The full moon was out and beautiful last night. The temperature stayed warm. The day was sunny and temperatures again rose to the low 90s with a moderate amount of humidity. The "feels like" temperature index was 106!
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If you read the weather summary above you know it was hot. But we were fortunate in that there was a strong breeze and it was coming right at us so we were relatively cool most of the day.
We needed fuel and had to wait until 8:30 to get going. But we only had one lock which shouldn't be bad, eh? But wait - we had to wait a while - an hour and a half - which is not bad compared to other tales that I have heard. But it still was no fun holding the boat in position.
But the good news that it was Sunday and the barge traffic would be light right? - wrong. We had more barge passes than any other day by a wide margin. Each pass was uneventful, but I have to say that it is tiring to be looking for them and tracking to see where the pass will occur.
I know I have many more barges to pass but I will admit I am not liking the river travel. There have been some nice tree lined areas and several nice stops but there are a lot of industrial areas - with the majority of it being abandoned facilities - which adds to the unattractive factor of the river.
On a positive note, both engines are again running calm and cool. We were thus able to run about 8.9 knots that, with the current, carried us over the ground at a speed of nearly 11 mph. Our run was 38 miles. Even with the late start and lock delay we arrived in Havana (IL) at Tall Timbers Marina at 3:45. Bob is the owner, builder and manager of his marina. Wonderful fellow and very accommodating.
The town is a nice small town. We decided to treat ourselves to dinner at Babe's. A good local pub type of establishment in the center of town - about a 10 minute walk.
There was even a Dollar General store from which we bought some basics.
Got to get crack'n on planning for tomorrow, so time to say ........
Good Night and May God Bless
As you might remember, we found the river system to be our least favorite part of the Loop, as well. Hopefully, you will enjoy much of the rest.
ReplyDeleteStay well!
Duane and Diane on m/v Diva Di
Hi Duane
ReplyDeleteYes I do remember. If you read tomorrow's post you will see that we stopped at Buckhorn Island. I had to smile when I saw your review as I was checking it out on ActiveCaptain