We left Grafton at 8:45 for a quick two hour trip
to Alton. We are now officially on the
“Upper” Mississippi River which is very muddy and has a lot of debris and barges. Another historical fact – Alton was
the site of the 7th Lincoln Douglas debate on October 15, 1858. Another fact: My good friend George Ott was born in Alton. We spent two days in Alton. Jane and I walked into the town one day but didn't find much. Most of our time was spent in the pool and hot tub. We had a Looper pot luck dinner the last night with Marv and Connie (Sadie Too), Bill and Kellirae (Ocean Dancer), Jeff and Rhonda (Rhon-da-vous), Jack and Jane. Ron and Michelle (Spirit Journey) came in late and just visited for a few minutes before heading to dinner. We left Alton at 7:00 Wednesday and headed for the two locks of the
day. We got right in the first lock but
would have had about a 3 hour wait at the second except someone in a training
class came down to let the pleasure boats through (the tugs always get first priority). We passed the Arch in St. Louis and docked at
Hoppies at 12:30. Ocean Dancer was right behind
us. We all walked up to the town for a
good lunch at the Blue Owl (famous for its apple pie thanks to Oprah). After
lunch we walked through the town. There
were quite a few unique gift shops (check out the picture of the hat below). There
is also a very pretty small horse farm previously owned by the Busch family that has been
donated to the city for the use by handicapped children. The owner of Hoppies, Fern, is known far and wide by all Loopers. Fern knows all the ins and outs of traveling the Mississippi River and has a captain's meeting in the afternoons to keep everyone informed of conditions along the River.
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