One week out!

Well we are surprising ourselves and still speaking and having fun! In fact last night was probably our most fun day and night so far! We have now moved down the river and have made our way to Illinois! They even had a welcome sign on the river for us! Iowa is indeed the LONGEST state ever! We have now managed to go thru every type of lock and dam that we will encounter. Most have a 10 foot drop but today we went thru one with a 38 foot drop and a new way of securing the boat while dropping, a floating bollard. The last 2 days we have had no issues with barge traffic and were able to get right in and keep moving. So much easier then high wind and waiting for 2 hours. We have also found the sun and each day we encounter warmer temperatures. Tomorrow may even be a shorts day for the girls! Yesterday we stayed in Keokuk, Iowa and crashed a party at the marina. We met so many fun and interesting characters. Judy was able to do a toilet drop of her camera and half of the night was looking for rice in the kitchen to dry it out! We think a new camera will be on her Christmas list. We tried our first "surf board" shots and that was interesting. They have shot glasses glued to a surf board and everyone needs to tip the board at the same time and drink them. Unfortunately for Judy she is quite a bit shorter then Jim and ended up wearing most of hers. We pulled into the Marina and met 2 boats that are from the St. croix area. Great people and one couple followed us to the same Marina in Louisianna, Missouri...even though the welcome sign was for Illinois. Tonight we are at Two Rivers Marina. The colors still amaze us as we sail down the river and we have had fun watching for bridges, casinos, and houses on stilts. Judy is busy reading interesting gossip from magazines, I'm busy with my Christmas stocking projects and the boys can talk for an hour about the locks and dams. We are happy with our progress and are looking forward to week 2 TOGETHER! Again we are at the mercy of Internet connection so please be patient and keep checking!

Day 5 Sabula, IA to Muscatine, IA

BIG Barge Day 4

Catching up!

Turns out we are at the mercy of the Internet connection! We have made a steady movement forward though not without a few issues! Yesterday we had a day of delays. The rain and fog delayed our journey, then when we came to the locks and dams everything that could go wrong did. We would call the lock master and find out if we rushed if we could beat the barge and find out that we could, so we would "rush" and then wait for 2 hours. Which meant nothing other then wasting gas as we all know isn't cheap....nor am I! After a few harsh words at the air we got through! Three locks later we were in our "home" for the night in a slip for the night with no one there and no power. Generator on, it was our chili night on the boat with a good cigar for the boys and a good bottle of wine for the girls. Good movie, good food, good wine, good cigars.....priceless! So far, so good!! So far no one has been sent to the dinghy! The barges have been apparent and a challenge but also part of the river journey. This life style has been unique, challenging, boring, and exciting. The locks and dams a nice break in the day but also hard work and exciting. Today we picked up "hitch hikers" that rode through the lock with us and were from St. Paul, going from St. Paul to New Orleans, in a canoe, eating an expired strawberry pie that was given to them for free, and obviously a real treat on their journey! They hope to get to New Orleans by mid Nov. Makes our journey seem simple in comparison. Tonight we are staying in Fairport Landing and we were lucky enough to find "Bill" and get a drive to Walmart...far more time then HE was thinking and by the time Judy and I came out he seemed "angry"....what's that about???? We had dinner and found a couple of local girls to play video games with and have jello shots. After dinner we finished our laundry at the washer behind the "the blue" door and drying in the dryer outside the building...yes outside! The boys took their shower behind the "red" door and Judy and I decided the boat in the morning would be "priceless"!! If we have internet connection tomorrow we will post again but thank you for following us on this journey. It has been incredible! And tomorrow is a new month with unbelievable possibilities!! We will post pictures from today's journey but putting this all together is still a challenge.

In The Beginning....Bon Voyage

3 days of fun!

Wow Wednesday already! And our motto for today.....RAIN RAIN GO AWAY!! Another cloudy,rainy day leaving LaCrosse and today we are hoping for Guttenburg Iowa. Our routine seems to be leaving around 8:30 or 9 depending on the weather conditions and the fog. We try to end the day around 4:30 or 5 and we of course, have a Captains happy hour! On our boat the deck hands are allowed an occasional cocktail of choice but the Captain does not have that opportunity. The rules are strictly enforced by all! Yesterday we managed 5 locks & dams. Today we will be going thru 3. So far we have been able to go thru in about 15-20 minutes. No waiting and usually we have been able to free float because we have been the only boat. We expect to encounter a few barges today which will change time and complexity of going thru. Again we are surprised and thrilled with the fall colors appearing on the river. This is a 6pm update and we did indeed experience a 2 hour wait for a lock and dam with a huge barge coming thru. Yesterday we didn't mention the fact that we almost went under a bridge that was to low for our boat. After calling the bridge master we were told we would fit and as we drove up we realized we were to high and had to back off til they opened the bridge. A little tense for a minute but a unique experience. We have included a picture, now that we have figured that out. Tonight we are experiencing the real river life in Iowa of all places. We also have included a picture of where we are staying on the river. If this is cheap I get to go shopping in Florida! Another great day!