Getting Ready for a Right Turn

Our planned 99-mile cruise on Friday (Aug.15) turned into 120 miles when we saw how much rain was forecast for the weekend. We didn't want to be stuck on a restaurant dock with no electricity or other services, so it only made sense to put in a couple more hours and push on to the marina at Grafton, IL.

Cruising is peaceful at 6:15 a.m.

It's all flood plain in this
part of the Illinois River,
so cabins on stilts were common

Another carp tries to hitch a ride

We got through our one lock of the day in excellent time, and with a slightly higher than normal cruising speed we were able to pull into Grafton Harbor just as it started raining around 6:30 p.m. Done with the Illinois River--another milestone completed!

Grafton Harbor is a wonderful marina and has been a great place to spend the past few days resting up from our time on the Illinois River and preparing for the next phase of our trip--the Mighty Mississippi. It's an old river town that has seen its share of floods.

The 1993 flood high water mark on a Grafton building

Grafton lighthouse on the Illinois River

Shopping is always available

This part of Illinois and Missouri is also touting itself as a destination for wine. Grafton has a number of wineries, and vineyards are cropping up in the area--although there is still a LOT of corn.

We've been fortunate to be able to connect with several friends during our time here.  On Saturday (Aug. 16) we were visited by St. Paulites Dan and Noreen Bunde, who were in St. Charles, Missouri (just across the river) for a few days.  Dan was Lon's best friend during Lon's early childhood on the East Side of St. Paul, and he's also my dad's second cousin--which makes him my second-cousin-once-removed (I think).

Dan and Noreen Bunde and Lon by CARIB II

On Sunday (Aug. 17) we spent several hours with good friends from our marina in St. Petersburg, sailboaters Dennis and Shara Taylor. They spend six months in Florida and live in a suburb of St. Louis during the summer months. We had a lovely time with them in the historic river town of St. Charles, Missouri. St. Charles is the third oldest city west of the Mississippi River and was the first--albeit temporary--capitol of Missouri. It was also the place from which Lewis and Clark launched their expedition in 1804. The downtown is full of beautifully preserved buildings. The Festival of the Little Hills was taking place, so the town was packed with craft vendors and people.

Preserving the past

Beautiful buildings and festival crowds

While walking through the downtown we ran into Dan and Noreen. Noreen's brother and sister-in-law own the shop "European Accents" in St. Charles, and Dan and Noreen were helping them out during the festival.

left to right: Noreen Bunde, Dennis Taylor, Dan Bunde, Shara Taylor,
Lon, Pat in downtown St. Charles, MO

Today was a day for completing a variety of tasks: taking Zipper to the vet in Jerseyville, IL (she has a UTI and is now on antibiotics), grocery shopping, laundry (fun, fun), and getting the boat ready for cruising with a pump-out of the waste tank and topping off the fuel tanks.

Docktails this afternoon were spent with Rolfe and Harriet Wall, as well as with Loopers from two other boats here in Grafton Harbor: Bill and Connie Bowman and Ray and Arline Cutro.

Arline Cutro, Connie Bowman, Ray Cutro, Bill Bowman

Afterwards, Lon and I joined Rolfe and Harriet for a "farewell" dinner at "Aerie's Winery" in the hills above Grafton. Beautiful views!

The small island in the middle of the photo is the
approximate confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers

The Mississippi River as seen
from 238 feet above Grafton

Lon, Pat, Harriet, and Rolfe at Aerie's Winery

Tomorrow will be "Looper Exodus" from Grafton Harbor. The other three Looper boats will continue the Great Loop route by turning left on the Mississippi River to head south toward St. Louis and then the Ohio River. Lon and I will exit the Great Loop route by making a right turn on the Mississippi to begin the final leg of our journey this year, the 600-plus miles up the Mississippi River to St. Paul. It will be interesting to see what we will encounter with respect to river currents and barge traffic.