Mike and Beth's Adventures

  Sunset on the Ohio River After enjoying a quiet night in the Cape Girardeau anchorage on the Mississippi River, we continued southbound on the Mississippi.  The current was running at a good clip, so we made rapid progress downstream.  The 4-5 mph current boost was bumping our speed up to 11-12 mph and doubled our fuel efficiency.  You have to love that! Just before the intersection with the Ohio River, Old Miss does a squiggle that adds miles to the trip. This was her affectionate way of saying "I hate to see you go...!" Ohio River - Against the Current We encountered numerous tows on the lower Mississippi, and double that amount on the Ohio.  I have never seen a larger concentration of tow boats and barges anywhere else.  Barges, both full and empty, were parked in large concentrations on both sides of the river. Our travelling companion, Titan, is being followed by a small tow boat. We were part of a multi-boat flotilla for this section of the trip....

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...