Transition to the Mississippi!

Friday, August 16 2019

Day 7 on the Loop – Grafton to Alton (17 Miles)

What a day!  We had a leisurely start to the day since we only had a short ride from Grafton to Alton.   We were making the transition from the Illinois River to the Mississippi River.   The transition took place about a thousand yards after we left Grafton, and it was a bit anticlimactic.  I had expected to find a huge amount of traffic, and fast flowing current, on the Mississippi and was relieved to find that it was very similar looking to the Illinois, just a bit bigger.

We did pass a stern wheeler/cruise ship just above Alton.  Only six people were visible on the decks and balconies, but it was around lunch time so perhaps they were all inside.

We think this was the American Empress, but all it had as the name was "America," but the profile fits pictures online.

We arrived to a very nice welcome from Greg, Fran, and Kim to Alton Marina.  This is a favorite location among Loopers, and I can see why.  The staff is very nice and the facilities are excellent.  My plan is to spend about 17 days here.   It was actually cheaper ($320) to pay for a whole month, so I did that and will just see how my plans progress.  I am so looking forward to slowing the down the pace!  I have been crazy busy since I retired on July 13 and want to just spend quiet time getting to know my boat better and catching up on finances and other aspects of my life.

After we tied up (backing into slip E10 with the help of Greg) Jim stopped by.  I had called Jim the day before because he was recommended by Alton Marina as someone who might be able to help with the electrical problems we have been having.  Jim was very helpful and two things came up as issues.  Firstly, the six batteries on board were manufactured in 2011.  They typically have a life of five years, so these are well overdue for replacement.   Secondly, the generator will only start to charge the batteries once a load (such as the air conditioning) is put on the system.  

I quickly contacted Dave at Bloch Marine Service and asked for a quote for replacing the six batteries, and a timeline to do that. He will be getting back to me.  I know it will not be cheap, but I really want to get this done before I proceed further.

After this we went to the office to check in and got some directions to Shivers, a frozen custard place that John has been really keen to try.   We then got a lift to pick up an Enterprise rental car, drove to a grocery store and then went to Shivers to pick up a quart of strawberry/vanilla/chocolate.

I have no ideas what "Concretes" and "Turtles" are.  Guess I will have to go back to find out!  :)

We returned to the boat for a nice salmon and salad dinner, followed by trying out the Shivers Frozen Custard.  I can see why that is addictive!

I had also picked up mail and packages from the Alton Marina office and included in the packages was my AIS.  We spent some time reinstalling it, and figuring out the connections.  After some false starts we got it hooked up and could see another vessel.  I also looked on MarineTraffic.com and saw Sunny Tug listed as being at anchor in Alton!!  😊  It has been a long road but it is good to see her listed.

Happiness is a working Automatic Identification System (AIS).  This way I can see the names of other ships and they can see my name.  This is very helpful when meeting other vessels head on.  Check out my location at WWW.MarineTraffic.com

Tonight is John’s last night on board.  We are going to St. Louis tomorrow, and will spend the night in a hotel and he will be leaving on Sunday to return home.