Official Loop start in Grafton, IL, St Louis Arch, to Paducah,KY on the Ohio River

Monday we had a smooth ride from Two Rivers Marina in Louisiana, MO to Grafton Harbor in Grafton, IL. Went through 2 locks no wait! Now we are officially on the Great American Loop route!! This is where the Mississippi River meets the Illinois River. Many loopers are coming down the Illinois River and we met a few! Grafton Harbor is right downtown and in a word Grafton is "FUN". It's all shops, bars, and restaurants. The marina is huge and it also has its own restaurant and pool. Highlights were Grafton Winery, Aeries Sky Tour (gondolas) up to their restaurant and amazing views, and then the Oyster Bar at the marina.

After staying in Grafton Monday and Tuesday it was time to have an issue checked with the electronic shifter as it was having trouble going in reverse. We found a wonderful marina just across the river in St. Charles, Missouri called Uncharted and they were able to work on it and fix it on Wednesday and they had a nice marina we stayed at until Thursday. An even bigger bonus was that we were able to see good friends, John and Jo Hoscheidt, who had moved to St. Louis a year ago! Amazingly they drove 50 minutes to pick us up, then 20 minutes back to beautiful historic St. Charles, then took us back and had to drive back home. It was so kind of them and they also treated us to dinner at the Main House. So grateful to them and so enjoyed seeing them. We were hoping to get them on the boat to continue on to Alton and St. Louis but their schedule didn't permit. We hope they join us on some part of the Loop!

On Thursday we took a short journey to the Alton Marina in Alton, IL still upstream from St. Louis. The next 2 days we would need to anchor as there are no marinas so needed to stock up on a few supplies. This is a very nice marina and we're glad we had time to see it. We also had our first "dock tales" which is a meet and greet with fellow loopers. We were invited to this through the Nebo app and we were planning for the next day to travel together through 2 locks and seeing the St. Louis Gateway Arch so we could get the coveted photo of our boats individually under the arch. Tim and I walked to dinner to nearby Bluff City Grill and also watched the Padres/Cubs game.

Friday we saw Downton St. Louis , including the Arch! Before downtown we needed to get through 2 locks so it was helpful to have 7 other boats and it helped that the cruise ship American Serenade was traveling through so they put us with the cruise ship. Left at 7 and didn't get to the Arch until about noon due to the lock waits. The arch was fun to see and get the photo. Still made it way south to a popular anchorage, the Kaskaski Lock Wall which is just off the Mississipi toward the Kaskaski River. They are under construction so just anchored there whereas in the past loopers were allowed to attach to the wall. It was again 93 degrees and so took awhile to cool the boat down. In addition, our generator has a possible leak so will be getting that looked at when we get to Green Turtle Bay. There were 2 other boats anchoring there also.

Sorry for the long blog but did a lot of moving this week. Saturday we finished the Mississippi and anchored just before the Ohio at Angelo Towhead. On the way there we passed Cape Girardeau, Missouri, home of Rush Limbaugh. Would have loved to stop and see the town, however they have no place to dock so that was disappointing. I got a photo of their nice flood wall with the town name on it. With the heat again in the 90s and the generator possibly leaking with a strong diesel smell, we have not enjoyed the anchorages. But we made the best of it, and left early Sunday so the we could get to Paducah to a marina with power and water so wouldn't need to use the generator. We were very blessed to make it through the Olmsted lock on the Ohio with no wait and no other boats. This was amazing because there a tons of barges that go through there. Thus we made it to Paducah by about 3. Very nice pier to attach to with power and water. Paducah has a beautiful river front and has flood walls that they have decorated with murals on the city side. There are tons of restaurants and museums. We were able to tour the National Quilt Museum as recommended by Tim's Aunt Sandy , who has made quilts all of her life and they are amazing! Also caught up with fellow looper from Lindsay Park Yacht Club, Todd, who we had dinner with. Due to rain forecast we only spent the one evening there and left early the next morning to head to Green Turtle Bay Resort in Grand River, Kentucky on Monday morning. More on that next week as this blog has been too long!! It will be nice to stay several days in one place.