JACKIE B III Going Loopy

  To get to Paducah Kentucky, we had only one lock and dam and just a few miles. We went through the lock with many of our flotilla 4 companions. This was a very interesting dredging operation we saw along the way.  There are actually two barges here. We were the first to arrive and after helping the other boats get in and tied up, Mike was able to go kiteboarding. I went with a group of ladies to the National Quilt Museum.  The quilts were amazing.  This is a sample of some of my favorites.  It’s amazing what these quilters can do with pieces of fabric.The red, white and blue was from an exhibit of quilts made for veterans. the Christmas tree is a close up of one square on a larger quilt. Quite an interesting exhibit of talent. This was a super cute town.  Reminded us of New Bern. In addition to the quilt museum they have a river history museum, many restaurants, a wine bar a distillery a brewery, a bakery, a sweet shop, and theatre venues. This theatre wa...

As we left Grafton we noticed a lot of color change. There were beautiful cliffs and although the day’s cruise was short it was Gorgeous. We filled with fuel and water as we staged for a long stretch with no marina services at Alton Marina. I was able to take a long walk on the levee and Mike changed the oil. In the morning, the lock-master at the Mel-Price Lock and Dam had us wait for the fog to lift.   But after we got the word everyone was quick to respond and we still made it through before 8:30. Our next and final Lock on the Mississippi River was the Chain of Rocks Lock and Dam.  We’ve heard of many boaters who miss this turn even with the big sign.  If they go the other way there are strong currents at…Rocks.  Fortunately I do NOT have pictures. The big event of the day was passing in front of the Gateway Arches in St. Louis.   We were traveling with our mini flotilla from flotilla 4 and traded photos. The Mississippi River is a busy super highw...

  Grafton calls itself the Key West of the Midwest.  We were quite busy having a great time that I’m afraid I didn’t take enough photos to convey the ‘vibe’ of this town. It also rained quite a bit which does not encourage photo ops.  In spite of the weather this was a great stop and I’m glad we stayed here for 4 days.   After a long cruise down here Mike enjoyed the hot tub and I went for a walk.  We had different needs after sitting in a boat all day. This town is really lit up at night. We explored the town together the next day. We had a view from one bars deck down into another.  Can you see the outboard motors lining the deck rails as decorations? There is an ice house in the back of one of the bars.  The original structure was built in 1834 and is one of two remaining in the state of Illinois. We thought it was so cool, so it’s one of the first places we took our friends Jeff and Karen who visited us from Kansas City. Jeff is one of Mike’s frien...

  After leaving Chicago we went to fill up our diesel tanks at Hammond Marina before heading into the Calumet- Saganashkee Channel a.k.a Cal-Sag.  Unfortunately the starboard engine would not start after filling up and we limped up the Channel with just one engine to our first stop at Marine Services.  We thought we might end up staying for a few days unless Mike could work his magic on the engine.  Turns out after we ordered a new starter, Mike decided to use a hammer on it and it worked.  In fact it has worked ever since.  We left without the new starter but the “Looper Express” has it just a few days behind us. We left Marine Services on the Calumet River before the sun was up with a small flotilla that Mike was leading to the Joliet wall. Although this was in the middle of Chicagoland, we did manage to find some beauty.  Most surprising were the three deer swimming across the river. There were several of these surprisingly pretty parks with waterfa...