September 27, a short day

Saturday, September 27, 2010

Grafton Marina to Alton Marina

After showering, and doing the normal getting up in the morning stuff, we got ready to head from Grafton to Alton Marina, just 14 miles and no locks away. The most stunning part of the day was the pictures Tim took, just after daylight, of a great blue heron not 50 feet from our boat.




Great Blue Heron at Grafton Harbor

 Shortly after seeing this grace of nature, a pirate ship came in. We had seen a similar ship when we were in Fort Meyer’s Beach this past March.  They are party boats, with wenches and pirates, and I strongly suspect, dubious alcoholic concoctions! When a pirate ship appears, we leave!



Pirate ship at Grafton Harbor



As we headed down river, the bluffs appear to be carved by a master artist.  They are beautiful, and are in sharp contrast to the trees that are starting to display their autumn colors.

River bluffs

In Portage des Sioux, MO, about 9 miles from our destination of Alton, IL, is a statue of the Virgin Mary.  In 1951, flood waters threatened this town, as well as other towns along the Mississippi.  A local priest called on his parishioners to pray to the Virgin Mary to save the town.  The river crested and then went down.  Little damage was done to the town of Portage des Sioux.  In gratitude to the Virgin Mary, the parish decided to erect a fiberglass statue on the banks of the Mississippi.  It was dedicated to “Our Lady of the Rivers”.  Word spread, contributions came in from across the country.  When dedicated, in 1957, over ten thousand people from all over the country, attended the ceremony.  It is 25’ tall, views the river, and prays for mariners.




Our Lady of the Rivers, Portage des Sioux, MO.


The American Queen passed us again, this time, on its trip up river to St. Louis.

The Alton Marina is nice and, like Grafton, is a floating marina. Its bathroom and shower facilities are great, with liquid soap, shampoo and conditioner is each one.  Clean bath rugs were available for each user, and hairdryers in every “bathroom suite”.

The boats in the marina were HUGE!  They made Sea Fever seem very small, indeed. 

We had a late lunch at the deli in the marina, and headed back to the boat.  It was Saturday night, and the dock over from us had a disco party, complete with a disco ball, lights and the Bee Gees!  We were tired, so we closed up the boat, turned on the fans for white noise, and slept hard with memories of disco balls past.