There
are many phases to the Great Loop – The Canals (Erie and Hudson), Canada
(Georgian Bay and The North Channel), The Great Lakes (Ontario, Huron and
Michigan) and the part that we are now on The Rivers (Calumet, Illinois,
Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee and Tombigbee). The rivers while a
nice break from The Great Lakes offer their own set of challenges – debris,
logs and trees floating down the river. Fast moving currents that can both help
and hinder your progress. Huge Tows pushing barges that takes up the entire
center of the river. Turbulence caused by tow wake and underwater dams. Each
phase offers new learning experiences and unique experiences.
This
week we have had several special guests - The Dornicks (John, Jan and Julia).
My dad (John) acted as the chauffeur driving first to Joliet to meet up with us
and deliver my mom then again to Hardin to bring my sister Julia. The four of us went to dinner in
Joliet, my parents slept over then my dad left in the wee hours of the morning
and the three of us set off down the Illinois River. While they have visited us
once before on the Tidings neither had experienced what it was actually like to
Loop – getting up at 6a.m, performing engine checks, unhooking power and lines,
navigating through locks, opening bridges and helping the boat make it to her
next destination. My mom in the week she was here got the full experience. She
even got to line handle through one of the locks.
She loves boats so she had
a ball and we enjoyed being with her a lot. She is the ideal guest doing all
the dishes, removing spider webs daily and general cleaning that she would see
needed to be done. By being here for a week she got a real sense of what it
takes to loop and realized that it is more then just sitting back and going on
a boat ride. After several days had gone by we arrived at Hardin Illinois where
we would meet up with my dad and sister. We stayed at a very bizarre place in
Hardin at Mel’s Restaurant, which offered a dock free of charge if you
patronized the restaurant. The dock was steel and very uneven and kinda shady.
There was no ramp between it in the restaurant and we all got chigger bites as
we walked up for dinner. Mel’s is a locals place and when you walk in the door
everyone stops eating and turns around to stare at you until you find your
seat. The food is self-described as “down home” and offers a lot of the meat
variety. We all liked our meals and had delicious homemade pie for dessert.
Again,
my dad left in the wee hours and the four of us pushed off to Grafton, Illinois
in search of a sports bar to watch the MSU football game. It felt like a
hundred degrees with 100% humidity and when we each set out in different
directions we all returned sweated out and unsuccessful. After missing the
entire first half we finally decided to watch the game on the boat on mom’s Ipad.
The
next two days would take us to Alton for some boat maintenance and swimming in
the marina pool. The four of us also rented a car and drove into St. Louis. We
went to Salt and Smoke for lunch where BBQ was the specialty, we walked around
“The Loop” and visited the famous arch.
We
returned to the boat, made dinner and decided to have one last hurrah on the
boat before Mom and Ju had to leave in the morning. We played music, sang and
drank and waited until midnight in order to sing happy birthday to Ju who turned
35 on the Tidings. In the morning I drove them to the airport and went to Whole
Foods. It was a great ending to a nice week with the fam.
Yesterday
we made our way to the famous Hoppies Marina, which consists of three barges,
tied together which serves as a platform for boaters to tie up to. The owner
Fern Hopkins is an elderly woman of the river. Daily she gives a lecture to the
boaters updating them on information about the Mississippi – things to avoid,
safe places to anchor, numbers to call if in trouble. Very interesting and
quiet a unique experience for us both.
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