Mike and Beth's Adventures

Welcome to Alton Illinois. This is where the Illinois River meets the mighty Mississippi River! Alton Illinois The Alton Marina is protected by a tall rock breakwater, over which the you can just see the tops of the boat sheds.  This is a good spot to stop, provision, top off fuel, do laundry and complete your preparations for travelling down the Mississippi to the Ohio River. The entrance to the Alton Marina is on the downstream end of the breakwater.  That would be to the right in this picture. We were so happy we were assigned a covered slip.  We were experiencing a hot spell and it was wonderful to be in the shade!  As soon as we connected to shore power, the air conditioner quickly brought the cabin temperature down to a comfortable level. The "Walmart Grocery Delivery Caper" Our friends on Currently used their online app to order their groceries from Walmart and have them delivered to the marina.  The drill is the driver calls from the parking lot, you met...

Beth celebrates our crossing of Mobile Bay November 21st, 2021 Lulu's Jimmy Buffet's sister, Lulu, has a place on the Gulf Intra-Coastal Waterway (GICW) that is a wonderful stop to reward yourself for having completed the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and successfully made the transition from fresh to salt water.  She has thoughtfully provide guest dockage so you can tie up just outside.  It is easy to find on the north side  of the channel in Gulf Shores Alabama.  The timing is great too.  We arrived just after the lunch crowd departed, around 2pm.  We could see other Loopers were already in the attached Homeport Marina.  So overnight berthing is available too.  We recognized the names of boats whose crews we meet while travelling the inland waters. I'm a happy camper So what do you have to eat?  The menu had many good items, including lots of seafood choices.  In my mind though, the choice was obvious.   I didn't even need a m...