Photos of Crazy Eights Damage

So here is the bad and the ugly news - We're sure it'll look good as new next week before the boat is launched!

Days 122 - 123, Oct 2nd - 3rd, Beardstown, IL to St Charles, MO

Getting up at o-dark-thirty is not one of our favorite things to do - and especially if it's cool, too. It was going to be a long day so, we didn't turn the alarm off when it sounded.

There was a beautiful sunrise - my photos are usually of sunsets! This one IS a sunrise; trust me. Note the tow on the right side of the photo - our "neighbor" on the barge.

As we proceeded down the river, it began to get foggy. There were several boats headed with us. At times we could barely see the one in front of us. As the day progressed, Loopers would drop off to stop for the night. When we passed the point where we had planned to stop with Great Escape, it was early and we decided to push on another 22 miles for Grafton Marina.

At 2:30P we were passing a tow with 15 barges when suddenly we hit something. We didn't see it before we hit or afterwards; however, it was a hard hit. The port
engine started vibrating pretty badly. Of course, we'd been going faster in order to pass the barges so the damage done was greater, we soon found out. Once clear of the barges, we slowed down to mitigate the vibration.

An hour later the starboard engine began overheating. Rich shut it down and went below to investigate. We had lost all of the coolant from the starboard engine. He couldn't see any broken hoses or determine the "why."

I called the harbor master at Grafton Marina and advised him that things had deteriated since we'd last spoken. We would like to assigned an end tie or an easy dock since we were coming in on only one engine with a bad propeller. As normal in these situations, the wind had come up so docking was going to be more challenging! Joe was there to assist when we arrived and my Captain brought the boat in famously.

Further investigation that evening determined that we had a fresh water pump fail. Luckily, we had a spare on board so Rich fixed the starboard engine problem.

The next afternoon we motored a short distance to Block Marine in St. Charles, MO, and had the boat hauled. We fully expected to change our propellers, put on the spare ones, and continue on our way down the Mississippi. Not so.....we had sustained more damage than expected. Unfortunately, it involved a call to the insurance company to report our unknown obstruction in the water and begin the claims process.

The good news is that we've been told by several folks in the area that we are in the best yard. And our insurance company has responded promptly and has been very good in the claims settlement. The yard owner gave us a realistic time line for repairs from 2-4 weeks. It looks like it's going to be 5 weeks. The weather has turned cooler, of course in late Oct/early Nov, and that means they have less time each day that they can work on the fiberglass repair to ensure it dries properly. We want the job done right, so we're trying to be patient!

We rented a car again and drove back to GA. We've used the time to do some more unpacking at home and work on getting settled. That's been amazing. We downsized considerably. We disposed of so much stuff before we moved and have continued to search out places to leave more in our new area. And things look entirely different from one home to another, so I'm about done moving furniture around but continue to move pictures. Rich is about "over it" and won't do anything more until I'm absolutely sure that's where I want it! Sound familiar, ladies??!!!

We visited with my brother and wife again in SC. We all went furniture shopping in Hickory, NC, one Saturday (the guys loved that!). We came home with nothing - can you believe it?

We've enjoyed seeing my niece, her husband and their little Miss Olivia. They live about 15 minutes from us. My brother is only about 3.5 hours away now so it's nice to have family a bit closer.

This past weekend I flew to MN to visit with my Mom and family. My two sisters and I spent Saturday with Mom in the nursing home. Mom usually doesn't recognize family these days with her progressing ALZ. She was so happy to have "her girls" with her, though, and we think she really did know who we were. It was a special, heartwarming time to spend with Mom, though difficult. As my brother Dennis said, "Each day we lose just a little bit of our dear Mom"....sad, but true. She's healthy and happy in "her world". That's about all we can ask for at this time.

Days 120 - 123, Sep 30th - Oct 1st, Peoria to Beardstown, IL

After re-provisioning, turning in the rental car and cleaning the boat, we were off once again on "our Adventure."

The next morning we waited two + hours to lock through at the Peoria Lock. As time passed, several more pleasure boats arrived. Later two other boats and Crazy Eights anchored behind Quiver Island. I'll point out that the IL River is commercial, with few facilities for cruisers. Our chosen anchorage was next to a coal loading dock. The bottom of the river was mud and the banks weren't much better. Finding an "appropriate" area to land the dinghy so Mr. Reggie could go ashore was no easy feat! Getting in and out of the dinghy was even better - it's a good thing that I saved those high boots from our sailing days to keep my feet dry!

When taking Reggie ashore there were a couple of pretty large fish that jumped out of the water right next to us. Wow! Did you see that? Well, on our way back, all of a sudden we had one of them jump right INTO the dinghy - yeh! He was all bloody; flopping every which way. Yikes! Where did he come from? How to get rid of him! This is no FISH STORY - this guy was 24+ inches! After several attempts, Rich successfully grabbed the tail & flipped him back in the water. We assume that he had hit the motor prop on his way in & bloodied himself and our dinghy. What a mess!

I vaguely remembered reading something about jumping fish. Well, it seems that Asian Silver Carp are REALLY quite the problem. Catfish aqua-farmers on the lower Mississippi originally introduced the carp into local waters to feed on algae and other surface plants in the 1970's - another good idea, gone bad. This invasive species has managed to work it's way up the Mississippi River and into the Illinois River, now posing a risk to the Great Lakes. Their real threat is their rapid rate of reproduction and size. They can reach 100 pounds and 4 feet long! They're big eaters and threaten the Great Lakes Ecosystem and anywhere else they can be found. Measures are in place to keep them from entering Lake Michigan. Read more at: http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/invasive/asiancarp/

The carp become agitated, or excited (not sure which!) by the motors and they jump towards the noise. It's not uncommon to see them jump 6 feet in the air. The local fisherman actually wear helmets and other protective gear and carry baseball bats when they go out fishing!

If your calendar is clear for he first weekend in Aug next year, we can provide you information on the Redneck Fishing Tournament in Bath, IL. The locals tell us this is quite the event - people drive for miles around just to watch! This year more than 3,400 carp were caught in one day - double from the year before. The rules are interesting - The winner is the boat with the most carp in the boat at the end of the 3 hour contest. The only gear allowed are hand-held dip nets. Protective head gear, baseball bats and rain gear (for slime protection) are optional!

Anyway, our personal experience with Asian silver carp made for some interesting conversation over a glass of wine with our fellow Loopers that evening!

After some "fun" anchor drill the next morning, we left the anchorage before they began moving the big barges around or worse yet, filling them with coal. We headed for our next "picturesque" accommodation. We tied up to a barge called Logsdon Tug in Beardstown, IL, sharing the big barge with several other Looper boats and a couple of tows. Hey, things are improving! After climbing the steep steel stairs that are open (don't look down!), we walked to town and had lunch with friends on Great Escape, whom we'd met way back in Oswego, NY, and then again along the way in Manitowoc, WI. It was fun to catch up and compare adventures!

By the way, they travel with a yellow lab. They were in the anchorage with us the night before. They have to use the dinghy hoist to hoist their doggie into/out of the dinghy. We thought that was pretty ingenious! It still amazes us how many Loopers travel with pets.

Sun, Sep 16th - Thur, Sep 20th "On the road again!"

We drove from Peoria, IL, to my brother Chuck's home in Ft Mill, SC. We readied the bikes and were off! We spent the next glorious days seeing the back roads and mountains of GA, TN, KY, VA, NC and SC. The weather couldn't have been more perfect - what gorgeous countryside. The entire area is one our most favorite. We had a grand time - even worked in a couple of games of Hand and Foot. I hate to mention that I think we gals were on the losing side!

If you look closely on our bike photo, you can see a carrier sitting up behind me. This is where Reggie rides. He's quite the trooper - he loves to ride on the bike. I'm not sure if he'll be ready to go again REAL soon. This was a pretty aggressive trip - we covered just over 1,500 miles in 5 days!

We stopped by Sara & Jason's (my niece) for an overnight or two because we were also home to close on our new home on Sep 24th. We've decided to live the lifestyle of Del Webb/Pulte's Village of Deaton Creek in northeast GA. There were a couple of walk throughs that had to be completed before closing.

Our stay at home was short. Our goal was to unpack enough boxes so that we could get Rich's truck in the garage. My car and the bike and trailer are temporarily stored at Chuck's in SC. We closed on Mon and by Fri our goal had been met. We even got paper shades up on all of the windows and met several new neighbors!