Hi y’all.
We’ve been traveling about a month since I last wrote.
When the winds laid down in Petoskey MI we continued down Lake Michigan.
We went on to Charlevoix where they were having a street sidewalk sale where we bought interesting items & assorted jams. Also we found a fish store out of town & bought some smoked trout & smoked fish sausages.
Next we were off to Leland, a quaint village on the river but touristy & much more money for their fish.
The following day we were off to Frankfort. We stayed at the Jacobson Marina, a real nice marina with a boater’s lounge & a gas barbq at each boat slip. We cooked out brats.
The next stop was Ludington. Ludington is home to the 410’ SS Badger, the only remaining car ferry that crosses Lake Michigan. This was to be our staging area to cross the lake. We were wit 2 other boats & agreed to start our crossing @ 6:30am. When we woke it was raining some & the weather forecast for wind had worsened some. Our 2 buddy boats didn’t want to cross so we decided to go south on the lake to the next port.
Once outside in the lake it wasn’t that bad & Miriam really wanted to go to Wisconsin for cheese & brats. So we called the 2 other boats on the radio & told them we were breaking off to cross the big lake (65mile across). They then each decided to go to different ports on the MI side.
Miriam & I went on to Sheboygan. The seas weren’t that bad but a bit rolly in the middle of the lake. Sheboygan had a great marina with a heated pool & hot tub. While walking town we came across liquor – beer store with good prices. (Anything would be better than Canada) We told them we would like to stock up but we had no car to drive it back to the boat, no problem they said they would drive us & our booze back.
The following day it was a little rainy & foggy in the morn so we got a late start @ 11:30 am to go south to Port Washington. A very nice marina with very high docks. When we asked about the high docks we were told that about 10-15 yrs ago Lake MI was very high & the experts told everyone that would keep rising. S the marinas all raised there docks only to see the waters recede. Go figure. We fueled up there, the cheapest on the lake. We stayed there 3 days with some really nice people (locals) and also were told about the meat store where the butcher made his own brats, liverwurst, summer sausage, etc. All were very good.
Next stop was Racine where we meet up with one of the boats that we were with that decided not to cross with us. The weather was hot & the marina had a pool & 2 hot tubs, we stayed 3 days.
On to Waukegan next. Our friend had to meet a friend of his that was flying in to visit from Maine on his own plane. We stayed there 2 days before moving on to Chicago.
In Chicago we tied up to the wall in the Monroe harbor marina for 4 days of the Labor Day weekend. There was a jazz festival in the park & many things going on. We toured Navy Pier & also to the architectal boat tour through the center of Chicago, very interesting & informative.
We ate at the yacht club, very good prime rib & were invited to use their showers and facilities.
Very friendly
We had to go around Chicago (our boat is to high for the bridge) & take the Cal-Sag waterway to start south. We went to Sunset Bay Marina with one other boat that was leaving his boat there for a week as they went to CA for a wedding. We stayed 1 night and the moved on.
Upon arriving @ Joliet on the Illinois River we tied to the wall. 7 other boats came in after us. We didn’t get a chance to see Joliet that day because of the libations of the 7 other boats. So we all decided to stay another day. Not a bad town with a Harrah’s casino. The following day was windy & rainy so we all stayed again.
Finally we were off to Starved Rock Marina. The water level was so low there I was dredging a new channel for them.
Glad to get out of there in the morning. We went to Peoria, Eastport Marina. Another great marina with a fine pool & good pub grub.
Next we stopped at Beardstown, IL. We tied up to their barge for our visit. We ate at a pub that only serves food on Mondays (I think every thing else in town is closed). We had a choice of a full rack of ribs or steak (all was cooking in the back on the grill), we went for the ribs & we weren’t disappointed, they were the best. Oh did I say it was only $10.
We moved on to Alton Marina next on the Mississippi River. Another one of those luxury marinas with a huge pool & a 20 person hot tub. We stayed 3 days. The first night their we went to Eddies where the ½ lb burgers , brats etc were 99cents, the large peel & eat shrimp were 29 cents, not shabby. On the third day a friend of ours from last yr on the Erie was there with a car (their home town) & she drove us all around St. Louis. We stopped at the Arch & took a ride in the capsule to the top for a view. The museum there of the east meeting the west was fantastic.
The following day we moved on to Hoppies. Everyone stops here for fuel or just to listen to Fern tell you what to expect on the river ahead. We tied up to her barge as she instructed us how to come in & tie up. She was very informative & colorful.
Next we were off to the little Diversion River Channel to anchor for the night. Their were 3 of us & we all got together on “CATCH ME IF YOU CAN “for a pot luck & drinks
From there we went to Angelo Towhead for another night’s anchorage. We have gone through 6 large locks & over 2 wicket dams, where they removed the wickets due to high water. We all rafted up & had a community meal with drinks.
We turned up the Ohio River & went to the Cumberland Towhead, going through 2 locks on the way. I have never seen so many tows. I think the largest we seen were 5 wide 7 long & the tow pushing. This Towhead was really nice & we rafted up again for another nights gathering.
The following day we turned up the Cumberland River & went through the Barkley dam & into Lake Barkley. We went on to Eddy Creek Marina. A nice Marina owned by a couple that has done the “Great Loop”. They gave us their SUV to use all we wanted.
We put many miles on it shopping & going out to dinner. We stayed with them for 3 nights.
We are now going up the Cumberland River to Nashville. A pretty river & the first night we & Lovely Lady anchored in Hickman Creek. Very pretty & quiet. Just us & the blue herons.
We moved out of there this morning & are now at a dock in Clarksville TN. A nice town with a good pub. A little too hot for walking around (90+) but maybe we will stop here again after seeing Nashville.
OUR INTERNET SERVICE IS REALLY SLOW. WHEN IT GETS BETTER I WILL ADD PHOTOS.
THAT’S ALL FOR NOW FOLKS.
