Day 40-45 resting (?) in Grafton, IL

     While in Grafton we rented a car for several days and explored the area which included two ferry rides on the way back from a shopping trip to the north side of St Louis. The Golden Eagle was the first ferry from mainland Missouri across part of a complex of islands near the mouth of the Illinois River.  This ferry (photo above right) is a privately run operation so it cost $8.00 per car.

     There are at least 3 ferries across the main Illinois River to mainland Illinois. We chose one that happened to be a state run ferry that was used instead of building a bridge across the Illinois River (photo at left). Thus, it was a free ferry although since it is state run, someone's tax dollars are paying the freight for this service. Both ferries seemed to be on demand, and their turn around time was very fast.

  

      The rental car greatly extended our range, and since it was unlimited mileage with a pre-purchase on a full tank of gas, we certainly were only limited by not wanting to drive too much of the time. We did manage a couple of movies along with 2 separate visits to Home Depot and West Marine. We saw Mother's Day and Money Monster.  Julia Roberts was in both movies in very different roles. The first was a comedy but had some tear misting moments too. The second was suspenseful but had some laughs.  Personally, I liked both movies, but as is so often the case, the popcorn was also a big plus for me.

      Also, we made it to a community play in Alton called Skin Deep at the Alton Little Theater. We had been there on the previous Loop, and I was pleased to find them also running a play during this visit. Skin Deep was a comedy but very thought provoking since it addressed body image issues. It was another play with just four characters, but the casting was excellent for the diverse roles.

      We ate out once almost everyday, including the Loading Zone on the waterfront in downtown Grafton. It is in the factory for a former boat builder. The actual bar and restaurant with a large deck was directly on the water. The huge main shop was behind this and looked like they might use it more as a dance hall (?). On the deck they had this interesting wind driven art work. At least in a gentle breeze, it was quite fun to watch (for a few minutes). All of the different styles of vanes seemed to be purpose built rather than recycled items so a lot of labor probably went into making this piece. You can tell by all of the umbrellas being folded down that it was too cold to eat outside except for 2 hearty souls who found a sunny spot out of the breeze.

     Mac's Restaurant in Alton is another repeat from the Last time. It is about 4 blocks up from the Lincoln-Douglas Park at the waterfront. It occupies about three old street fronts. One is a large dance hall, another is a indoor garden plaza with a bar in the middle. and the third is a more conventional bar setting. We were in an area in between in one of two booths sandwiched between the bathrooms and the video "gambling" room where it is possible to bet on horse races of all sorts, including trotters (photo at right).

      Other interesting sights included the marina swimming pool, which is normally part of this floating dock. Guess what? If you empty a floating, fiberglass swimming pool, it will float on the surface... They were working on reconfiguring the floating dock, but of course, with our luck it remained empty for our whole stay here. Another feature of the marina is a new restaurant called the Oyster Bar. It is the first branch of this restaurant from St Louis, which bills itself as the best restaurant in St Louis. I do not know about that billing, but the food was so good that we ate here twice our stay. I had the same thing both times - a salad with grilled chicken and shrimp with a balsamic dressing that is absolutely great.

     The weather could have been better as the mornings all started in the mid 50s, and most days also had early morning fog with several rainy days thrown in for good measure. The photo at the right shows part of the floating dock complex around the office, store and restaurant. Lucky Us is moored at the end of the covered dock complex in the background, but even though she is only 500 feet away, she is only visible as a dark blob in the fog. It was definitely not a day to be travelling on the water until the fog burned off.

      Terry returned the rent car the day before we left, and while she was doing that she made one last super market run to re-provision mainly with perishables like salad makings, oranges and apples.

     Most of the reasons for the trips to West Marine involved working on the holding tank, which when we were finished, we had re-plumbed almost all of the pump out hose and fittings.  As the Admiral so eloquently put it, we made the best out of a crappy situation to say the least. We also replaced the float switch on a sump pump that collects all of the gray water from the shower and sink in the head.  

     Last but not least, we stayed an additional day where we finally had a laid back day to deal with paperwork and blogging.  This was hardly restful, but at least there was no physical labor involved.

      I will leave you with one final picture that shows an overview of the area around Grafton and the Illinois River. The photo was taken from the parking lot of the Aeries Restaurant and Resort that is high up on the side of the hill above Grafton. ...and yes indeed, it is a scenic location. This view reminded me very much of the Thousand Islands area on the St Lawrence River in very upstate New York.

     Well, we have ended up extending our original 6 day stay by one additional day, but tomorrow we will begin the trek up the Illinois River to Chicago. Hope that Spring arrives there soon (ha, ha).