SAT, SEPT 20 - WATER'S GOING DOWN, ANXIETY GOING UP!

ENTRY FOR SATURDAY, SEPT. 20 –

The river is dropping pretty quickly now.  The marina we are in we would not be able to in if the river was at “pool” level, which is the normal level of the river. We knew that coming in yesterday and were hoping the water would stay up a bit.  Rain was in the forecast but it was supposed to be mid-80’s.  We have hardly felt that all summer!  Cousin Karla offered to pick us up and take us to the grocery and hardware stores.  John needed a new fitting for the faucets on the swim platform which were leaking a bit and I needed to reprovision the galley.  When we returned, the first thing John did was check the depth of the water in our slip.  It was 6’1 feet   when we pulled in yesterday; it was reading 4’2 feet!  We have a little fudge factor built in there but not much.  Yikes!!  Time to get out of there as we have a depth of 4’10.  We brought the depth concern to the attention of the crew of RodALee who we knew also drafts 4”10.  Checked again with our handheld depth sensor and decided it was time to make an unscheduled departure.  We unloaded the groceries, showed Karla the boat and basically said we gotta go.  I went up and spoke to the harbormaster who kindly refunded our slip fee we had already paid for the night.  The folks there were super and just could not have been nicer.  So off we go, to where we don’t know!  Rain was threatening but looked like it might pass to the North.  It was already 2:30 so we didn’t want to go too far.  We knew there were free docks downtown Peoria but assumed with Oktoberfest and all they would be full.  Called the harbormaster and he thought there would be room for both boats so headed there.  There was an anchorage listed just across from it in case it didn’t work out.  As we reached the dock area we again ran into the Nina and the Pinta.  Their masts were up and they were moored to the South docks and giving tours.  

We found just enough space for the 2 boats to dock.  We pulled in first to make sure it was OK and then helped RodALee in.  The only problem was there were no cleats in the dock and nothing to tie to.  We improvised and got it to work.  

How nice it was to be right downtown and it was free!  Only drawback is the bridge noise, lots of it.  We were a block from the Oktoberfest grounds and right in the heart of the city.  Looper boats Estrellita, Fruitcakes (love that name) and our French Canadian friends Seamont were also tied up on the South docks.  

Looks like another night of German festivities for us!  Back to the land of bands and beer we go.  We hung out with Loopers and Karla and once again had a great time.  I still have that “chicken dance” song running through my head.  I didn’t know that had German roots, I thought they only played that at Iowa weddings!