Saturday, October 11, 2008 - 6:45 am
Gale and Mark brought the dinghy on board, checked the systems and we pulled anchor at 7:30 am. It was another gorgeous morning and we were expecting temperatures in the 80's again. Diane and Maureen worked on completing the parts inventory for the boat. Mark made an excellent tuna salad for lunch while Diane captained. In fact, Diane drove most of the afternoon while Gale and Mark worked on the dinghy and other projects around the boat.
We approached Lock 52 on the Ohio River late in the afternoon. The lockmaster was good enough to let us lock through in one of the chambers ordinarily reserved for barges because it was so close to getting dark and he wanted to help us get through before sunset. This is a very busy lock and there were many barges waiting for their turn in the chamber. By the time the lock gates were opened to let us out, the sun was setting and it was getting dark quickly. Our plan was to find the city dock at the end of Main Street in Paducah which was just past the bridge and behind Owens Island. With Adventure's spotlight, descriptions we had from reference materials and the various GPS units on board, we were able to guess where the dock should be. The greatest help of all was having our airplane pilot, Mark Halvorson, waiting for us on shore in his rental car flashing the headlights at us. Without his assistance, it would have been even more stressful than it was trying to find the dock. We secured Adventure at the town dock and put an end to the fishing that had been going on. There were probably four or five people fishing, but they indicated they were getting ready to quit anyway. One gentleman said he'd been there all day and only caught three fish.
We welcomed Mark Halvorson aboard and enjoyed some wonderful filets, roasted potatoes and squash and cocktails, of course. It had been a long day and Gale and Maureen were planning to fly out early the next morning, so we were all headed for bed right after dinner. Our total trip on the rivers (Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee) was about 700 miles in 8 days.
Gale and Mark brought the dinghy on board, checked the systems and we pulled anchor at 7:30 am. It was another gorgeous morning and we were expecting temperatures in the 80's again. Diane and Maureen worked on completing the parts inventory for the boat. Mark made an excellent tuna salad for lunch while Diane captained. In fact, Diane drove most of the afternoon while Gale and Mark worked on the dinghy and other projects around the boat.
We approached Lock 52 on the Ohio River late in the afternoon. The lockmaster was good enough to let us lock through in one of the chambers ordinarily reserved for barges because it was so close to getting dark and he wanted to help us get through before sunset. This is a very busy lock and there were many barges waiting for their turn in the chamber. By the time the lock gates were opened to let us out, the sun was setting and it was getting dark quickly. Our plan was to find the city dock at the end of Main Street in Paducah which was just past the bridge and behind Owens Island. With Adventure's spotlight, descriptions we had from reference materials and the various GPS units on board, we were able to guess where the dock should be. The greatest help of all was having our airplane pilot, Mark Halvorson, waiting for us on shore in his rental car flashing the headlights at us. Without his assistance, it would have been even more stressful than it was trying to find the dock. We secured Adventure at the town dock and put an end to the fishing that had been going on. There were probably four or five people fishing, but they indicated they were getting ready to quit anyway. One gentleman said he'd been there all day and only caught three fish.
We welcomed Mark Halvorson aboard and enjoyed some wonderful filets, roasted potatoes and squash and cocktails, of course. It had been a long day and Gale and Maureen were planning to fly out early the next morning, so we were all headed for bed right after dinner. Our total trip on the rivers (Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee) was about 700 miles in 8 days.
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