We departed Hoppies Barge and convoyed with 4 other Looper boats down the Mississippi:
Bucket List, Jubilant, Change of Pace, and Texas Gold.
It was fun hearing Dad Pennington's brass bell occasionally ring when the tows passed Spiritus.
We enjoyed some interesting buildings and watching an occassional train run along the tracks as we cruised down the mighty Mississippi.
After an 11 hour day, we pulled off the river and into Little Diversion Channel for the evening.
By sunset, there were 9 boats anchored in this protected, peaceful anchorage.
Our buddy boat took a picture of us sitting on our swim platform, dangling our feet in the water to cool off.
After cooling off, Chef Eddy put our dinner on the grill. YUM!
At first light the following morning, Spiritus led the Looper fleet out of our anchorage.
A 5 mph current pushed us down the Mississippi River at over 13 mph!
Spiritus normally cruises at 8 mph.
But when we turned to go up the Ohio River,
the current slowed Spiritus down significantly!
The Ohio River was swollen and filled with debris from the recent rainfall.
The crew had to keep a sharp eye out to avoid all manner of flotsam!
The barge traffic was plentiful, requiring an extra dose of alertness by the crew!
We made it to Paducah City Dock right at sunset and in time for docktails with our buddy boats
The next morning we tossed the lines of 3 Looper boats who departed early.
Spiritus stayed behind with Change of Pace and Yes Dear.
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We spent the morning exploring charming downtown Paducah . . . .
. . . . and the afternoon at the world famous National Quilt Museum!
During Eddy's commercial flying career, he flew hundreds of ladies in to Paducah for the annual quilt show and today he finally got to see what it was all about!
Captain Eddy is indeed impressed. He realized how much math and measuring goes in to making these masterpieces!
The amazing "King Neptune" quilt captured Eddy's heart!
The quilt made from Iowa feed sacks captured Linda's heart! She recognized feed sack fabrics used in her Grandma Otto and Grandma Pennington's dresses, apron, bonnets, and quilts.
After an afternoon at the National Quilt Museum, it's a tradition to have ice cream!
(Really! Ask Siri!)
Paducah's riverfront has a long floodwall to protect the city when the river rises.
Much of the wall is painted with murals that depict the history of the area.
It was a rainy 8 hour run to the Barkley Lock. After locking through, we were happy to stay in Green Turtle Bay for several days.
GTB is a favorite stop for Loopers because they are often able to reconnect with friends they haven't seen for a while!
This was a FIRST for Captain Eddy!
Nancy, from Texas Gold, gave him a hair cut right on the dock!
Eddy's first-ever dock haircut was so iconic that the First Mate made a collage for the photo album!
It was Nancy's first time to cut hair on the dock and she got rave reviews!
Her finished product was so good that Eddy rewarded her with a brownie turtle sundae.
Later that evening, she chose a more adult reward . . . . Blue Hawaii!!
When Loopers gather, we excel at eating and drinking and daily docktails!
What a fun surprise to have Ron, Jan, and Duke stop for a visit.
They looped with us in 2013 and were part of the gang that waited a month in Kingston, NY for the Erie Canal to open.
It wasn't all fun and games at GTB. Eddy tried hard to replace our leaking water pump.
Finally the GTB mechanic was able to align the new pump so we could get underway.
During the days of mechanical issues, Linda wisely chose to stay out of the engine room.
Instead, she escaped to the indoor pool where she and the mermaids did Zumba.
All mechanical issues resolved and farewells made, we departed this lovely resort, anticipating more fun ahead!
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