Second Day of The IL River Voyage!

Today, we left a little later than planned, however when you are cruising, especially on Earthling, there is no schedule! Right outside Joliet, we had to wait for

Brandon Road

lock for an hour & half. We docked by River side grill & met the owner & he sent us a 12 pack of ice tea bottles, such good people!

Brandon Road

lock dropped 35 feet.

Yesterday morning Dee waved @ us when we left the dock, this Morning Rachael waved us & tonight Perry will leave for couple of days, so he will wave too! After the first lock Dariush was @ Helm for couple hours, meanwhile I made special Earthling sandwiches & served with chips & Salsa & some sliced apples! The river is looking more beautiful as we go, it's wider & more scenic!
Illinois river stretches from Lake Michigan to Mississippi River & the distance is approximately: 335 nautical miles. Mile Zero is the Mississippi & Illinois River Junction. Right now we are @ mile mark 241, Ottawa, IL. We have done an average of 48 miles a day! We could do more than 50 miles a day if we hit the locks @ the right time & leave early in the morning. We went through 3 locks today. We were lucky with the 2nd lock (Dresden Island, mile 271), we arrived @ the right time when the lock was raised & there were no barges waiting! At mile 245, Marseilles Lock, we waited an hour for a double barge to go through. During that hour we had dinner & sun went down & it got cold & dark. We went only few miles @ night which was not bad, I would prefer to do most of the passage during day light though! Tomorrow, we will go through Starved Rock national park & I'm very excited! Thanks for reading!