On the road (river) again…

Wednesday we transitioned from the hotel back to the boat. The warm up was helping to melt the snow fast, but we scooped/swept all the snow off the deck of the boat to avoid black ice the following morning, if melted snow were to refreeze over night. Gear had to be stowed, and preparations made for the storm needed undoing. A few repairs as usual, and pizza delivered by the best place in town, according to the caretaker of the marina, finished out the day. We had a bit of a slow start, since we got stuck in traffic between a few river barges making close turns in a narrow/curvy part of the river. Once we cleared that busy stretch, it was on down the river and through a lock for about 53 miles to an anchor-out behind Wabash Island. Anchoring was an interesting mix of current and wind in exactly opposite directions. Once we were securely on the hook, it was time to take the pups ashore. By now, it was pitch black outside, since the late hour of 5:00 pm had arrived. Armed with a headlamp and a flashlight and having donned ‘floaties’ all around to shore we went. Each time we do this, I have a deeper appreciation for those amphibious soldiers depicted in the movies, coming ashore at night. The first part of the bank we approached turned out to be a sheer cliff. After following the shore though, we found a nice flat beach — except what looked like sand turned out to be thick brown mud. We managed to get past that without falling on our face, but just barely. The dogs must have wondered what was going on… In the end, it was mission accomplished and everyone made it back aboard safely. A couple pairs of sneakers look like relics from the Le Brea tar pits. Scrambled eggs & Spam for dinner with Mandarin oranges for dessert — a feast, it seemed at the time. The good news is, our stop tomorrow night should be at a marina in Paducah, so no commando missions on a rubber raft in the dark with the dogs. The bad news is, three inches of rain are forecast tomorrow for our 50+ miles down river, and my windshield wiper clears a stripe about three inches wide in front of the lower helm (that’s with a new wiper blade). Oh well, we’ll put it on the list of stuff to upgrade once we get the boat to dry dock at home in Florida. Meanwhile, Lisa is watching the Alamo Bowl football game thanks to the Starlink satellite receiver, which reminds us roughing it isn’t what it used to be. Tomorrow’s another day… 😉