We were up just after 6 am and left Hammond Marina at 7 am for the start of this next leg. We entered the Calumet River behind a tow and followed him for about 6 miles before overtaking him. Our first lock was a teaser, down 2 feet! You don't even need to tie up! We continued on for several hours before we met our next tow, and had to pull over and wait for him to pass because of all the barges tied up on both sides. Our next lock, the Lockport Lock takes you down 39 feet. The lockmasters are very helpful and it was actually quite easy. Traffic is very light on the river...perhaps because it is Sunday. We carried on to Joliet and tied to the wall just south of the Jefferson Street Bridge. There are two other boat here. We also had a visit from the Great Loop Harbour Hosts to make sure we have everything we need.
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Comments [3]
Enjoy the river(s)!!
Dianne
September 5th to 8th - This time has been spent getting the boat ready for the next part of the adventure. We'll restock, do laundry and clean. One day, we walked to Walmart for groceries and the Marina Harbourmaster kindly offered to give us a ride back. Thursday, we took the boat to Skyway Marine on the Calumet River to have the mast taken down. We spent the afternoon wrapping it ready for shipping. We had three bridge lifts on the way up and passed our first tow. Friday was a miserable, rainy day so we rented a car and did some other necessary errands - refilling the propane tank and buying a 'powerboat' antenna as well as picking up other last minutes things. Today we pumped out, fueled up and filled up the water tank ready to go.
Tonight there is a big party on the dock and we are invited. They have food and drinks and have hired a band! Some people started partying in the early afternoon! We are hoping to get away early tomorrow to begin the river system, so won't be staying up too late!
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Today is Tuesday, September 4th - our day to spend in Chicago. We had ordered a chip for the plotter - all the U.S. and the Northern Bahamas from West Marine, so since we're in Chicago to pick it up, we spent the afternoon at Navy Pier and had lunch at Bubba Gumps - it was just as good as the Bubba Gumps in New Orleans and Hawaii. The trip into Chicago takes just over two hours, first walking for 30 minutes, bus for 45, and finally subway for 45 minutes and the same coming back. That's a big part of the day! The picture is the Chicago Skyline from Navy Pier.
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September 3rd - the lake seemed to be pretty calm, so we were up early and heading for Hammond, Indiana. The Hammond Marina is on the outskirts of Chicago, nice facilities and about ΒΌ the cost of downtown Chicago! We actually were able to fly the DRS sail for a part of the way here, until the winds lightened. We docked at the 900 slip marina, and noticed that Odyssey (Don and Jeannie) are just down the dock from us. They are from North Bay and doing the same trip on their 30 foot Campion Trawler. We've run into them several times since Charlevoix. This is a very friendly marina, and Ron quickly had someone offer to take him to the beer store!
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Today is Farley's 13th birthday (September 2nd), and we are celebrating it in Michigan City. The weather is unsettled, so we've stayed another day. He has been a real trooper so far on this trip! Ron and I walked to town, looking for a store...it was 2.1 miles each way! In Indiana, they don't sell liquor on Sunday, so pretty much a wasted trip except for the exercise! We now know we are definitely retired - we've been in Indiana for three days and just discovered today that they are in a different time zone - one hour earlier! The heat and humidity continues and still no relief from the promised rain.
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It's September 1st and its overcast and the humidity and temperature are very high...but still no rain. We walked to the outlet mall and there was a light rain while we were there but it didn't last long. It looked and felt like rain until about 7 pm then the wind shifted to come out of the north and it has cooled considerably. We hear that there have been heavy rains around us. We had dinner at a nearby restaurant and will have an early evening and hope to cross to Hammond, Indiana in the morning. Of course, now that we are at the south end of the lake, a north wind is not good news so we'll look at the lake in the morning!
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