Livin' Life

Sept. 9, 2012

Cedar Hill Resort UM 240 to Alton Marina UM 202

It was a cold morning, first night that we used our sleeping bags. During the night there was a lot of bouncing going on, perhaps from the wind. It finally died down enough to let us fall back to sleep. We awoke to a sunny day and had our morning coffee on the dock before pushing off. Eight miles down we came to John’s Harbor Marina where we pulled in early to find no one about. The office door said open at 10:00. We topped off our gas tanks with the card reader and cooked breakfast at the dock. Before leaving, I walked back up to the office to find that they had opened so I purchased some ice and took the trash to the dumpster.

Back on the river, a Sunday, we encounter lots of boat traffic, the ski boats passing closely….anoying, the sail boats passing silently…pleasing. This was the day basically.

We cruised all day talking about what was to come and what had passed over the last 10 days. We had passed all the bad spots from last year and had one last goal to achieve, passing the “chain of rocks” where we stopped last year and getting down the canal to St. Louis.

We traveled through the day and finally saw Alton, Illinois come in to view. This is where Tom Haney (bacshortly.com) picked us up last year, the end to our trip. We sail into the Alton Marina and pull up to the gas pumps. Gator stays with the boat while I go to check out the lodging situation. This is just like checking in to a first-class hotel, pool, hot tub, showers, etc. Back to the pumps we fill up and head to our slip for the night, H-5 to be exact.

Alton Marina

This place is awesome. First up is the shower, individual rooms with everything you need to shit, shower and shave. There’s something about a shower on a camping trip that rejuvenates the soul. Next is food and we are in the right place for tthat as “Fast Eddie’s” is in the vicinity. “Fast Eddie’s is the place to be in these parts. Walking out of the marina, I ask this gentleman for directions and being the fine soul that he is, he offers us a ride…he knows right where the place is. Within minutes, we are pulling in to the restaurant. We thank him and cruise inside where we are instantly surprised by the shear size of the place. We grab a seat, order our food and take in the sights and sounds of this “Gilley’s-style” establishment.

Fast Eddie’s

The food is great and as I walk around the place, the walls are covered with eclectic pieces of history, memorabilia and jsut plan cool stuff. After posing with our waitress for a quick pic, we exit the place and head back to the marina. The walk back was just what we needed after stuffing ourselves and with a few well-placed short cuts we edge on down to “the Belle.”

Gator throws in a load of laundry and we finish off the night with a beverage on the dock, it’s been another great day on the river.

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