8/29 Grafton, Illinois Rivers of Corn

Grafton Harbor Marina is a fabulous marina.  It was a lot quieter today as their regular weekenders were back at work.  The several boats that were here were either loopers or folks taking their boats on longer trips.  It was a good day to do laundry and enjoy watching the barges coming up the Mississippi and either turning left to continue on the Mississippi or turn right to go up the Illinois River. 

We got the oil and zincs changed on the boat, filled up the water tanks. measured lines, and cleaned lots of small items.  It was really hot out so it was good to have the air conditioning on in the boat to cool down, periodically.

One thing you have to love about these marinas is that they have courtesy vehicles.  You can sign up for the courtesy vehicle to run errands or go to dinner.  The vehicles are known for having high mileage and usually have a check engine light on.  The courtesy vehicle here was a Dodge van that would seat 12.  The mileage on it was 295,530!!!   It rode like it, too.

We took it to Walmart for some re-provisioning.  We had pizza and a salad at a place called Imo's.  The couple at the next table were behind us in the check out lane at Walmart.  It seems like we would know everyone in the county if we stayed here long.  Everyone is very nice.

On the way home, John took some pictures of the corn fields.

It reminded me of when we lived in Indiana.

In this last picture, you can see the corn stalks turning yellow.  Fall is coming.

Tomorrow, we head 60 miles down the Mississippi through two locks to a marina called Hoppies.  It is legendary among loopers and I can't wait to see it.