we had to go."  And..."It's right there by our other buildings."  Everything around us looked like houses???  Finally, after roaming and finally spotting dock boxes with Z numbers we found our spot...tucked in among the sailboats.  ;-)

Hooking up the electricity, we discovered that we needed a splitter for a 30 amp that would then feed two 30 amp plugs.  With that kind of setup you only get about 1/2 the power you would find at most marinas.  They were kind enough to loan us one that we returned the next morning before we left.

This section of Holland was obviously a well off section of town.  May be that the whole town is well off!  Maggie and I walked around to see lots of nice homes, cars, and well-heeled people.  ;-)  Of course, the area we covered was very small compared to the map I saw.  

Enjoyed a quiet afternoon with very pleasant breezes...

Friday, September 2, 2022

 Sunrise as we left Holland..

Today we left around 7:30 and headed down to anchor in Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, MI.  We had tried to make reservations for the night but they were having sailboat races on Saturday and were booked.  We'd even called several days to see if something had, by chance, opened up.  So...what's one more call, right?!  Wayne called and they had a cancellation!!!  We had a slip at West Basin Marina!!  Wayne always says, "Think good things will happen and they will!"  ;-)  

We had a very pleasant, calm trip down to St. Joseph.   Another lovely Michigan town, St. Joseph.  The marina is one of the many run by the state of Michigan...and it may be the best we've seen.  Well kept grounds with a park, picnic tables, and gas grills available.  Lovely neighborhood with sidewalks that Maggie and I enjoyed.  And, oh!  The laundry!  Now, remember me getting all excited about the laundry that had a dryer that would run 40-45 min. on fifty cents???  Well, this marina charged nothing for the laundry, had those high efficiency machines...and furnished the special detergent you have to use.  Guess what we did that afternoon!! ;-)

Saturday, September 3, 2022

Being among all the sailboats that were going out this morning, we got an early (7:15) start.  

The weather was safe for us today...but again we had wind and waves blowing us around to the point that we hesitated to go up and down the stairs a lot.  About an hour or two into the trip I went downstairs and, on the way back up, noticed that the dinghy was dragging the motor end in the water!  Wayne went down immediately to see what the problem was.  Meanwhile, we slowed to idle, but kept the gear in forward so we were barely moving.  

After about 1/2 hour of working on the problem he discovered that a part of the hoist that lifts the dinghy was broken and would need to be replaced.  We decided to continue on to Michigan City, but at a much slower pace.  I was at the helm and Wayne kept his eye on the dinghy

 

 

Getting to the marina by 1 PM was necessary today.  The surgery group I deal with at UT for the colon cancer has me signed up for blood draws every 3 mos. so the research company, Natera, can monitor a DNA factor that will, according to the surgery group, detect cancer about 8 months sooner than the CEA test which measures blood antigens in colon and other cancers.  (My oncologist at Vanderbilt does a CEA test every 3 months, as well.)

So.  It's time for my Natera blood draw.  The company sends me a blood draw kit with all the equipment the phlebotomist needs...Then they find a phlebotomist in the area I'm in and we schedule a meeting place and time.  My kit had already been sent to the marina in Michigan City.  Now all I had to do was schedule an appointment at the marina with the person who would do the job.  Being Labor Day weekend, there were some extra issues thrown in.  The phlebotomist had to send the blood samples by FedEx on the day it was drawn.  FedEx was closing today at 2 PM so 1 PM was the latest we could do the draw.  When we started out today we would have had no problem getting there by 1PM.  With the dinghy situation we slowed down considerably...to the point that we would arrive at 12:45.  We could still do it...we just didn't need anything else to happen to delay us.

We inched the speed up to about 6.5mph instead of our usual 8.5mph.  That seemed to be the best setting to move forward without bouncing the dinghy a lot.  When we were about 1/2 hr. away I looked down to see the estimated arrival time was 11:30!!  Then it dawned on us both that we were now in Central Time Zone!!  I sent a text to the Trish, the phlebotomist telling her a 1PM meeting would be perfect.  That way we could take on fuel and get situated into our slip before I would meet her at the marina office.  

Bottom line, all went well.  We met at the marina office and asked where we could go to do this procedure.  We were directed to the ladies restroom, which, fortunately had a table and chair.  One of the marina workers came in and saw what we were doing and said we could use the conference room instead.  Much better!  We were through in about 10 minutes and by the time I need the next one we should be in Knoxville. ;-)

Washington Park Marina is a big one, right on the edge of Lake Michigan.  We're going to stay here until Thursday morning so we can check off some items on our to-do list:  get a part for the dinghy lift and fix it; get a grooming for Maggie; and grocery shop.  Next move for us will be to finish our Lake Michigan journey by going from here to the Calumet River, about 10 miles below Chicago, and stay at a marina not far "down the road."  Ta-ta for now.....