We left Ottawa at 7:00, again to try to get a jump on the
only lock of day, and again, the lock waited for the other 3 boats to catch up
before locking us through. After that,
it was smooth sailing. The scenery along the Illinois River turned to farmland with grain elevators and barges dotting the landscape. We dodged some pretty severe looking showers
late in the afternoon and docked at the city dock in Peoria for the night,
along with Sid and Evelyn (Something Special - from Canada). On Friday, we left Peoria at 7:45 to get to the first lock by
8:30. Once again, our plan didn’t
work. We waited until 9:30 before
entering the lock and pulled out at 9:45.
The rest of the day was very pleasant. The weather was great and the Illinois River
was very relaxing. We anchored out in a beautiful spot for the
night, Bar Island, and ate leftovers on our back deck. The anchorage was very peaceful and the stars
that night were beautiful. On Saturday, we left Bar Island around 6:45, once again get to our one
lock for the day. Fortunately, we got
there and entered the lock with no waiting.
We met several barges during the day.
It was a long day and we docked at Grafton Harbor Marina around
4:00. Grafton Harbor is where the
Illinois River meets the Mississippi River. Sunday was a day of cleaning and waiting for the
courtesy car to run some errands. Jim and Kellirae (Ocean
Dancer-only on the loop 8 days) came over for docktails and we all went up the hill to Aerie's Winery for
dinner. This is a restaurant at the top of a hill. It is billed at the best view
in the Midwest, and they were right. The
view was breathtaking.
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