It's Been a Lovely Cruise

 George takes a walk along Wrightsville Beach, NC.

Jimmy Buffet was right.  George agrees. We're sitting at dusk on a spiffy clean Aunt Aggie, having our final gin and tonics and eating stale popcorn.  Here is my last blog posting.

A couple of months ago I thought of the lessons I learned by living on this boat.

1.  Move slowly and you will get fewer bruises. 

I got this terrible bruise on our first week, when I tried to swing onto the boat like 

the workers in Mobile did.  

2.  Everyone's boat has a leak. We were invited to dinner with some of our favorite folks, who have a fancy, bigger boat.  The hostess was serving lots of different dishes because she'd discovered her pasta was getting moldy due to a leak.  (I was surprised and happy.)

3. Size only matters if you are uncomfortable. We have been happy and content on our 35 foot boat even surrounded by bigger and more expensive craft.

4. Having less of everything is a pleasure.  Since we have a small refrigerator, we eat fresh food; I had to spend time looking for the right, small piece of art; we wear our favorite tee shirts.

5. Take care of health issues in the daytime.  In the middle of the night you will think you have appendicitis. At least twice in remote locations, I worried that I had appendicitis.  This was not gas.  Once it was stress; the other time it was lower back pain.  George's sprained ankle also was a worry in the night.

6. Find a repetitive, calming activity that you can do when you are under stress. 

Knitting and playing solitaire worked for me.

7. Accept help when it is offered.  A woman in the medical center emergency room in Little Current, Sally, offered to drive us to the pharmacy.  We hesitated and then let her.  She saved us time and money + we had a pleasant experience and memory.  

8. Watch the wind. Before this trip I never noticed wind direction and speed.  For a beamy boat like ours, wind makes the difference between an easy trip and a miserable one.

9.  Trust your math. This was important in reaching swing bridges that open only on the hour and locks that open at 9:00 am.  Sitting in a river and waiting for a bridge is hard work.

10. Take your drink over and visit with the neighbors at 5:30 pm.

11.  It's easier to stay on course if you have a marker at the horizon. Just looking at the compass and trying to stay on 135 degrees is hard.  If we can look at a cloud or the end of an island, we can easily steer.

12. You’ll have more fun if you plot your own course. We often traveled with other loopers for a few days.  It was a treat to be together at night and a relief to plan together.  But everyone makes his/her own plans, and that way we are only responsible for ourselves.  Several times we had to decide whether to go in iffy weather when others were leaving.  Those choices are lonely, but we want to be responsible for our own joy and trouble.  No blaming other boaters. Being alone for a few days made the reunions sweet.

                                                           "These moments were left with
                                                            May you always remember
                                                            These moments are shared by few
                                                            There's wind in our hair
                                                            And there's water in our shoes
                                                            Honey, it's been a lovely cruise"

Mothers' Day at  Solomons Island, Maryland

Full Circle with Loop Friends

Yesterday we had two interesting end of the loop experiences at Florence Marina in Alabama.

We stayed at Florence Marina, where we had stayed with another group of loopers in October 2014.  At that time we were the newbies.  We had just been on the loop for a couple of weeks, and we did not have close ties to anyone. Many of that group had been to Canada and down the Mississippi River together. We felt shy as we came outside for docktails. I remember John from Last Mango using a gasoline-powered blender on the dock to make margaritas. There's a photo of him in the blog from that time.

Well, yesterday we were the experienced ones on the dock.  The marina was full.  At docktails we still only knew a few people.  This time our lack of connection was because most of the group was just starting their loops.  They are headed to Joe Wheeler Marina for the Fall Rendezvous.  We felt a bit removed from the scene as people met each other and asked perennial questions.  For example, there was anxiety about the Gulf Crossing already coming out.

A lovely connection happened for us yesterday before docktails. Sue and Bud Hansen, from the boat called "When I'm 64", came to our boat for a visit.  We were so glad to see them.  Sue and Bud were on the Florence dock with us a year ago.  We met them at that 2014 rendezvous.  They stopped their loop last fall and left their boat in Demopolis, AL, for a year.  They just retrieved it and are on their way to Chattanooga.  We had dinner with Sue and Bud and Kenny and Kathy from "No Zip Code."  It was really good to catch up on their lives in Iowa.  They told us about a trip they took along the west coast, which sounds like something we might do too.  Seeing Sue and Bud felt like the completion of the circle of friends on this voyage.

Wilson Lock raises boats 94 feet. We entered this morning with 5 other boats. 

We left Florence today with five other boats and went through Wilson and Wheeler Locks. Then we
motored on to Lucy's Branch Marina, 10 miles past Joe Wheeler State Park.  Our boat broker came over to film Aunt Aggie with a drone as we arrived, so he could have a video of us moving in the water. Kenny and Kathy are here too. They brought us a lot of boxes for packing when they went to town. So we packed five more boxes. We have a boat cleaner coming tomorrow morning.

We also are picking up a rental car and loading it.

There is beauty in the most humble place if you just look up at the sky.

One more blog entry tomorrow!

The Road goes on Forever, and the Party never Ends...

Loopers celebrate our wake crossing with dinner at Freddy T's near Grand Harbor.

We thought our loop was over.  We spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon packing boxes in the galley.  George turned on the VHF radio to give me the up-to-date mileage from our loop.  We heard Kenny's voice, calling Grand Harbor and saying that they were entering the marina. Kenny and Kathy from No Zip Code were here!  We went out and grabbed lines.  The rain that had been threatening started in earnest, so we retreated to our boat after making plans to go to dinner.

Napping seemed like the thing to do during the storm.  We heard a boat entering near us.  That boat tied up in the rain right in front of Aunt Aggie.  George peeked out and saw Something Special docked ahead of us.  Evelyn and Sid on Something Special are the Canadian friends of Sue and Dan from Tranquility.  I sent George out to inquire:  Are Sue and Dan here?  Yes, they are.

So last night we had a looper party at Freddy T's restaurant in Counce, TN.  Twelve loopers were at the table:  No Zip Code and Tranquility, two of our favorite boats; Something Special and Sum Escape, new friends; and Lee Loo, with whom we've traveled on the rivers.  We had a jolly time with toasts and stories.

Autumn is coming to the Tennessee River.

This morning we headed out to Florence, AL.  The day was cloudy and cool.  The sun did not really break out until we were docked.  As we entered the Florence Harbor Marina, we were told that they did not have a slip for us in spite of our call yesterday.  So we are on the fuel dock with no power.  We don't really mind.  I just did not want to be turned away.  There are lots of loopers here.  The marina is full.  So we are having docktails at 5:00 pm.

Tomorrow we are going past Joe Wheeler, where the Rendezvous is happening.  We will dock at Lucy's Branch Marina about 10 miles past the Rendezvous.  Our boat broker is planning to bring prospective buyers to see Aunt Aggie next week.

Today we traveled with our gold looper flag.  

Celebrations and Statistics

We got out the gold burgee today, showing we are gold loopers,

who have completed the loop.

This is a day of satisfaction and transition.  Our friends, the Murffs, left Aunt Aggie today to return to Atlanta.  They were such good company and helped us celebrate our completed loop.  

Good friends make a big occasion even better.

We returned to the boat and hung our gold looper flag on the bow. It looks fresh!

There are lots of loopers here, but we only know a couple of boats. I met some ladies in the laundry room, and we exchanged the basic information about home port and length of time on the loop, but my heart was not in the conversation. We will not become friends.  George and I are headed home, and they are headed to the Fall Rendezvous.  They are starting the loop, and we are finished.  

George fetched some cardboard boxes from the ship's store, and we packed the galley and our art.

We are neatening the cabinets, so Aunt Aggie will look good for prospective buyers.  We have the loaner car this afternoon, so we can buy a few groceries and collect more boxes for packing.  

Here are some numbers that describe our loop:

Miles Traveled: 5820 

Total Days for the Loop: 366

Travel Days:  152

Days away from the Boat:  85

Pump Outs:  25

Boat Cards Collected:  110

Good Friends: 33 boatloads

Thank you for reading this blog.  Writing daily was important for me in several ways.  I was able to process and remember our trip because I wrote each night. I tried to be honest, so that I would remember the real details of our days.  I appreciate the many of you who were regular readers.  I did think about you during the day and carry you with me.  Sharing the adventure made it even better.

Tomorrow I will share twelve lessons I learned from the loop.

Woohoo! We crossed our wake!

We left Clifton, Tennessee, at 7:00 am.

They said it couldn't be done, but we did it!
Actually, I felt a few times that we could not do it, but we did.  We completed the Great Loop today.
We are proud.

It is hard to believe that our journey is finished.  We have traveled over 5000 miles on Aunt Aggie, made so many wonderful friends, seen new places, experienced weather ups and downs, and laughed together daily.

Today we went the final 56 miles to Grand Harbor at the top of the Tombigbee River.  We went through the Pickwick Lock.  Anne Murff went with us.  Phil had the day off and toured the area by car.

U.S. Grant stayed in this house during the Civil War. 

One day his breakfast was interrupted by a messenger, who told him the Battle of Shiloh had begun.

Martha and Anne in the Pickwick Lock.  We went up 55 feet.

As we walked to dinner at Freddy T's tonight, the sky was stunning.

Tomorrow I will write more about the end of our loop.  I have some fun numbers and observations to share. We will stay at Grand Harbor for two nights to do laundry and organize ourselves for the last few days on Aunt Aggie.

Rolling on the River

 Two barges passed each other behind us on the river this morning.

Anne and Murff took the day off the boat today.  They visited Shiloh and ate lunch at the Catfish Hotel.  Then they rejoined us in the afternoon.

We left Cuba Landing at 9:00 am and headed further south about 43 miles.  It was a beautiful day.  We had glassy water and no trouble all day.  We did meet a few barges, but there was no drama all day. Here are a few photos of the land beside the river.

These white cliffs come straight down to the water. 

I wonder how the round earth discs were shaped by erosion.

Around 2:30 pm we pulled into Clifton Marina.  There are several other loopers here.  We hosed off Aunt Aggie immediately because once again we had lots of spider poop.  And we had just cleaned the 

boat two days ago!  We have a new cleaner that really works, so we sprayed the poop and washed it off.  By the time we finished, Anne and Murff were here.  

Anne and I walked to town.  We actually walked for 20 minutes in the wrong direction and then came back to the marina and took her car to town. (Being on the loop has not improved my sense of direction.)  Clifton was not as charming as I had hoped.  It had some city services:  fire, post office, bank, general store, spa, and churches. It had fresh brickwork and sidewalks. Most doorways were decorated for fall. Water Street borders the river and has fine, large homes. However, there was not a single restaurant open today.  One bar/restaurant is open on Friday and Saturday in the evening.  It is hard for small towns to make a go of it.  Our loop has in some ways been a tour of small town America. 

Tomorrow we cross our wake at Grand Harbor at the top of the Tombigbee River. 

Tennessee River Trip

Phil Murff is a happy camper on Aunt Aggie.

Today we traveled from Paris Landing on the Tennessee River to Cuba Landing about 50 miles south.

Anne had a day to herself in the car, and Murff traveled with us on Aunt Aggie.  We had a quiet day with glassy water.  It was beautiful. We passed many fishermen.  We were waked once by a fast boat.  Flashlights and peanuts and water glasses tumbled, but no harm was done.  

We enjoyed having Murff with us.  He is a cheery passenger.  Murff makes sharp observations and is curious about the world.  He appreciated the lake, as we did.

Our main issue was getting in touch with the marina.  They are closed on Monday and Tuesday, so George finally called their emergency number to ask if we could tie up at their dock.  I felt as if our needing a spot for the night was not a true emergency, so I didn't want to do it.  George had a good chat with the owner and got directions for us.  

We passed this abandoned grain elevator on the lake. 

It was on the river bank when the lake was created in 1944, and now it sits in the middle.

Three more floors are beneath the water.

When we pulled into the marina, we saw the open dock.  I lassoed the middle cleat.  Murff roped the stern one.  We were quickly set up. Soon Anne came walking down the dock to join us. She had ice, a rare treat.  This is a quiet, rural spot.  The bathrooms/showers are up the hill.  It feels like Girl Scout camp, which is a pungent and sweet memory for me.  

We had happy hour on the front of the boat to avoid the sun's rays as it set.  As we were enjoying our chips and dip, a huge TVA tow came into the marina.  Fishermen scattered to get out of the way.  The tow pulled even with us but on the other side.  They are here for the night.  A guy came out on the deck to grill supper.  

The TVA tow sits across the way.

A tiny frog appeared this afternoon.  Did he come throughout the hole in the deck?  

Should we toss him over?

We had a great  dinner of pork chops, corn on the cob, and salad.  Now we are settling in for the night. So good to be with friends. Tomorrow Anne and Murff will have a day to themselves: They plan to visit Shiloh, the Civil War battlefield.  Anne also is excited about a catfish restaurant for lunch. We'll have separate adventures and then see each other at the end of the day. 

Kentucky Lake

A good friend, Kathy, stopped her morning chores to say good-bye to us this morning.

We grabbed lots of hugs this morning as we left Green Turtle Bay to head south.  Red Eagle was going to Colorado.  We were leaving our friends, Kathy and Kenny and Sue and Dan, at least for a while.  Anne and Murff came along for the trip today as we headed south to Paris Landing Marina in Tennessee.  We were on Kentucky Lake all day.  It is beautiful and bordered by green.

Murff is a happy passenger on Aunt Aggie on Kentucky Lake.

Anne is serene on the fly bridge as we head south.

We had a quiet and beautiful day of travel.  We went 45 miles and pulled into the marina. Kathy and Kenny had just delivered the Murffs' car.  What a sweet errand!  They are dear friends. We got another Kathy hug, and they went off to explore the "Land between the Lakes."  Island Office was here too, so we invited them over for docktails. Anne and I had a field trip to Piggly Wiggly.  We got the supplies we needed, but we were both feeling relieved that we don't live in a small town. After our visit with Denise and Mark, we prepared a Mexican feast.  Now we are all having a bit of quiet:  Anne is reading; Murff and George are playing online bridge; I am writing and waiting for a phone call.

We said good-bye to Sue and Dan this morning.

We plan to see them in the winter at Marathon.

Celebration Sunday

Jesse and Linda Williams of A Bama Dream.

We are in celebration mode here on Aunt Aggie.  

We started our Sunday by saying good-bye to Linda and Jesse on Bama Dream.  They will cross their wake this week in Guntersville, AL.  We plan to see them again at the RV show in Atlanta in November.  

After reading the Sunday paper, we had brunch/lunch with Kathy and Kenny from No Zip Code at the cafe on the hill.  We had planned on ordering the omelets, but we arrived too late for breakfast and had to settle for BLTs instead.  Kathy and Kenny offered to drive the Murffs' car 45 miles south on Monday, so the Murffs can travel with us on the boat.  

We spent a few hours cleaning the boat.  We tackled spider poop and webs and leaves and dirt from locks.  Aunt Aggie looks much better.  As we were finishing, Sue and Dan from Tranquility came back from a trip home to Connecticut.  We were so glad to see them.  We had already planned to cook dinner for them and had a pot roast bubbling in the crock pot.  

Anne and Murff, friends from Atlanta, arrived an hour early, just as the sun was returning to Kentucky. They will finish our trip with us.  We unloaded their car,stored their stuff on the boat, and 

began our visit. 

We had a yummy dinner with the Murffs and Sue and Dan.  Our worlds collided with good friends from home meeting good friends from the loop.  Sue and Dan invited us to join them for a week in Marathon this winter.  Having plans to see looper friends makes our leave-taking easier.  

We managed to stay up with the Murffs till about 9:00 pm (Looper Midnight).  I forgot to write the blog, so that's why I am playing catch up this morning.

We are headed 45 miles south to Paris Landing Marina today.  Kathy and Kenny are bringing the Murff's car, and Anne and Murff will take a river cruise with us.  

Football Saturday

This is a photo from October 7, 2014, almost a year ago.

We stayed in downtown Chattanooga for our first night on the loop.

Today is cold and grey and misty in Kentucky.  We are at Great Rivers, Kentucky, the land between the lakes.  The Lakes are Barkley Lake and Kentucky Lake. We did a lot of laundry and made lots of plans this morning.  We are trying to coordinate finishing our loop, getting the boat cleaned and ready to sell, renting a car to get back to Atlanta, checking on our Atlanta house closing, and scheduling movers.  We made progress by spending a good bit of time on the phone and the internet.

Loopers gathered on the dock this morning to chat and exchange stories.  We met Canadians who are doing their second loop on Something Special and got to catch up with Penny Pinchin', whom we have not seen since Lake Michigan. We also had a visit on No Zip Code with Kathy and Kenny.  Lady KK pulled into the slip beside us.

We ate our Patti's Restaurant leftovers for lunch. This afternoon we went over to watch the Alabama/Georgia football game with Bama Dream.  It was fun to be with Jesse and Linda.  The game was classic Alabama:  strong defense and exciting offense.  Jesse yelled, "Roll Tide!" twice out the door of the boat.  There was lots to cheer.

I'm sorry there are no photos today.  The day is dreary, but we are cozy on Aunt Aggie.

Our weather is supposed to improve on Sunday.  Our friends, Anne and Phil Murff, are coming tomorrow to join us for our last looping days.  We will say good-bye to Linda and Jesse and then do some major boat cleaning in preparation for company.

Captain George on October 7, 2014.

Obviously the weather was warmer last year on the Tennessee River.

Green Turtle Bay Marina in Kentucky

 Most of the Cumberland River is lovely and green.

A few places are bare and industrial, like this stone quarry.

When we passed this, I started singing the John Prine song, "Daddy,

won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County, down by the Green River where Paradise lay?

Well, I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking.

Mr. Peabody's coal train has hauled it away."

We had an easy day, cruising on the Cumberland River just 34 miles to Green Turtle Bay Marina. It
was cloudy, and the wind was about 14 mph from the north.  However, the last half of our trip was heading south, so we were warm on the fly bridge.  We traveled again with Red Eagle.  When we arrived at Barkley Lake Lock, we came right in, so that was quick.  We arrived at the marina at 2:00 pm, got a pump out, and moved over to our slip.

We took the golf cart to town to buy groceries.

We are on a dock with about 20 looper boats.  It is a celebration for us and for Bama Dream.  We both will cross our wakes next week.  We started about a week apart last October, and now here we are, finishing at the top of the Tombigbee River in a few days.  Being here with so many old and new friends is a treat.  The dock is full of friendly faces, storytellers, helpful boaters.  Before we had even tied our lines, Bama Dream, No Zip Code, Knot too Big, and Lee Loo came over to say hello.
We will miss these people and this community.

Jesse and George outside Patti's.

Tonight we went to Patti's for dinner with Jesse and Linda from Bama Dream. Patti's is another locally famous restaurant, known for their pies and their 2' high pork chops.  They sent a van to pick us up from the marina. As we were eating, we were interrupted twice to sing "Let me call you Sweetheart" to couples celebrating their anniversary.  One couple was there on their first anniversary! The food was delicious, and we brought home enough meat for another meal.  We have left over coconut cake for breakfast too.

We will be doing some laundry and cleaning tomorrow.  Then we'll watch the Alabama/Georgia football game with Bama Dream.  We want to play some cards with them too.

We are feeling satisfied in many ways this evening.

Coconut cake for dinner and breakfast.

Long Days on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers

On Wednesday, 9/30/15, we left Kaskaskia Lock and went 110 miles south on the Mississippi River.  The sky was mostly cloudy, which was good:  We could see the instruments, and we and they did not get overheated.  The sun came out for a beautiful sunset reward.  

We met three tows pushing 72 barges before 8:30 am.  They are small cities coming at us.  We call them, ask which side to be on, and then wait for the barges to turn, so they don’t run over us.  Most tow captains are friendly and clear.  Sometimes they sound uninterested, and that is scary.  One guy came within 15 feet of us in the afternoon.  Much too close. 

Sally Archer pushing 28 barges.

We traveled today with Red Eagle.  They were good partners:  attentive and humorous and energetic.  We chatted a bit in the anchorage across 20 feet of water because we were not good at rafting up.  Maybe tomorrow we can do better.  

We saw some strange sights in the Mississippi River today.  Tows and barges run the place, but other individuals leave their mark.

These kayakers rigged a sail using their paddles.  They cannot see where they are going.?? 

These two guys are paddling in a canoe. They started on the Mississippi in

Minnesota.  We have passed them twice. They are headed for New Orleans. 

Here we see a swimmer on the Mississippi River.

There are some gutsy folks out there. 

Sunset on the Mississippi River from our anchorage on the side.

Thursday, 10/1/15, we left our anchorage at 7:00 am and just had 7.7 more miles on the Mississippi.  When we turned north onto the Ohio River, the change was sharp:  We lost our speed because we were traveling upriver, dropping from 12 to 7mph.  We also felt the cold north wind.  The Ohio is more beautiful though:  It is blue not brown.  There were lots of tows and barges again.  

Headed north on the Ohio River

On the Ohio River we have to go through the Olmstead Lock, which is under construction, and also Locks 53 and 52, which are quite old.  They are being replaced by the Olmstead in a few years.  Loopers tell horror stories of waiting for hours to get through these spots.  We were lucky.  We moved through the Olmstead construction and Lock 53 without stopping.  I think the Lockmaster wanted to clear us out of the way because he was manipulating about 20 tows.  He was like an air traffic controller, moving them around and giving them information.  We followed Red Eagle and another pleasure boat.  The Lockmaster directed our path orally from his tower.  Yahoo!  We were through the whole area in an hour.

Construction site for the Olmstead Lock

Then we drove 20 miles to Lock 52.  There we waited for an hour and took a half hour to lock through.  Not really bad, but it is hard to wait in open water with barges moving nearby.

After Lock 52 we drove by Paducah, hoping to stay on their city dock.  They have a dock out for boaters sometimes.  It was not there today, so we kept moving for 11 more miles to the Cumberland Island Towhead. The wind picked up, and the sky turned grey.  We were tired.  It was 5:30 before we found our spot for the night.  We only went 67 miles today, but our day was longer than yesterday due to the lack of current with us and the lock.  

This is a lovely, quiet spot behind an island.  Just we and Red Eagle are anchored here.  The lapping water is soothing us.  We are tired and proud and happy. 

Here is the view from our stern of the anchorage with Red Eagle behind us.

Rainy on the Mississippi River

Where is the river?

On Monday, 9/28/15, we were ready to leave Hoppies at 7:00 am, but fog covered the river. Everyone on the dock stayed put and relaxed. I cooked fried eggs and toast, and we read our novels. We waited until 10:30 am to exit: The fog had lifted, and the sun was out. 

All the barges and tows had been waiting too, so the river was filled with action.  We pulled out of Hoppies in front of a tow.  “Come on, Captain,” the tow captain said when George asked if it was ok to come in front of him. 

The Captain Shelby House viewed from our stern.

We came up behind the tow named the Captain Shelby House, which was pushing 21 barges of coal, and George called to ask if it was ok to pass him.  “It’s ok with me, Captain,” the tow replied in a lackadaisical way. When we started around him on the “One” we saw two other tows coming at us on that side.  One seemed small.  He just had three or so barges.  The other was waiting in the curve.  He had lots of barges.  As we chugged around Shelby House, the waiting tow started up and came to us too.  We were a barge sandwich.  George proved his worth around the barges and tows today.

We drove 40 miles to tie up at the Kaskaskia Lock.  This is an easy stop.  We don’t have any services, but we are all on the same dock and can visit. We are with the four other boats from Hoppies: LeeLoo, Red Eagle, Grand Baron, and Knot Too Big.  After naps, we all had docktails together and chatted for a couple of hours.  It was fun to share stories from today and other looping days.  

Looking down the dock at Kaskaskia Lock, toward Aunt Aggie.

On Tuesday, 9/29/15, we decided to stay on the Kaskaskia dock for the day since it was raining.  Thunder storms were predicted for the afternoon.  Three of the boats left around 8:30 am.  We stayed with Red Eagle.  No one else arrived, which surprised us.  

We had a quiet, rainy day.  I read a ton, and George did some engineering. We had phone and internet service, so we chatted with lots of friends and family. At 4:00 pm we walked down the dock and played cards with Sherry and Saxe on Red Eagle.  It was fun to be off the boat and to get to know them better.  They both have military backgrounds, so our lives have been quite different.  

We came back to Aunt Aggie and cooked dinner and watched House of Cards.  We’re eager to get moving this morning.  

Note:  Aunt Aggie is now listed with Curtis Stokes.  You can see the listing at http://www.curtisstokes.net/trawler-mainship350-aunt-aggie.html

If you want a loop-ready boat, give our broker a call.  

We're at Hoppies Marina.

Inside the Mel Price Lock on the Mississippi River

We had great locking experiences this morning.  We left Alton Marina at 7:10 after talking to the lock master at Mel Price lock.  He told us he could lock us through at 7:30.  And he did!  We were in this huge lock with one other trawler, Journey, from Knoxville.  Then we motored another couple of hours and went straight into the Chain of Rocks Lock.  It was open with the green light flashing.  Woohoo!

At this point we were entering the St. Louis area. It was super busy with barges and tows.  We were lucky to be moving through on a Sunday.

Gateway Arch frames the city.

We arrived at Hoppies Marina around noon. Hoppies is a series of barges tied together and tied into the stone cliff at the town of  Kimmswick, Missouri.  Hoppies is famous to loopers.  It is a must stop on our trip.  We filled up with diesel and then moved around to a spot on the barge.

This is a panoramic view of Hoppies from the top of the cliff.  Aunt Aggie is at the far right end.

We walked into town to have lunch at the Blue Owl Restaurant, which is quite famous for their levee high apple pie. I had fried chicken, and George ordered chicken fried steak. All orders come with mashed potatoes. We also got green beans and salad.  Sadly, we were too full to order the pie.  There was more to town than we had expected:  lots of shops for tourists; several streets full of charm.  On the way we passed the Anheuser Farm with well tended horses.

There were seven horses in various fields. 

 This display sits outside the restaurant, celebrating their 30th year in business.

After the rich lunch, we returned to Aunt Aggie and greeted more arriving loopers. We also took showers, naps, and read.  Around 5:00 pm all the loopers met with Fern, the dock master, for her chart talk.  Fern tells the boaters where to anchor on the Mississippi River below Hoppies.  She has been doing this for many years.  Hoppie is in the hospital today, and Fern had been there with him, so we thought we were not going to meet her.  But she came to the dock and gave us advice and answered questions. She is a treasure.  Everyone took photos of Fern.  After her talk, we sat around and discussed our plans for tomorrow.

Fern (on the right) with a fan.

We will be anchoring out for the next three nights, moving down the Mississippi, the Ohio and onto the Cumberland River. We are traveling with Lee Loo, a boat we met last week. We may not have internet coverage or cell coverage.  So do not worry.  We will make notes and share the highlights once we arrive at Green Turtle Bay on the Cumberland River. We plan to be at Green Turtle Bay by Thursday.