TIME TO FLY!

Tomorrow Free Bird takes flight down river!  We are so excited to finally be heading into new territory.  All has gone as expected.  We are sitting in the shadow of the big Horseshoe Casino, literally!  That big building in the background is actually floating and it not only casts shadows and blocks our cell phone signal - but it also blocks the south wind.  There are curses and blessings in everything.  We went in there for drinks and dinner Monday night.  Quite the place...

I had a hard time getting the security people to let me take my camera up top to take this picture of the boat.

  

Seems those gambling folks are a little uptight. HA!  Anyway, we did make it home to get Molly.  She is adjusting beautifully so far.  We met 2 other boat cats today, both boy cats - Capt. Jack and Oliver.  Surprised to meet so many other folks with cats - it is great!  

Our Galley (Kitchen)

We cleaned all day, stowed away all the stuff we brought (half of which we probably don't need) and met 4 other Loopers.  This Looping community is really neat.  There is a members-only discussion forum that posts to our email inboxes daily where other people doing the loop talk about their experiences, their successes and their troubles.  It has been invaluable already as that is how we got together with the other sailboats who were interested in shipping masts and got that whole thing figured out.  Now all of us who are "North" yet are watching the daily movement of the down "South" boats and how they are getting along.  There has been quite a bit of flooding, lock delays and back ups along the Illinois River so far.  We are leaving around 8 in the morning and taking the Cal-Sag with 2 other trawlers.  There are 2 more trawlers that are going to take the Chicago River route.  All 5 of us are hoping to be tied up in Joliet tomorrow evening.  We have 2 locks to go through and many bridges to go under before we get there.  Better get to bed, good night!