August 24th we made it to a colorful little Marina called Tall Timbers. We had a safe overnight stay and met a man about to “cross his wake” (Looper-speak for finishing the Loop). He had done the trip with various friends coming and going, and some parts all on his own!
The next night we made it to Mel’s Riverdock Restaurant. Mel is somewhat of a Looper celebrity. If you eat at the Restaurant, you can tie up for the night on his dock for an extra $25. We got dinner and the tie up for $51! Cheapest dinner out in a long time! We got lucky and got to meet Mel himself. He sat at our table and told us stories. We also got to meet the Restaurant’s cats, Bandit and Pablo. After dinner we went to the local Dollar General to restock our kitchen.
Tuesday morning we got up to some river fog.We thought as the sun rose it would burn off quickly, so we went ahead and launched at sunrise. We were wrong! Sunrise pushed the fog from shore into the river making visibility very poor. We decided to err on the side of safety and went back to the dock. We took a long walk and made eggs for breakfast while we waited out the fog.
Tuesday we made it a NICE marina in Alton! We were able to refuel, pump out, do laundry, wash the boat and then take a nap by the pool! A much needed day of R and R before we made our way onto the Muddy Mississippi!
Red Pearl 
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