Alton to Kaskaskia Lock & Dam- Ellis Grove, IL- featuring Gateway Arch and Blue Owl Bakery

Off the dock at 7:00 (okay, maybe not exactly, but Ben likes to tell us that's the plan every morning, plus it rhymes) and we were in the Melvin Price Lock right away. They let us float, so we didn't tie up. 

A little ways down the river, we had to stay left on the river to avoid the Chain of Rocks and go through another lock. The Chain of Rocks is exactly what it sounds like. Any boater does not want to find themselves crossing the chain. This lock is a must for all boats traveling this segment of the river and was a tie up to a floating ballard. This is safer for the boat than we experienced last summer due to the tension and slack in the line being the same all the way up or down the lock. This was an easy tie up, but I had to keep pushing the bow of the boat away from the wall, even with the fenders down, the very front point of the starboard hull kept touching. That is so nerve-wracking, especially when you've done all you can to be sure it doesn't do that. With each lock, our locking strategy changes just a little bit, in hopes of finding what works best for us and the Cartermaran.

I pulled up the webcam for the Gateway Arch so I could see where it was pointed and what the view looked like so I could send it off to Lori for her to help us out by getting the camera footage of us in front of the arch. She said the top of the arch was missing! It was so foggy that it looked like two pillars crookedly extending upward from the ground instead of a full arch. The view of the boats from the camera isn't amazing, but it is still an obligatory photo for loopers!

Once we got close to the Gateway Arch, everyone went out on the deck for selfies with the arch in the background. Lori was on the website for webcam footage. It was a successful photo session on all fronts, despite flying by- traveling 11.7 knots with the help of the current.

Does anyone know about this parking lot? I noticed it and was super curious. It looks random and sketchy for cars to be parked that close to the river!

Barges off to the sides were hauling even more now that we were further south- 72 (9 wide x 8 deep) and 55 (11 wide x 5 deep)- as the width of the river and channel increased. The wide river definitely makes for easier for passing.

Stopped at Hoppies Marina, primarily because it was the closest option to get to Blue Owl Bakery & Restaurant. We saw on a fellow looper's blog that this place has incredible pies and are known, in particular, for their Levee High Caramel Apple Pecan Pies. The name comes from the tall levee that keeps the city safe from the flooding of the Mississippi River. Since Ben and I aren't huge drinkers, we aren't like other loopers who drink their way around the loop. Instead, we like to eat our way though the loop, trying everything, looking for the thing that could be the best ____ we've ever had! Recommendations from our looper books, looper blogs, Google, and Yelp tend to guide us on these stops.

Hoppies Marina is on the Missouri banks of the Mississippi River with a huge current. Due to this, they had us tie up on the port side, even though our initial approach from upriver was starboard. The marina was a floating barge. Nothing fancy or very big. Our looper books explained that we'd always remember this marina because of how different it is than all the others on the Loop.

Ben and my dad stayed on the boat and topped off the Cartermaran with diesel while my mom, the kids, and I walked the half mile into the cutest little city (I'd consider it more of a town)- Kimmswick, Missouri, population 133. We walked along a dirt road before crossing a railroad track and getting onto a 2-lane road, with a narrow shoulder which we used as a sidewalk as we moved single-file down the road. 

The city was 4 blocks by 3 blocks and the bakery was on the corner. Given it's name, it was no surprise that the building was blue- with white trim and white porch railings. Surprisingly, the parking lot was packed full with more cars than I bet even exist in Kimmswick. I wasn't expecting it to be this busy, considering it was 1:00 on a Thursday! Walking in, there were people waiting for tables, but since we just wanted to go to the bakery portion, we were able to walk straight back. Michelle was at the counter to greet us, answer all of our questions, ask us questions, chat, and help us with taking the pie home.

The display case had more options than we were prepared for, and we had some tough decisions to make, but knew whatever we agreed on wouldn't let us down. (Hibbeler- you were a voice in my head and I felt honored to buy and eat these for you!) The Levee High Caramel Apple Pecan Pies (Oprah, the Today Show, Forbes, Food Network, and the Wall Street Journal have raved about these as well!) that were displayed didn't look like they had the caramel topping, so we asked about that. Apparently not everyone likes the topping, so they make them bare and then add on the caramel if someone orders it that way- it is easier to put it on than take it off. You know we HAD to have that on top. Unsure of how these sticky things got packed up and how cumbersome/heavy they would be, my mom and I wondered if we should order a whole pie or if we needed to bring it back as slices. Michelle suggested the mini versions of the same thing. Sold!

We wound up with 2 mini Levee High Caramel Apple Pecan Pies, a strawberry rhubarb mini pie, a slice of key lime pie, and a turtle. Thanks, Michelle, for your help!!

On the walk back, we noticed a sign that said "Fred and Mabel Ruth Anheuser Memorial Estate and Museum" and wondered if it was referring to the Anheusers we thought it was. After a little research, turns out it is! It is tucked away in this cute little city and was left to the city after Mabel Ruth passed away. Now, there are tours and it can be rented for events.

We got back on the boat, waited for a barge to pass, and then pushed off the dock- technically we just had to untie and the strong current pulled us back on track, with some steering on Ben's part. 

Immediately after leaving, we cut one of the mini pies into 8 pieces. Everyone liked the pie. The thinly sliced apples, just like how Lori makes hers for the holidays, were a hit, but unlike Lori's, these are made with 12+ layers of apples! It was so visually pleasing to see the layers inside once we cut the slices.

Locks today: 2

Locks of the summer: 11

Locks of the loop: 125

Wing Island to Alton, IL

Our windows and boat were still covered in raindrops from the storm last night when we woke up. We always love a good, free boat wash! As we pulled up to our anchorage, I noticed a cute little babbling brook. This morning, it was a full-blown creek!

Lots of floating today in rain that was on and off. More hanging out, napping, and playing cards to pass the time.

Our barge count increased and became max loads of 15, 3 wide x 5 deep. We met the Mississippi River near Grafton and the width of the river really opened up!

Alton, Illinois is a bigger city on the Mississippi River and has a marina with a pool. Our friends lived there during their Army Recruiting Duty, so we figured we would stop and check it out. We hadn't been on land in 72 hours. 

We got tied up and changed into swimsuits right away. The swimming pool and marina office were floating, due to the amount of flooding they get. The boat slips, not on the t-head, were all covered. We had never stayed at a marina like this before, so it was a change. We got to the swimming pool and it was colder than the Great Lakes, but the kids and my dad all got in and didn't let it bother them. My mom and I watched them float in tubes, have water fights, and play from the side after dipping our feet in quickly. A lady in the marina office came out to tell us that if we see lightning, to get out immediately because it is an aluminum pool. We thought we heard thunder a few minutes prior, so we told everyone to get out. She insisted that she wasn't kicking us out, we told her we understood, but we wanted them out just to be safe. 

Upon our return to the boat, there was a siren in the area. My mom asked if it was a tornado siren. I told her no because we would've had an alert on our phones. 

Ben and Moose took the trash and recycle out and were roped inside by the lady at the marina who said they shouldn't be outside because there was a tornado siren. When she let them go after the siren was off, they came back and told us. So, we pulled up MyRadar and it looked like we were in a tornado AND flash flood warning. A boat on a floating dock is a good place to be during a flash flood warning, but not a tornado warning! 

We wanted to go check out the Old Bakery Beer Company, which was right across the highway, and the torrential downpour we were experiencing made it difficult (but we were thankful for the new-to-us covered slips and docks at this point), so we called 2 Lyfts to take us there. We waited under a covered gazebo while my dad was eyeing places to go if we spotted the tornado before our cars came. 

As soon as we walked into the brick-walled and cement-roofed building, our phones alerted us of a tornado warning. We were happy to be in a safer place to chill, eat, and have a few beers. 

My mom, Bear, Ben, and I all got a pulled pork and brisket sandwich which was delicious. My dad got a burger. Moose got some soft pretzels with beer cheese, and Roo got a PB&J with a Caesar Salad. When we finished, we got 3 desserts to share. They were vegan chocolate ice cream sandwiches with cookie dough as the outer sandwich. We all enjoyed them, despite them being vegan.

Old Bakery has a stash of games for people to play, so we tried a few out. They had us giggling like crazy!

It cleared up quite a bit while we ate and played, so Ben, Roo, Moose, and I walked back and arrived at the same time as Bear, my Mom, and my dad in their Uber.

When we got back to the boat, we hooked up to my dad's TNT account to watch game 1 of the Stanley Cup, while playing Five Crowns before going to bed. 

No locks today!

Peoria to Wing Island- between Pearl and Cliffsale, IL

Still hoping for some Asian Carp to get scared and jump in front of us since it's a cloudier day... 

Good day for napping, hanging, coloring!

Lots of barges today. Moose got to call Hamilton on the VHF radio, Bear got to call Mariner, and my Mom got to call Corporate Venture while they took their turns driving and chatted to agree how to pass en route- whether passing oncoming: port to port or starboard to starboard, or overtaking on one side or the other.

La Grange Lock & Dam snuck up on us. Almost had to wait 90 min for a barge to go in before us, but they were stuck in the mud and the lock let us go right away. They threw us their line. It was so windy I had a hard time keeping the line tight.

We ventured down the river to a place Ben found to anchor and keep us safe before a big storm came thru. As we were investigating and looking for an underwater wall of some sort, we found a shoal, so Ben turned us around and we were once again racing the clouds to get to another safe anchorage, scout it out, and anchor before the impending storm. 

As we were anchoring, Ben tapped "Set Anchor" on the tablet and then handed it to me. Somehow by the time we got back inside it unset on the tablet so we had to guess the location. Oopsies. We got inside, sent the dogs out to potty once more for the night, and zipped up the cockpit just as it started to rain. Phew!

Locks today: 1

Locks of the summer: 9

Locks of the loop: 123

Norman Township to Peoria, IL

Today, we had two more locks with floating ballards. I mention this because it is very different than the locks we did last summer. They are definitely easier, in the sense that we tie up and wait, rather than continuously feed the line through the cleat one way or the other. One lock had us tie on the port side, the next tie on starboard... AGAIN. 

Not much happening today. Hanging out, napping, showering, playing cards, working out on the boat deck to pass the time. 

There was an oncoming speed boat that had a giant fence up all around it. At first Ben said they must have a ton of kids they don't want to fall off, but then we realized it is a barrier to protect them from the carp. We were all on the lookout once again, but then I looked up ideal carp jumping conditions and found out we aren't likely to see them at all. Our boat doesn't have outboard engines, isn't fast, it has been sunny, and we've been traveling through wide open river for most of our time so far. 

At the last lock of the day (Peoria Lock & Dam), we had to wait for a bit for a northbound vessel to reattach his tow (60ish minute delay) and then we were able to lock through. No floating ballards this time, so we just used our line and fed it through our cleat. Made it through and anchored for the night quickly due to the current from the dam helping us set the anchor immediately.

Locks today: 3

Locks this summer: 8

Locks of the loop: 122