Red Pearl

We left Alton Marina early on Wednesday August, 29 hoping to get about 85 miles down the Mississippi to a lock and dam that allows boats to tie up safely for the night. We discovered we could cruise at around 13 MPH (which was so much better than last spring when we can up river at an average of 4 MPH). We were hoping for about a 9-10 hour day with the 2 locks thrown in.

We cruised through St. Louis and we were able to connect with another looping boat and take pictures of each other’s boats in the harbor by the St. Louis Arch.

After St. Louis, we quickly discovered the truth of James 4:13-15

First, we found out from our buddy boat that the lock we wanted to tie up to was under construction and closed to private boats. Then it took waaaay longer to get through the locks than we planned. So we ended up going only about 45 miles, instead of the planned 85, and staying at Hoppies Marina in Kimmswick, MO. Hoppies is basically a rusty barge with fuel, water, electricity and tie ups for 2-3 boats. We actually also stayed at Hoppies last year, heading up the Mississippi. This year, Hoppies has experienced some unfortunate damage, and is even smaller than before, with room for just two boats.

This unexpected stop turned into a significant blessing. First and foremost, Spencer (our 23 year old son) was in a car accident in Arkansas. He is just fine, and so was everyone in the other vehicle, but Spencer’s Volkswagen was totaled. It was not his fault, but the other driver was uninsured. We were able to be in a stable place, with time on our hands and good cell service to help Spencer navigate calls to a tow company, work with insurance and try to figure out a car rental.

After that, we walked into town and had lunch at the Blue Owl Cafe, known for their famous “levee high” pecan, caramel, apple pie. There is a reason this pie is famous!! The folks at Blue Owl are openly Christian with a cool ministry of employing recovering addicts and others who might have difficulty finding work.

We also learned that Kimmswick is a local tourist destination, and we spent the remainder of our afternoon walking through cute shops and taking in the local culture.

We left Hoppies the next morning, and had 3 destinations in mind. First was a location that was fairly close, second was our likely target, and finally a “stretch” anchorage, Boston Bar. We were making great time and had good energy, so we made it to Boston Bar, a total of 150 miles!

It was a safe, quiet, protected inlet, where we spent a peaceful night.

Friday morning, we set out for Paducah, Kentucky. Once again we were delayed by fog for a little while in the morning, but we made it to the Paducah City Dock in time to make it to Paducah’s biggest tourist attraction, the National Quilt Museum! We are not quilters, but we had heard over and over that this was the place to go. The quilts were quite beautiful, and we got a nice hour in air conditioning! We grabbed dinner and a local brewery and then tucked in for the night.

Saturday morning, we were able to walk up to the Paducah Farmer’s Market and stock up on good produce. Then we cast off. Next destination, Kentucky Lake!!