“Carp Captives” Finally Escape

 

Sunday, August 30^th

 

We made the decision to be “Carp Captives” no more and to cross the fish barrier.  We had to get approval from the Coast Guard first and then line up the tow.  We had secured reservations with Artco, the tugboat company, to tow us through one at a time.  We left our dock at 7 a.m. and four boats traveled together.  

 

About ½ mile up river of the restricted zone, we held our position until it was our turn.  We were second in line, and I don’t think I could have made it through this thing if we were any further back in the pecking order.  The uncertainty and anxiety almost did me in.  My stomach was in knots for hours!   Finally it was our turn, and it turned out to be a piece of cake (but one that cost $600!!).

 

We set out 6 lines and 5 fenders on our port side.  Roger nudged us against the “Buster White tugboat (no easy task with the river current).  We tied up and then Roger disconnected the batteries, and made a “dead boat”.  Roger, Louie and I boarded the Buster, signed a “hold harmless” form (yes, Dave Brush, I signed one, talk about desperate!!!), paid our $600 and stayed in the galley talking to the crew as the captain brought us through the fish barrier.  It ended up being a “non-event” after all of this!  The captain and the crew were so nice and genuinely felt bad that we had to pay for this crossing.  

 

We motored down the river a little further and Al Castenada, our friend from Chicago, called us on our cell phone.  He & his kids were on a bridge, making sure we got through the fish barrier ok.  That was so great to look up behind us and see them on the bridge!  

 

Next on our list of encounters was the Lockport lock.  Roger motored around waiting for our turn to enter the lock – for the second time that day we had to hold our spot and I’m going to tell you that is exhausting.  The lock dropped us down almost 40 feet and we were the only boat in there. When the lockmaster opened the doors, there were a bunch of boats and barges hanging out and we had to maneuver in between them.  About 2 miles down the river, we caught up with Barefoot Shoes, the first boat to cross the fish barrier.  They were tied up on the wall in downtown Joliet, IL, along with 2 other boats that went through the day before.  

 

We could go no further because…..guess what!!!  Another new obstacle!!  The railroad bridge in Joliet was broken.  So, we broke out the cocktails and greeted 3 more boats as they tied up to the wall with us.  Everyone was so relieved to be down river, although stuck once again.  The big excitement for the night was a huge fire on the left bank just past the railroad bridge.  We were hoping the bridge wasn’t on fire, (oh wouldn’t that have been great?) but we think it was a tire recycling company.  Completely exhausted, we went to bed at 8:30 last night.

Monday, August 31th

 

Roger & I took our morning walk, exploring Joliet.  Hmmmm.  Can’t wait for the bridge to get repaired.  We watched a helicopter drop (actually deliver) a motor onto the bridge, so hopefully that will be completed today and we can get going again tomorrow.  There are no amenities (i.e. marina) here.  Thank God we have a shower and a head on our boat, because it’s a little like camping.  And the blinds do come in handy!  

 

Do you realize that we have only completed 2 days of travel on our itinerary?  I hope to God we can get to Florida before Christmas this year, and not Christmas 2010.  I guess we’ll just hang out here all day with the other 6 boats and have another excuse to have a cocktail party tonight.  

Tuesday, September 1^st

 

Good news!  The railroad bridge is fixed.  We got on our way again this morning, and got about 45 miles down the river.  It was a gorgeous day, as you can see by the photos.  There wasn’t too much barge/commercial traffic, but we did have to wait a long time at the locks.  We went through 3 locks and each time rafted up to our fellow “Loopers”.  

 

Roger and I split off from them for a night and got a slip in Heritage Harbor, in Ottawa, IL.  It’s only 2 years old, and a beautiful spot, very rural and quiet.  We will be up early tomorrow because we have to go about 64 miles and there are not many options at this point of the trip.  If you look at the map, you would be amazed to see how close we still are to Chicago and Indy for that matter.  It’s going to take a long time to get to Florida!