First Cup of Coffee



Bald Eagles Just North of Grafton

Rollin Down the River

To start today’s blog, I have to have a vocabulary lesson J

Cruisers:  People who live on their boat for weeks, months or years.

Loopers:  People who boat the Great Loop or Great Circle.  The loop includes the Great Lakes, Illinois River, Mississippi River, Ohio River, Kentucky Lakes and the Ten-Tom Waterway to Mobile, AL., the Gulf to and around Florida, up the Eastern seaboard, through the Erie Canal or St. Lawrence Seaway and back to the Great Lakes.  A complete circle or loop…get it?

I note that because we had a fun cruiser/looper experience before leaving Grafton, IL.  Everyone needs groceries along their route, so a trip to the store is a must.  Some marinas have loaner cars just for that purpose.  One of the loopers secured a 15 passenger van to take a group of us to Wal Mart.  Yahoo!  I called it the international van.  The group included two couples from Canada, one from Brazil, one from New Zeland and representing the USA were the Janetts.  Off we went for a 15 mile trip to Jerseyville, IL to shop.  After a two hr. adventure in shopping at Wally Mart, the van was packed with food, “beverages” and supplies.  Nothing else would have fit in.  What a delightful group of people from all over the world!

Bluffs on the Mississippi South of Grafton

Bridge over the Mississippi at Alton, Il

Nancy Holding a Line in the Lock

 

We left Grafton yesterday morning and entered the Mississippi River as the sun was just coming up.  The sunlight on the beautiful limestone cliffs was spectacular.  We had two locks to go through…one was a “snap” and the other was an hour or more wait.  The barge traffic on the Mississippi is HUGE.  Interesting fact:  one barge holds the contents of at least sixty semi trailer trucks.  So, when they raft 15 – 20 barges together, think of how many trucks that would be on our highways!  BUT, with low, low water on the river, pleasure boaters must be mindful of these barges and give them the right away at all times (they can’t stop) and the bends in the river prove to be very hard for them to navigate with limited water.

We sailed past downtown St. Louis and saw the Arch in all its splendor on a cool, sunny day!  Beautiful!  About 20 miles South is Hoppie’s Marina which has been an institution since the 1930s.  The grand ole lady who presides over all the operations is Fern.  Each afternoon she gives her daily “river” briefing. (Where is the best place to anchor, low spots in the river, where NOT to go, etc.)  Due to the low water conditions, these instructions are very important to the captains.  Hoppies is ¼ mile from a small, quaint town called Kimmswick, MO.  In case you didn’t know, my maiden name was Kimm, so I knew I would like this place J.  Now, I am from Norway, IA which has a population of 500 people, but this town seemed a little more rural than Norway.  All the restaurants (except for one) close at 5 o’clock on weekends and 3 o’clock on weekdays.  We found the one restaurant that was open, and it proved to be delightful.  The Tin Cup Shop and Bistro had outside eating and a live guitarist playing!  There are lots of little shops, old, refurbished cabins and homes to tour, and neat little eating establishments.  So, you know where I will be today.  The restaurant everyone raves about it the Blue Owl, so we will be there at 1 o’clock to eat in plenty of time before closing J

The Arch

Nancy Claims Ownership of Kimmswick

Steve is Ready for Dinner at the Tin Cup

 

I seem to have rambled much too long, so I will sign off for now.  In case you don’t hear from us for a few days is because we will be at anchorages for three days in a row.  There are NO marinas between here and the Ohio River.  In these anchorages, cell phones, etc. don’t work the best or at all!  So long good friends!