Day 2-305 to 308 high water delay in Havana, IL

     When we got to Havana, the water in the Illinois River was rising, and the marinas downstream on the Illinois River and then on the Mississippi River were full. The first reservation that we could get for Grafton, IL, which is 2 days further down river was for Day 2-310. So, we prepared to wait out the delay in the neat little town of Havana.

     When we had arrived here at Tall Timbers Marina, I thought that one of our fellow Loopers said the river was supposed to rise 16 feet. Thus, I took this picture of the ramp up from the floating docks expecting the ramp to be "flat" in a matter of time... It turns out that the correct wording would have been that "the river will crest at 16 feet above normal pool stage". It turns out that the river was already at that height. So, I never got to take the second picture with the floating docks up above the balcony on land. I should also add that I am happy that the river was not rising another 16 feet.
Day 2-305
     The first morning the Admiral set off on her electric bike about 10:30 am headed for an appointment to have her hair cut that she had made yesterday. We all arranged to meet downtown at Grandpa's Diner for lunch. It was one of those classic "Google Map moments" when they miss located the restaurant, but fortunately, the real Grandpa's was just across the street from the map location. After lunch, the others rode back to the boat while I stopped at Ace Hardware for some more stainless steel hose clamps for my engine project. When I got back to the boat, I was able to replace the last two pieces of hose on the generator.
     The Admiral had arranged for a rental car from Enterprise in Canton, IL, which was about 26 miles away, but they were willing to come to Havana to pick her up. Now that's service!
Day 2-306
     I got to sleep in while the Admiral and her father Jim went into town for breakfast at Trixie's. I gather that it was very good, which undoubtedly means that it was not exactly healthy...

     Later, we took off in the rental car to go to Springfield, IL. We had a great lunch at D'arcy's Pub, and we all had different Irish dishes that were wonderful. After lunch, we headed downtown to visit the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. We visited the Information Center and watched a 30 minute movie on this part of Lincoln's Life, and then we walked around the grounds. The picture at the left shows the Admiral and her father standing in front of the Lincoln Home. The home and landscaping were beautiful right down to the packed (small) gravel streets.

     After all of that history, we had a reality check by going to Sam's Club where we really stocked up on basics, like 5 cases of bottled water, huge packages of paper towels and toilet paper, etc. Over the next day and a half, whenever we used the car, we carried more "stuff" back to the boat. A stop at Sam's every couple of months is a necessary part of our routine on the trip. Then we finished the day with dinner on board and watched the Fightin' Texas Aggies BTHO Lamar University. For those non-Aggies out there, BTHO means "Beat The Hell Outta", and indeed the Aggies did just that!
Day 2-307
      Today the Admiral spent time preparing  Hearty Soup from her "stash" of home made dry mix. It is not only "Hearty" (or filling), but we can have numerous meals from this batch over the next week(?). Then we set off for Pekin, IL to see the movie "The November Man". The three of us all enjoyed the movie and the drive. Speaking of "drives", everywhere you go around this part of Illinois, the fields are full of either corn or soybeans. Judging from what we have seen in our drives so far, it looks like a very good year for both crops.
Day 2-308

     Well, today is my (71st) Birthday! While I slept in, Terry took some fellow Loopers to the grocery store. The marina has been full every night although each day 1 or 2 boats has moved on down the river to other marinas where they had reservations, but each evening new boats came in to take their place. On any one day there were at 6 Loopers docked here so this is a busy time for these smallish local marinas.
     We went out for lunch at El Camino Real Restaurant along with stops at Walgreen's and Dairy Queen. At DQ I had their largest caramel sundae! On the way back to Tall Timbers we dropped off the rental car at Canton, and they returned us to the marina. Before dinner, I had a Face Time call from the Grandkids who were very excited to say the least! After dinner, the celebration continued with everyone having three pieces of a different type of cheese cake. Wow! If that doesn't put you to sleep, I do not know what will...
Thanks to the Admiral and Jim I had a wonderful birthday!
     Anyway, an early bed time was a good idea since we plan to leave early tomorrow and have a trip of about 100 miles planned, which will make for a long day.