TIM PATTI RILEY BIG ADVENTURE

10/7/2017

I know it's been awhile. It is hard for me to believe 2 weeks. In my defense, we've had some really long days & poor to no reception. I will not give a day by day of the last 2 weeks, but an overall picture. I am having difficulty remembering the day, date, & my whereabouts. The whereabouts are kind of important, because markers on the rivers change, depending on if we are going up stream or down. At home it was always "red right return". Easy. Also all the rivers have mile markers. Some numbers go up & some down depending on where one starts. We cruised the Illinois, the Mississippi, the Ohio & are currently on the Cumberland at a place called Green Turtle Bay. We will stay here 1 week. We need the rest & it is comfortable. We are at a covered slip among the locals. It did not start out so well. GTB lost our reservation & initially put us on a less than desirable dock. After we talked with the dock master he moved us here. Our neighbor has a TV on the dock. He gave us the remote so we could watch whenever we wanted. The marina has a courtesy car which we used to re provision. They have a laundry, a spa & an excellent restaurant called Patti's. Their specialty is a 2" pork chop. Tim had that & it lived up to it's billing. It also had a bathroom with an Indian in a bathtub. He spoke when one entered! So we are using our time to relax, do laundry, clean, give Riley & the boat a much needed bath.

When we left Alton our destination was Hoppies. It & it's owner, Fern, are a legend on this trip. It is nothing more than 3 old barges tied to a stone wall. They do offer fuel & electricity. Once we were tied up, we were told we would need to move as there was a bigger boat that needed that space. We moved to the other side which turned out to be a good thing as it was more protected. The" big boat" we moved for turned out to be 2 boats, The Nina & The Pinta. Not sure of their route, but we have seen them several times on this trip. Fern gives a daily "river briefing". The briefing consists of current info on locks & water levels. It is a short walk up a steep hill to the town of Kimmswick. It is the home of the "famous" Blue Owl restaurant. It was featured on The Travel Channel & as one of Oprah's favorite things. Mary Hostetter, the owner, was very gracious. We had to go thru the Mel Price lock to get there. We were very glad we were not first in. There was 30 feet of logs, trees & general debris at the lock wall we had to go out. I was hoping when the doors opened some of it would be pushed out of the way. No such luck. We had to go thru it, but the boat in front of us took the bigger hit. As Tim said, we spit toothpicks for awhile.

We next stayed on the Kaskaskia Lock wall. No amenities, but it was free. Riley needed to be taken to shore via dinghy. Tim did find a boat ramp, so they did not have to slog thru the mud. While docked there we saw 2 Eagles on the opposite shore feasting on fish. We left early in the AM as we had a long run scheduled & the days are getting shorter & we prefer to be docked/anchored before dark. Haste is not always a good thing. The windows were fogged & the river was misty. It is a very busy barge area with curves. We came very close to one before we even saw it. That was scary & a lesson learned. We ran that day from 7AM till 545PM.

Our next stop was Boston Bar. An anchorage, our first on this trip & also a first with this boat. I will just say, it could have gone better, but in the end we were fine. Riley was pleased as he was taken to shore & allowed to run on a sandy beach. Unfortunately he needed to go thru deep Mississippi mud to get to the sand. When he got back he needed to be hosed down for what seemed like forever.

We were not sure of our next stop. We had 3 possible anchorages. Unfortunately none of them worked. The first one was blocked by a barge, the next ones did not seem inviting. Other loopers running in front of us were going to keep going to get thru the locks. We had heard some of the waits on these locks were very long & it is usually better to have more boats. So we went for it & it was a good decision even though it was a long day. We were able to get thru 3 locks at a pretty good pace. We ran from 7:30 AM till 6:45 PM. We were anchoring just as it was getting dark. It was a quiet place, but surrounded by woods, so very buggy. Tim had to get the dinghy out for Riley's shore trip & I put up canvas as fast as I could. I feel like I am training for survivor. For people who do not know, I am a bug phobic! I am now grabbing them with bare hands & disposing of them! When Tim & Riley came back, I was on the swim platform as usual to help tie the dinghy & get Riley aboard. Riley was a little to anxious to come aboard & jumped to soon. His hind quarters did not quite make the platform. I had a death grip on his leash while also grabbing his backside. Got him on board & only then realized it was literally a death grip, as his leash is attached to a choker collar. I could have strangled him! Luckily he was fine & I learned a lesson. Let go of the leash! He can swim!

We pulled anchor at 9:20 AM & reached our destination, Paducah, KY at 10:00. Tim could not figure out why they did not have room for us the day before. It was billed as a new 200 slip marina. Well the question was answered when we arrived. It is still under construction. There was one dock that could accommodate about 10 -15 boats, depending on size. The town was pretty much closed down as it was Sunday. One restaurant Does, was open. It is famous for its steak. There are only 4 in the states. It lived up to it's billing. The dock was all loopers, so it was a big crowd that went to dinner that night. The town had it's annual "Pig Out" on Saturday & they were busy cleaning up after a crowd of 30,000! Fun fact: Paducah is the home of the National Quilt Museum". It was also closed. Many trees were dressed with a crocheted quilt. Never found anyone to ask about it.

The run to our current location was about 6 hours. It was pleasant except for the sun in our eyes. It reminded me of driving to work at this time of the year, with the sun so low in the sky. We made it thru the Barkley lock in 15 minutes. That is our personal best, & it was a 57 foot lift. River traffic was minimal. We are now waiting to see what hurricane Nate is going to do. We have been advised to stay put until we know.

Now for more random thoughts....

River cruising can be very relaxing or very tense & it changes in seconds.

Make sure you know how your binoculars work! Have been wishing my eyes were as good as they once were. Moaning quietly about our poor quality binoculars. Tim finally showed me the button I wasn't using to focus. WOW what a difference.

The mouth of the Ohio river was very busy with barge traffic & staging. We have never seen so many barges. They were everywhere, with no discernible (from our prospective) pattern. It looked like we were caught in amaze, with no way out. We just kept following the sailing lane & snaked our way thru.

Logs appear when you least expect them.

Riley remains on guard for Asian Carp. He has really adapted. Never complains & mostly well behaved. He is glued to Tim.

At one marina I noted a dock hand, that I told Tim I would cast as a prison inmate in a movie. Found out later that marina employs some from the county jail.

Did I mention Riley is slowing making a new friend. Gypsea, a 15 week old kitten. They have been nose to nose several times. Without harm on either side!

It never ceases to amaze me the people that choose to do this trip. They come from all walks of life & all areas. One couple is from France. They shipped their boat from France to Fort Lauderdale & started there. Another guy is from Australia. He bought his boat in New Hampshire & is looping solo. Just met a couple from Colorado yesterday. Many have never even been boaters! There is a large group vying for the same anchorages & dock space. That means a little advance planning. The majority will cross their wake somewhere in the south.

T Mobile is not the network one wants on the loop. Many areas with poor or no reception.

Now for the picture portion of our broadcast. Please note, pictures are in no particular order. (Because I am still challenged with this site! Some things never change.)