Sept. 30, 2012     Day 142   Green Turtle Bay       Total miles to date:  3084.33

How nice to stay put today! We are so content to be here!  We spent the morning “getting organized” and part of the afternoon doing grocery shopping.  We did not get the boat cleaned, but tomorrow is another day.

Joe and Tara, Seabatical

Dinner at Patti's with
The Zone and Seabatical

At 4:30 we went with Laura and Ross on The Zone and Tara and Joe on Seabatical to Patti’s Settlement.  We wandered around the grounds checking out the water fountains, gardens, miniature golf, remote control boats, climbing wall, and maybe a gift shop or two while we were waiting for our dinner reservation at Patti’s.  We had heard about the good food and large portions and we heard right!  We came away thinking we should have walked back.  We had a fun evening sharing Looper stories and eating way too much food – pork chops and mile high pie!  Patti’s is a must stop in Grand Rivers!

As soon as we returned to Green Turtle Bay, we discovered three more Loopers had arrived: The Bubble, Water Music, and Great Laker.  We spent some time visiting with Debbie & Joel on Water Music and then Anne & Larry on Great Laker before returning to our boat.  It is so good to keep meeting new Loopers and it is so much fun when we discover we know the same people!

Sept. 29, 2012  Day 141     Green Turtle Bay         Total miles to date:  3084.33

Following The Zone passing a barge
on the narrow Cumberland River

We pulled anchor at 7:30 this morning and left the Cumberland Island Towhead. Within ½ mile we left the Ohio River and headed into the Cumberland River. The Cumberland is very narrow and winding and we were happy to see very few tows on it. We did see several blue herons, two bald eagles, and a turtle! 

One of many herons we saw today

 

Laura & Ross, The Zone

We had a fairly short day with about 32 miles to travel. We arrived at the Barkley Lock and waited a few minutes for it to open and then we locked through with The Zone as we were lifted up 57 feet.  We exited the lock and headed directly into Lake Barkley and into Green Turtle Bay.  We went to the fuel dock for a pump out and then went to our slip – it looks like Looper Row!  There are nine or ten Loopers here. We met some of them for the first time! At 4:30 we got together for docktails at a gazebo near the dock with The Zone, Loopy Kiwi, Seabatical, Gemini Dream, and Took the Plunge.  Phil from Loopy Kiwi, bought his guitar and provided great entertainment!   We went to a very nice dinner at the Commonwealth Yacht Club with Laura and Ross from The Zone.  Then they came back to our boat for an after dinner drink.  By 10:00 we all called it a night.  We had a good visit, but we are still tired from our travels on the river the past few days!

We are very happy to be here at Green Turtle Bay for 12 days!  There are many amenities here at the resort and in the nearby towns. Grand Rivers, KY is only a mile away, accessible by courtesy car, golf cart, or by foot!  We will check out everything soon as we prepare for the arrival of our two oldest grandchildren. Ashley, 10, and Nathan, 8, will arrive on Wednesday and spend a week with us!

September 28, 2012 Day 140    MM  923.5     Total miles to date:  3051.83

Following another pleasure craft
into Lock 52

Bill handling the stern line in the lock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our hopes to reach Green Turtle Bay were dashed by a long wait at Lock 52 today.  We got off to such a good start. We pulled anchor at 7:40 a.m. after talking to the Lockmaster at Lock 53. They had lowered the wickets at the dam earlier in the morning so we were able to drive right over them and did not have to go through the lock. That was such a time saver!  However, when we reached Lock 52, about 24 miles farther, at 10:55, we were told to wait, but we were not told how long.  We waited with The Zone just “treading water” for an hour and then decided to anchor. Twenty minutes later we got the call to go into the lock. This is a dual chamber lock and we were in the smaller chamber with two pleasure crafts.  The lift is only 12 feet, but it was a slow process filling the lock and we did not exit until 1:15! 

Anchored behind The Zone
at Cumberland Island Towhead

We knew we could not get to Green Turtle Bay until after dark because we would still need to go 32 miles and through one more lock, and locks are unpredictable!  So, we decided to anchor at Cumberland Island Towhead, 1/2 mile from where the Ohio and the Cumberland Rivers meet.  There are no good anchorages past this point when we get on the Cumberland.   It is at least quiet here and protected from the tows and barges. 

We will travel to Green Turtle Bay tomorrow and stay there for almost two weeks.  A welcome retreat and a favorite stop for many Loopers.

Dinner on the grill tonight!

September 27, 2012 Day 139        Lock 53     Total miles to date:  3051.83

We experienced more firsts today!  This is the longest day we have traveled on the Loop: 135.5 miles in 12 hours and 10 minutes!!  We left the Kaskaskia Lock at 6:50 this morning just before sunrise under overcast skies. We made the decision this morning to go to Olmsted, which is the new lock and dam under construction on the Ohio River, and we planned to anchor there.  There is another closer anchorage at Angelo Towhead on the Mississippi near the junction of the two rivers, but we decided not to stop there behind the sand bar.

We took advantage of the current on the Mississippi and also increased our speed to make the destination before dark.  Of course when we reached the Ohio River the current was against us, so we went from 12 to 7 mph.

Following The Zone into the Ohio River

The Zone took the lead most of the day today with Bill still contacting all the tows on the radio.  There were many more tows today on the Mississippi, especially near Cape Girardeau, MO. 

We took turns at the helm today

We left the Mississippi River at 4:40 pm and entered the Ohio River near Cairo, IL.  When we got near Olmsted, Ross and Laura called Lock 53 to get permission to anchor at the Olmsted Lock. The Lock master suggested we go past there and anchor near the dam at Lock 53.  We anchored at 7:00 pm safely out of the channel, and happy to be secure for the night.

We had pizza for dinner and relaxed after our marathon day on the rivers.

We reached another milestone today – we have now gone over 3000 miles on the Loop.  We hope to reach Green Turtle Bay tomorrow if we can get through Locks 53 and 52 without a long wait.  Stay tuned!

September 26, 2012 Day 138   Kaskaskia Lock   Total miles to date:  2916.3

Passing one of many wing dams!
 

The Dredge Potter

We waited for a break in the rain this morning and left Hoppies at 10:15 with Ross and Laura on The Zone.  Since we have AIS, we took the lead and contacted all the tow boats.  There were fewer of them out today!  We also passed many wing dams and made sure we stayed in the channel. Even so we still experienced some of the whirlpooling effect.    

Carried Away at the
Kaskaskia Lock Wall

We pulled off the river and arrived at the Kaskaskia Lock and Dam at 2:15 and tied up to the lock wall.  By then it had started raining again.  But, we were glad to be there as there are very few places to stop for the night.  Our 42 mile day seems short to what we will experience tomorrow – we will get back on the Mississippi and travel over 100 miles and will have to find a good anchorage. We only have 12 hours of daylight!

We had dinner on board and called it an early evening since we will leave at daybreak.

September 25, 2012  Day 137   Kimmswick, MO Total miles to date:  2873.9

Kimmswick!

And these are just the
shops on one street!

Our day began as planned. We were in no hurry to leave for Kaskaskia because it was just a four hour trip. So, we walked the half mile into Kimmswick.  It is a lovely little town with several gift shops and the famous Blue Owl Restaurant and Bakery.  But first we stopped at the quaint post office, only open from 9-12!  We needed to mail back a small package of tools our engine mechanic left behind in Peoria, so we were glad to find it open.  After walking past the shops (past, not in) we stopped for breakfast at the Blue Owl.  Then we stopped at their bakery counter to check out their pies for which they are so well known.  We came back to the boat with two half pies, peach and blackberry. We could not handle their apple pie which contains 18 apples and is higher than our refrigerator shelf!  We stopped to take pictures of the former country home estate (and now a museum) of Frederick and Mabel-Ruth Anheuser. He was the grandson of the Eberhard Anheuser, one of the founders of Anheuser-Busch Brewery. Outside the home is a well kept riding arena that is used by a non-profit organization. One of the horses walked over to the fence to see us!

The Blue Owl

As we were walking back to the boat, we were aware of the weather forecast for storms later in the day, and since Laura and Ross from The Zone were headed to Hoppies, we decided to stay another day.  One other boat stayed as well.  So, at 4pm we gathered with Fern again as she gave us the information we need as we head down the rivers.  We did not mind hearing it twice.


Pies, Pies, Pies!

One of the many lovely shops

We had dinner on board and then the storm hit, complete with heavy rain and wind and light hail. The storm eventually stopped and then came back again even stronger.

Anheuser Estate

Rain or shine, we will depart at 9:00 in the morning with The Zone for the Kaskaskia Lock.

September 24, 2012  Day 136    Kimmswick, MO     Total miles to date:  2873.9

Leaving the Grafton Harbor shortly after sunrise

We left Grafton Harbor at 7:15 under a sunny sky and with steam coming off the water, leaving the Illinois River behind as we entered the Mississippi River.  There were rocky cliffs to our port side between Grafton and Alton that commanded photos!

Rocky cliffs line the Illinois shoreline

The Spirit of Peoria was in Grafton!
We thought we were in the wrong place
 for a minute!

Our trip today took us through two locks, both with dual chambers.  The smaller chamber is used primarily for pleasure craft, and the larger for the tows and barges. We called the Mel Price Lockmaster and the lock was ready for us when we arrived, so we drove right in. Strangely enough, he did not close the gates for 30 minutes, then he did not lower the water for another 30 minutes! So what we thought was a quick lock through was not so quick!
Our 2^nd lock was the Chain of Rocks Lock (the one that had been closed for six days last week and created the huge backup of all types of boats). We waited about 15 minutes and then we were put in the smaller chamber with a working tug boat that had barges three wide.  All in all not a bad “locking” day!

The Gateway Arch
towers over the river

By 1:30, we passed the city of St. Louis with its famous Gateway Arch, completed in 1965 as a monument to the westward expansion of the US.  It overlooks the Mississippi River and attracts millions of visitors each year.  We did not make a stop in St. Louis this time. Many Loopers will go to a marina in Alton or St. Charles and drive into the city from there since there is no marina in St. Louis. 

The tows with their barges were everywhere today and we had to be vigilant. Bill was on the radio frequently asking them which side to pass. One tow captain he said he didn't care which side, just so we didn't run into him!  This is one busy river!

Carried Away at Hoppies

We arrived at Hoppies Marina at 3:30, our destination for the night. Hoppies is a must stopover for Loopers, partly because of location and partly because – well it is Hoppies. Fern and husband Hoppie have been there for 39 years, have taken over the work from his parents, and their children will do the same one day for them.  The marina is comprised of three barges that boaters tie up to.  They also have power and water available.  Each day Fern holds a training session on what to expect as we head down the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee, and Tombigbee Rivers to Mobile. She gave us advice on anchoring, passing tows on the winding river, locks, warning us of dangers etc.  While there we met a young man who had arrived by kayak – he was going all the way to New Orleans!  We invited him to join us for dinner, but he need to go farther than Hoppies today.

We had dinner on board (the well known Blue Owl Restaurant, along with every store in Kimmswick, is closed on Mondays).  Joyce finished the laundry and Bill imported Fern’s notes in his chart planning. 

We will depart in the morning for the Kaskaskia Lock which is a 42 mile trip.

September 23, 2012  Day 135   Grafton, IL       Total miles to date:  2758.5

Today was a fun day. Joyce’s sisters, Carole and Sharon, arrived about 10:30 and spent the day with us. We toured the boat first then after an early lunch on board Joyce took then down Main Street in Grafton.  They stopped and shopped at the flea market, a few antique stores and gift shops.

Carole, Joyce, and Sharon

When the ladies got back to the boat around 3:00, Bill was ready to take everyone for a boat ride (after we stopped at the fuel dock)! We ventured out into both the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and enjoyed seeing several other boaters out on a Sunday afternoon. One of the Looper boats, Memsahib, was on its way in to the Harbor.  We haven't seen them since Ludington, Michigan!

After our boat ride we came back and had dinner onboard (gotta love the crock pot for making things easy!). We had a turkey dinner and enjoyed the Carole's yummy Pear pie that she brought with her.  They needed to leave shortly after dinner so we walked them back to their car and said good bye. We hope they can join us again soon.

We briefly chatted with some of the other Loopers before returning to our boat. We will leave tomorrow morning for Hoppies but unfortunately they all have to stay here longer. Two of the boaters are waiting for parts to be delivered! They will catch up with us in Green Turtle Bay in a few days.

 

September 22, 2012  Day 134   Grafton, IL       Total miles to date:  2758.5

Fun Name for
local Barber Shop

A day of rest was welcomed after our long trip yesterday.  We walked down Main Street in Grafton and stopped in one of the wineries and a few of the shops. Then we saw a sign for a Barber shop and Bill got his hair cut!  The lady barber knew all about the loop and she and her husband plan to do the loop in three years!

Winetasting!
Left to right: Carried Away, Attitude Changer,
The Zone, and Catmandu

At 4:00 we got together with Loopers on The Zone, Attitude Changer, and Catmandu for a wine tasting.  The names of the wines were certainly interesting and we had fun tasting a variety of red and white wines from the Grafton Winery.  Afterwards we watched the local Pirate Ship come into the dock ready to go out again for a tour. The owner took a Gibson houseboat and built a frame around it to form the pirate ship.  Then we stopped at the Grafton Harbor Restaurant again this evening for salad.

Pirate ship neeeds fuel too!

We made reservations at Hoppies for Monday, so we will leave here early Monday morning with Laura and Ross on The Zone.  We also changed our reservations at Green Turtle Bay to arrive on Friday. 

Grafton is a small town but is very active! There are many bands playing in the restaurants this weekend and there are many people out on their boats.  We also saw people heading to the Zipline about ¼ mile up the hill.

Two of Joyce’s sisters, Carole and Sharon, are driving to Grafton tomorrow to spend the day with us. They had planned to go to Green Turtle Bay but we cannot get there early enough. We are happy they can at least make the visit tomorrow and look forward to seeing them! 

September 21, 2012  Day 133     Grafton, IL          Total miles to date:  2758.5

We made some milestones today!  This was our longest travel day of 88.4 miles and we also completed the Illinois River when we arrived at Grafton Harbor which is mile marker “0”. 


We disturbed the pelicans!

The Marquette Hilltopper
3 wide and 5 deep!

Many  uprooted trees
along the Illinois River

We untied ourselves from the barge at Logsdon in Beardstown at 6:55 this morning and arrived in Grafton almost 10 hours later at 4:45 this afternoon. We encountered calm seas, clouds, sunshine, storms with thunder and lightning, gusty winds, light winds – in other words a little bit of everything!  We also passed several tow boats with barges today – the largest being three wide and five deep. 

Beach volleyball
on the Illinois River!

We had good luck again today at the LaGrange Lock – we entered with two other pleasure craft and didn't have to wait!


We saw many houses like this
on stilts - it does flood here -
but not this year!

There were three other Looper boats (The Zone, Took the Plunge, and Jet Stream) here today when we arrived and we were so exhausted we turned down an invitation to get together with them.  That must be a first!  We will do better tomorrow!  We had dinner in the restaurant at the marina as we were too tired to cook or go any farther. It was a good choice!

We will call Hoppies tomorrow and see when we can get in there. Until we know that we cannot make any plans to move down the Mississippi.

September 20, 2012  Day 132   Beardstown, IL  Total miles to date:  2670.1

We left Peoria! Our starboard engine is fixed and running better than ever!! We are happy to be on the water again and made an easy 74 mile run to Beardstown today. There was very little boat traffic – we passed one tow and barge and very few other boats.  The water was very calm when we left but the wind kicked in by mid-afternoon and we had 1½ ft. waves on the Illinois River!  We also had just one lock today - the Peoria Lock. When we arrived it was open for us, thanks to a phone call ahead of time. We did not have to tie up, but just floated in the middle with another small pleasure craft! We made the trip in 8 ½ hours by running at 9 mph which is faster than normal.

Tied up to a barge!

Another view of the barge next to us

Lots of steps to climb to the office

We are tied up to a barge at Logsdon Tug Service right on the Illinois River.  It is really a pretty neat experience.  One of the tow captains helped us tie up and then invited us to visit the flybridge of his tow.  There are no services here but we are grateful for a place to tie up for the night, and we can run the generator!  They charge $1.00/ft (cash only), so Joyce made the big climb up the steps to the office.  This setting just adds to the adventure we are having!

The ELCO - we toured this towboat
before it went back out to work!

There are three other Loopers here: Bama Belle, Attitude Changer, and Catmandu.  They arrived earlier in the afternoon and were here to greet us.

We had chili for dinner, then Bill plotted the course for tomorrow. Our plan is to make the long trip to Grafton. It is supposed to rain, but the forecast for Saturday is heavy winds, and we would like to get there before that and stay a few days.  If not, we can go to Hardin and tie up at a restaurant overnight. The other Loopers that are here are planning to do that anyway since it is closer.

We have heard good news that Lock 27 at Granite City is now open but there are reportedly over 44 tow boats lined up and only six got through today. There are Loopers stacked up in Alton, St. Charles and Grafton, so we will be part of that as well, delaying our planned arrival into Green Turtle Bay. 

September 19, 2012  Day 131      Peoria, IL      Total miles to date:  2596.0

Let’s see – this is night #6 in Peoria!  The boat has been rocking all day long in 20 to 30 mph winds! No other boats showed up today but that is not a surprise. This would not have been a good day to be out on the water. 

We had a very nice offer from the staff that runs the Spirit of Peoria River Cruise Boat that is docked here. They brought their hoses down to our boat and filled our water tank! We were so grateful for that as we were getting very low on water.  Joyce also received a wonderful offer from college friends Cindy and Dave Brown to drive over from Bloomington-Normal to take her to WalMart. That was so appreciated.  One hour in WalMart was productive enough to fill the back of their SUV.  Many thanks to Cindy and Dave for taking time out of their busy day to take Joyce grocery shopping! It is nice to know there are many good people out there!!

Another full day with the diesel mechanic.  But, at 6:45 pm the starboard engine started and no white smoke appeared!  At 7:30 he wrapped up everything and called it a success.   Hooray!!

Joyce spent some time calling marinas this morning and planning the next few days. Other Loopers have made it into Tall Timbers Marina in Havana, IL but the owner told us that really don’t have enough depth for us and he would not advise stopping there. So that means a 74 mile trip to Beardstown where we will tie up to a barge at Logsdon Tug Service. There are no services there but we will be able to tie up for the night a $1/foot. It is a common stop for Loopers!  After that we will make another long trip to Grafton, IL which is a large, full service marina. Our first stop there will be at their fuel dock!

We have been waiting for news updates of Lock 27 by Granite City which was closed earlier this week. We have heard that it may be 7-10 days and we have heard it may be only one more day until it reopens. We like the latter idea! The tows with barges are backing up on the Illinois River as are the pleasure boats.  Even if we had gotten that far, we would be stopped there – so we were stopped in Peoria instead!

 

September 18, 2012  Day 130      Peoria, IL      Total miles to date:  2596.0

We are now on night #5 in Peoria!  I think we may have to start paying property tax here or at least change our voters’ registration.  Once again the Loopers who arrived yesterday (Attitude Changer and Bama Belle) departed this morning.  (Spending one night on the Peoria River Walk wall is normal). 

Joyce did more reading to pass the time.  She also walked five blocks to what she was told was a grocery store to find out it was less than a mini-mart.  She came back empty handed but at least got a little exercise. (There is a WalMart across the river. That means taking two city buses each way and she wasn’t sure it was worth it!)

Bill spent another day in the engine room with the Caterpillar mechanic who installed the new gasket.  The engine had to be taken apart so it is a long process.  We will definitely be here again tomorrow!  Once the engine is back together they have to put fluids in and run tests, etc… Bill is pleased with the expertise of the mechanic and the fact that he is meticulous.  We are now hoping to leave Thursday!

Joyce managed to get a roast in the crock pot before the work began this morning, so that made dinner easier.

We are posting a picture of the broken gasket – an obviously break in the center! 



Our blown gasket!

 

An Asian Carp hunter boat pulled into the dock this evening.
Notice the nets to protect the crew! They use bows to spear the fish!

September 17, 2012  Day 129      Peoria, IL      Total miles to date:  2596.0



Early morning fog!

Yes, our fourth night in Peoria!  This is getting redundant.  Other Loopers, The Zone and Why Knot left by mid-morning after the fog cleared and once again we were alone.  But by late afternoon, Attitude Changer and Bama Belle had arrived to take their place. 

The Riverfront area is considerably quiet today since it is Monday.  Joyce did some reading to pass the time. When the stairs are up to the engine room, access to the galley is blocked, which was the case most of the day.

In the meantime, Bill spent the day in the engine room with the Caterpillar mechanic who diagnosed our “starboard engine with the white smoke problem”. (You can tell which one of us writes the blog!) After ruling out some potential causes, he discovered it was a bad gasket – not a good thing to hear – we were hoping for something minor!  Hopefully the parts are available and they can get everything replaced soon.  We will definitely be here again tomorrow and maybe Wednesday.

We had dinner on board (frozen pizza does come in handy sometimes!) and watched television, something we have done very little of since we have been on the Loop.

September 16, 2012  Day 128      Peoria, IL      Total miles to date:  2596.0

Yes, our third night in Peoria! The four other Loopers who were here yesterday left this morning as expected.  We had a productive day by ourselves. Bill fixed the forward head and the Electroscan and Joyce did some cleaning.   She also talked to Sarah on Our Time to catch up on their news, to find they are in Grand Haven.

Two more Loopers, Ross and Laura on The Zone and Darrell and Lisa on Why Knot, arrived about 4:00 and we made arrangements for dinner at 5:30. Most of the restaurants near the River Walk were closed on Sunday so we went to Joe’s Crab Shack. We had fun sharing stories of our Looping experiences, from customs to going through locks, etc. We first met The Zone in Britt, Ontario, and we first met Why Knot in Charlevoix, so it was nice to see them again!

Darrell & Lisa , Ross & Laura, Joyce & Bill

We will have the starboard engine inspected early tomorrow morning and until we know the outcome of the findings, we cannot make plans. The weather does not sound great anyway so we will have to wait and see what that brings.

September 15, 2012  Day 127      Peoria, IL      Total miles to date:  2596.0

Saturday at the Peoria Riverfront was a busy place. Boats constantly came in and out of the harbor area.  Many people were just out walking and stopped by to ask us how we got from Williamsburg to Peoria. So, it was a lesson in geography as we traced our general path for them.  We were happy to greet more Loopers who arrived in Peoria today: Attitude Adjustment, Betty L, Copesetic Too, and Louise.

Copesetic Too arriving

These Asian Carp just fly up on the dock
when a boat goes by -
glad they are the small ones!

We walked down to the Riverfront Market which is held on Saturday mornings.  They have a typical farmers market, plus baked items, pottery, crafts, etc. We stocked up on a few things and chatted with some of the vendors.  We went back to the boat and spent time cleaning the boat and working on maintenance projects. 


 We are docked near the
paddlewheel tour boat, The Spirit of Peoria

Four of Joyce’s college friends, Daryle, Alan, Cindy, and Dave who live fairly near Peoria came to visit us this afternoon. After a boat tour, and relaxing over appetizers, we all went out to dinner. It was so good to see them again. We enjoyed sharing our Loop adventure with them and listening to their travels in Europe.

We will stay in Peoria until at least Monday morning when we have our starboard engine issues inspected.

Dinner with college friends,
Daryle & Alan and Cindy & Dave

 

 

September 14, 2012  Day 126      Peoria, IL      Total miles to date:  2596.0

Are we there yet? Such a long 11 ½ hour day! We traveled 79 miles, waited almost two hours to enter the Starved Rock Lock, and had to run on one engine most of the day! 

Early morning fog

However, the Illinois River was very calm, there were few boats out, and we saw deer and lots of pelicans. Joyce thinks she saw three Asian Carp also because they were flying out of the water behind the boat.  They were just small ones!  We saw some carp fisherman out in their boats with their spears!

Katie & Jessie on their sailboat, Louise

We passed this guy on our port side -
we always have to ask!

Pelicans!

We left Heritage Harbor Marina in Ottawa at 0645 and arrived at the lock at 0810. We were fortunate to be able to tie up to one of the large cells and turn off the engines while we waited for the tow and barge to exit the lock.  By the time we were ready to enter, Loopers, Katie and Jessie on Louise showed up and locked in behind us.

We had been having some starboard engine concerns shortly before the lock and even after shutting down the engines for two hours, it did not help. We had white smoke billowing out of the exhaust. Then the oil pressure started to drop and that is when we shut it down for the rest of the trip. Bill called Caterpillar Marine Services in Peoria (what better place to be when you have 3208 CATs than Peoria!).  They will see us early Monday morning to diagnose (and let’s hope fix) the problem. 

We arrived in Peoria around 6:20 pm and found space on the town dock wall.  There are signs here that say no overnight docking but many people have done it without being questioned.   There are several boats here. Now we have to stay here for at least three nights, but can’t really move until we get the engine fixed.

After we got the boat secured, we walked around looking for dinner. We almost ate at Joe’s Crab Shack but a policeman told us about the Octoberfest being held a few blocks away.  So we walked down there and had a nice German meal and enjoyed the music. The event is going on all weekend so who knows, we may try it again!