Loopers visit Alton Marina

This month of September is busy with our favorite group, The AGLCA Great Loop as groups come down the Mississippi enroute to Great Turtle Marina on the Cumberland River.  The two must stops on the rivers are Hoppies Marina about 50 miles from Alton where there is fuel, water, and a cute town within walking distance.  Best of all they can meet Fern, owner of Hoppies. She and her husband have owned and operated the marina for decades and she knows all about the river downstream and is kind enough to share that knowledge with the Loopers as  they set on the 200 miles with no services or marinas.

Loopers leave Hoppies and make about 50 miles per day requiring anchoring out on the Mississippi and also on the Ohio.  The two locks, Lock 52 and 53 sometimes are backed up with the tows pushing barges to the Mississippi and from the Mississippi up the Ohio.  When the river is higher, they sometimes lower the wickets and boats can simply pass over the lock without stopping.  Now the river is low so they must wait for their turn in the locks.

Every day, new Loopers come to the marina so Maggi and I wander the docks in the afternoon to look for newcomers. We invite them to Robert's 5:30 briefing about going down the river.  We get phone calls and emails from Loopers letting us pass on their experiences for the others behind them.

Our land house goods safe in a big storage unit near Absarokee Montana

Robert gives a briefing every day at the marina about the trip down the river

The Orinoco Readies for the Bahamas

This is September, 2013.  After being away from the blog for a couple of years, we are getting ready to head south in October.
September finds the mariners at home on the good ship Orinoco having sold the house in Idaho and moving all the remaining items in storage in Montana.  Now we are free to roam the rivers and oceans at will with no house to worry about all winter.
This is Looper season with many boaters sharing the adventure of the Great Loop coming down river from the Great Lakes and Chicago on the Illinois River to join the mighty Mississippi.
We are currently at the Alton Marina which is the finest marina anywhere!  We are proud to serve as Harbor Hosts for the AGLCA (America Great Loop Cruisers Association)and as such we meet and greet fellow loopers and introduce them to the interesting things around town, take some to the grocery store and to Mac's Restaurant for the $15 steak.
Robert is installing a water maker for the Bahamas so we can anchor out and be independent of the expensive water we have to buy in the Bahamas.