Dream Catchers Dream

Well,  we made it to the mighty Mississippi and make no mistake.  It is mighty!
We passed by St Louis and the arch.  It is so very tall especially when seen from the water.  We spent Saturday night at Hoppies Marina and the quaint little town of Kimmswick, Mo.  We met the famous (infamous) Fern Hopkins and listened to her talk about the river...do's and don't's.  And she says that it is all true that if the tug boat captains won't respond when you call them on the radio then put a woman on and they will.  They are often on the river for a month at a time and just want to hear a woman's voice.
Now a word about wingdams.  They were built on the rivers by the Corp of Engineers to contain silt and to keep the current back in the middle of the river.  They are essentially piles of rocks and soil coming out from both sides of the river.  What a pain in the behind to get around them while avoiding the barges.
The night at Hoppies was a lot of rocking and rolling because of the barge traffic going by all night.  My cousin Andy Leighton and his wife Pam were able to drive up and visit us.  We left early the next morning and when we got to Cape Girardeau, Mo. Andy came down to the river with a big American flag and waved it at us.  I never would have been able to see him otherwise.  There were 4 boats traveling together and we all tooted our horns at him.  People asked him what the parade was for.
Sunday night was spent in a lovely little cove just off the river called Little Diversion channel.  We watched the lunar eclipse from here.  Got easier to see as the moon rose above the trees and the clouds parted.  Really a quiet, beautiful night on the hook.
The next day we left the Mississippi for the Ohio.  No more easy days going with the current.  Now it is all up stream.
We spent Monday night tied to a dock at Metropolis, Il.  (Yes, that was Superman's hometown and his likeness is on the side of their water tower.)  This set us up to be early in line to go thru the infamous lock 52.  Didn't matter.  We still waited 1.5 hours to get in and 45 min. To get out.  It took us up only about 2 feet.
we ended up making it a long day, leaving the Ohio river behind to get on the Cumberland.  A beautiful stretch of water without barges to negotiate.  This then brought us to the Cumberland lock...very new and modern.  They held the lock 20 min. For us to get down to it.  Almost unheard of.  We got right thru bringing us right into Green Turtle Bay resort and a big sign saying "Welcome Loopers".  What a wonderful sight.  They are treating us so well.  We are now docked for the next week for a much needed rest.  Lots of Loopers here.  They had a thank you BBQ for us tonight.  Have run into many new and old friends.  Making lots of friends.