ALTON, IL to KIMMSWICK, MO / Tuesday, September 6 (Day 229)

Admiral's Log:     7:15 am, 9/6/16
                         Air Temp:   75     Water Temp:   74
                        Winds:  8 mph
                       Speed:   13 mph

Another early start so we could to get to the Mel Price Lock and not have to wait too long. Four boats; Ocean Commotion, No Schedule, Copper Penny and us, made it in the lock at 8 am. This was our first lock on the Mississippi, which is normally a 24 foot drop but it was only 3-4 feet for us, which shows how much change there can be on the rivers!

Chain of Rocks Canal, very narrow!

This is one of the better locking experiences. Tugs go in one chamber, pleasure boats go in a separate chamber. Chain of Lakes Lock and Dam, 6 ft. drop.

The Mississippi is pretty ugly, a lot of debris, very busy and industrial, but the one good thing is the 5 miles per hour current. Normally, at 1400 rpm's, we run 13 miles per hour. But on he Mississippi at 1200 rpm's, it was 14 miles per hour. Mike loved that part!

Crazy whirlpools on the Mississippi, the current is moving so fast!

Confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. The red line is the state line between Illinois and Missouri.

Ex St. Louis Rams stadium

Home of Budweiser

The Arch, almost as cool as cruising by the Statue of Liberty.

We got to Hoppies Marina in Kimmswick Missouri around noon. I would not exactly call this a marina. It is several barges tied together and is the last fuel stop for 250 miles. Only about 10 boats can tie up there at a time. Fern Hopkins is known as the "guardian of the upper Mississippi". She is probably 80+ years old, chain smokes and it shows. But she is a legend on the Loop. She is very knowledgeable about the river and holds a "meeting" everyday at 4:30 to tell boaters how the river is running; high, low, current speed etc. She updates about the locks, barges and weather. Hoppies is a must stop for Loopers, no only the information, but the experience.

Boats on the barge at Hoppies "Marina"

GPS of Hoppies, and the water color is pretty true!

Very interesting Marina.

Fern is on the right, imparting her "wisdom".

When we arrived we had to wait for Morningstar II, Chica and several other boats to leave before we could tie up. After we docked, Mike and I and Bill and Mary Lou from Ocean Commotion walked to the Blue Owl for lunch. It's pretty much the first "southern" restaurant we've been to in a long time. They even had "sweet" tea! They had awesome desserts too. One even made it on Oprahs' favorite things one year.

The tall brown pie is called "Levee High Apple Pie" as seen on Oprah!
 Haha, quite the endorsement!

Anniversary Quilt at the Blue Owl

We grilled brats for dinner and early to bed for we had another long day tomorrow. There is just not a lot to see on the rivers and not a lot of places to stop. So you pretty much go as far as you can for a few days then you can get back on a decent schedule.