Monday, October 6, 2008 - 6:30 am

It seems warmer today - maybe 50 degrees this morning with partly cloudy skies. Gale and Mark were up early checking all the systems and making preparations for today's journey. We left Sabula about 7:30 am. It turned out to be a beautiful day with sunshine and temperatures in the 70's. Diane and Maureen did some cleaning inside the cabin. Diane tried out her new mini stair stepper and we even got in a little yoga session. We stopped earlier than usual tonight as it looked like there might be some weather coming in and anchored in a little cut by the Muscatine Power and Light plant. Mark and Diane had anchored here on their way up the river and knew there would be enough depth and some protection. Mark made pomegranate martinis and the guys did a little fishing off the stern. Gale caught several small fish and Mark caught a couple, too. We learned from Gale that sheepshead fish had "rocks" in their heads. He cut two "rocks" (these appeared to be calcium deposits) out of two fish and said we should each keep a pair in our pocket for good luck. Dinner was beef shish kabob, rice and salad. Maureen was ready to go to bed right after dinner and wasn't much help with the dishes and cleanup - must have been that martini!