Sunday, July 15

Dinner with a view - Mississippi River - Duck Club Y.C.

Cooling off - Duck Club Y.C.

Jimmy Lee & Co. at 1860's Saloon

Soulard neighborhood - St. Louis

Main stage - BB's jazz, blues, soups

Lunch at BB's

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis

Saint Charles, MI.

What is it about mini vans & Charlie?  The Port Charles Marina has a courtesy vehicle that they kindly agreed to lend us for the day - this time it was a "later model" unit - a real beauty (maroon, 80k miles but an AC that works)!
By 10:00 am we were in Historic Saint Charles, MI. - their motto "Come and Relive the Early American Spirit". 
South Main Street with gas lights and brick paved streets is the largest designated Historic District in Missouri, featuring 88 restored buildings dating from 1790 - 1800's.  It served as Missouri's first state capital and notables who have called it home include Daniel Boone & Captions Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.  Today it features many specialty boutiques and eating establishments.
With our slightly outdated GPS, we were off to find Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.  Although confused in a couple of spots, it got us there - just in time for a brief tour before the Noon Mass.
Called by Pope Paul VI "the outstanding cathedral of the America's", it houses the world's largest collection of mosiac art.  There are 83,000 square feet of mosaic art designed by twenty artists and installed over a period of seventy-five years.  The mosaics were created with over 41,500,000 pieces of tile in more than 8,000 shades of color.  It is magnificent.
We shifted gears and headed for BB's jazz, blues, soups - although we were too early for the Sunday afternoon live music we enjoyed a great BBQ platter and banter with the bartender & cook - we have made it a practice at these establishments to eat at the bar where the locals are more apt to strike up a conversation with us.
Our final stop was to head over to the historic French neighborhood of Soulard, one of the oldest in St. Louis.  The streets are lined with red brick townhomes, many of which house live music clubs and unique restaurants.  We stopped at the 1860's Saloon to take in a set by Jimmy Lee & Co.  In the near 100 degree heat of the afternoon, there was not a better place to cool off than in this dimly lit tavern listening to some St. Louis blues.
A swim at the Duck Club Y.C. was in order after our day of touring - we have thoroughly enjoyed our brief stay at this friendly marina.

Saturday, July 14

Western point of the Loop

Large Tow below lock

Lock # 8 -  Illinois River

Yesterday we went from Ottawa to Havana, sounds like we are on a bigger Loop than we thought!
Today was a pretty uneventful (boring) day on the Illinois River - so the blog gets a new contributor.
How boring was it?  The twin highlights were reaching the westernmost point on the Loop (Valley City, IL.) and making it to the Mississippi River, in that order.

I'm bored

Sand Bar Saturday

We passed through our last lock on the Illinois (#123 so far), as a large barge tow was waiting to enter.  We were able to hear the stats that he gave the lock tender - the barge tow was 105 ft. wide & 1125 ft. long and had a total of 15 cargo carriers - three across and five deep.  It seemed pretty large, but we could be seeing barge tows 4X as big on the Mississippi.
It's hot & it's a weekend thus many more recreational boats are out.  After 123 miles we pulled into
St. Charles, MO................ luckily the marina had a riverside pool where we headed to cool off.
Certain parties are to be dragged off to tour St. Louis tomorrow.  Oh boy!

Friday, July 13

Main Street - Havana, IL

Forced out of the channel by this large barge

Graveyard for River Boats

We are now two days into the stretch of The Great Loop known as" Chicago to the Gulf of Mexico".  After cruising the open waters of the Great Lakes, it is somewhat of a relief to be in the comfort of inland rivers.

Henry's Marina inside an old lock

Mobile, AL. is approximately 1300 miles away from Chicago.  The current is mostly in the direction we are traveling with the exception of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, which flow in a northerly direction.  The biggest navigational issues we face (other than barges) are caused by flooding and that is not likely in this year of the Midwest drought.
The first section of this passage is the Illinois Waterway - Chicago to the Mississippi River (325 miles).  It consists of three parts - Chicago River, the Sanitary & Ship Canal and the DesPlaines/Illinois Rivers.
Beyond metro Chicago the shoreline is mostly undeveloped with a few towns, parks & industry scattered along the way.  We are surprised at how green the landscape remains despite the summer heat & lack of rainfall.  We stopped to fuel at Henry Harbor Marina which is uniquely located inside the remains of an old lock constructed in the 1870s.
We passed several large barges, some of which forced us out of the channel because of their wide beam.   A new experience for us was watching the Asian Carp come flying out of our wake.  The river is so overpopulated by this fish that an electric field has been constructed in the river to keep them out of Lake Michigan.

Barge traffic on the Illinois River

After cruising 120 miles we pulled into the Tall Timbers Marina in Havana, IL. Biking through the town it was immediately apparent that we were back in the Midwest when we passed a tractor pulling a cultivator driving down Main Street.

Thursday, July 12

Mural Lincoln - Douglas Debate - Ottawa, IL.

Merchandise Mart

12 miles of Hell

Leo Burnett & United Airlines Blds.

Marina City

Statue Lincoln- Douglas Debate- Ottawa, IL

Tribune Building

Wrigley Building

Today we officially ended our tour of the Great Lakes.  From Lake Ontario to the granite lined shores of Georgian Bay & The North Channel (Lake Huron) and the Eastern & Western shores of Lake Michigan, it was a magnificent cruising ground.  A person could spend a lifetime cruising these waters - our short visit left us tempted to return, but that probably won't happen.
Wanting to beat the tour boat traffic we entered the Chicago Lock on Lake Michigan (located just south of Navy Pier) at 8:30 am.  With our "A View from the River" ( The Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise Book) in hand, we leisurely headed down The Main Channel & The South Branch of the Chicago River.
Highlights included:
Tribune Tower (1925)
The Tribune announced a competition with a $50,000 prize - to design "the most beautiful and distinctive office building in the world".  The winning entry was a tower with a Gothic crown and flying buttresses.  The Tribune Tower's most popular feature is its base, where 150 stone fragments are embedded in the exterior walls.  At the request of Col. Robert McCormick, the head of the Tribune, journalists gathered fragments of historically significant buildings from around the world.  The pieces came from sites such as the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and the Alamo.
Wrigley Building (1921/1924)
This Beaux Arts architectural gem is an elegant monument to Chicago - and chewing gum.  The two buildings are connected by a sky bridge and once completed, it was Chicago's tallest building.  For a quarter, visitors could take an elevator to the tower observation deck for breathtaking views and a complimentary stick of Wrigley chewing gum.
Marina City (1964)
Bertrand Goldberg's vision for the modern American metropolis.  When completed, it consisted of two residential towers, an office building, a bowling alley, swimming pool, health club, restaurant and stores.
Leo Burnett Building (1989) & United Airlines Building (1992)
These two buildings are examples of Postmodern Architecture - a style that mixes elements of traditional architecture with the modern.  Both buildings take inspiration from the classical column.
Merchandise Mart (1930)
 Marshall Field & Co. built the Merchandise Mart to centralize and modernize its wholesale merchandising which was scattered in 13 different warehouses in Chicago.  The enormous facility, over 4,000,000 square feet of space, was the largest commercial building of its day.  The Great Depression forced Field's out of the wholesale market and the $32 million investment stood half empty until it was purchased by the Kennedy Family in 1945 for one-half of its original cost.  What goes around, comes around - sounds a lot like our current real estate market.
Once through "the good stuff", at the intersection of the Calumet River and the Chicago Shipping Canal, we entered what is known as the "Twelve Miles of Hell".  It is every canal boater's nightmare - a narrow channel with a great deal of commercial traffic and no place to hide.  We got a dose of this, but it could have been far worse.
The Illinois Waterway then joins the wider Des Plaines River which merges with the Illinois River where we navigated a series of four locks that lowered us a total of 120 feet.  The boat traffic gradually became less commercial and more recreational the further we got from Chicago.  After ten hours on the water and traveling 99 miles we tied up to the city wall in Ottawa, IL.  An otherwise ordinary Midwestern river town, it was the site of the famous Lincoln- Douglas Debate.  We had just enough energy to ride our bicycles to the town square commemorating the 1858 event.

July 11

Chicago River

Dusable Marina

The Columbia Yacht Club

Chicago / Lake Michigan

Women's Laser Regatta - Lake Michigan

With her engines humming and kicking up a beautiful aqua colored wake, the White Label was off & running again.  Under perfect conditions, we headed downwind on Lake Michigan for our 51 mile cruise to Chicago.
The shoreline has now become heavily dotted with a combination of towns, marinas, industry and many lovely residential homes.  About 35 miles out the skyline of Chicago began to emerge from the haze.  Over the next hour or so it was fun to watch it grow before our eyes.  Along the way we came across a women's laser event and paused briefly at the windward mark to check it out.
We have traveled to Chicago by plane and car many times - arriving by boat was by far the most interesting and scenic.  As we entered the Chicago Harbor we passed what looked like a retired cruise ship that had been turned into The Columbia Yacht Club - pretty clever!
The DuSable Marina is located just south of Navy Pier in the heart of the city.  It has a great view of the city by day -  the lighted skyline tonight should be even more spectacular.

Engines humming on the White Label

We spent the afternoon biking along the Lake Trail and also touring the Chicago Merchandise Mart.  It is located on the Chicago River and is one of the many architecturally significant buildings that we will be passing on our river tour of the city
tomorrow.

June 23 - July 10

On the road with my Girls

A ride at Knucklehead's

Elle rides the big one!

Bedtime story with Oliver

Charlie & Georgia tearing up the tracks

Swimming - Great Wolf Lodge

Georgia - "Little Chick" & "Big Chick"

Elle - Deer Park Wisconsin Dells

What can we say but that it was great to be back home!

Sunset over Clear Lake

 On our return trip to the White Label we visited the Wisconsin Dells - an otherwise "tacky tourist trap" but when experiencing it with our two granddaughters - Elle (4 yrs old) & Georgia (2 yrs old) - GREAT FUN!

June 20 - 22

Hob Nob Dinner Club

Entrance to S.C. Johnson Administrative Bld.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed Wingspread

After the big winds we have become accustomed to while cruising Lake Michigan, it was a pleasant surprise to make our 25-mile voyage to Racine, WI. under calm seas.  Such a great way to spent a summer morning!
 Reefpoint Marina, with it's 900 slips, is located in the heart of Racine.  It is more like a full-service resort with complete amenities including security,  pool, hot tub, and on site dining & laundry.  It would be the perfect place to leave our boat during our two week return to Clear Lake.
After picking up our rental car and making arrangements for an engine tune-up and minor boat repairs, we departed for an afternoon Milwaukee Brewers vs. Toronto Blue Jays game.  Despite the 90 degree heat, it was exciting to watch the game and be part of the zealous baseball fans.
A highlight of visiting Racine was to finally tour the Frank Lloyd Wright designed S.C. Johnson Administrative Building.  Through the years we have sought out many of his creations ( Falling Waters, Guggenheim Museum, Taliesin Midwest and West) but this masterpiece had always eluded us.  Built during 1936 -1939 and referred to as a "corporate cathedral" it is one of the most beautiful buildings ever created.  During construction Mr. Johnson was said to have stated " I never want to leave this building it is so magnificent" - upon which Frank Lloyd Wright said I will create for you a home that will be even more magnificent to live in - thus  Wingspread (1938-1939) was built on the shore of Lake Michigan for the Johnson Family.  It is now used as a conference center.   

Milwaukee Brewers

We topped off our tour of Racine on Friday evening at the Hob Nob - a vintage 1950s  supper club on Lake Michigan.  Seated in a banquette in the dimly lit lounge, we indulged in cocktails and a  leisurely 4-course dinner while listening to a quartet playing Frank Sinatra tunes - it was a scene straight out of Mad Men........ so very cool!