No Tricks, Just Treats!

“You made my day,” Mark (Sailing Vessel “Orion”) said as the three of us savored sausage-stuffed dates and butternut squash tostada appetizers at Paducah’s Freight House Restaurant (It's chef, Sarah Bradley, is a "Top Chef" chef).  We’ve been traveling with Mark since the Illinois River.  Mark is from Minnesota taking his sailboat to Florida.  He's a guy who we find fun to hang around.  Mark is traveling solo.  All we did was offer him the opportunity to raft onto Velsignet (which was in a prime location) for calm dockage.

As fall progresses and winter approaches, groups of boaters move south and marinas are closing down for the season.  Hammond Marina near Chicago, IL shut off water to its docks two days before we departed.  Paducah, KY was scheduled to shut off the water today.  The marina at Alton, IL (the last fuel stop before getting on the Mississippi) requested advanced notice of boat arrivals so they could manage their fuel inventory before their season ends.  

We got off the Mississippi at Cairo, IL on Monday.  Velsignet arrived in Paducah, KY on the Ohio River on Tuesday.  We departed Paducah this morning at 7 am to cruise from the Ohio River to the Cumberland River, destined tonight for Green Turtle Bay Marina located on the northern tip of Lake Barkley.  The temperatures today will be 31-48 degrees.  There is a strong WNW wind (13-17 mph with gusts up to 30 mph).  Traveling the southbound Cumberland will provide us wind protection; we’ll need to get farther south to see warmer days.  As we do so, we are cruising America's midland river systems during the peak of autumn's colors. 

Trip Advisor says Paducah's "Wall to Wall" murals are "the most popular tourist attraction in Kentucky."  They are beautiful.  The mural span along the waterfront's flood walls and tell the history and accomplishments of the people of this area.  Each mural has a plaque that details its meaning.

Paducah has a new, modern dock for transient boaters.  See the dock pilings that tower above the dock?  The Ohio River floods have raised the dock up to about 8 feet from the top of these heavy and solid poles.

This picture is the riverfront's flood wall.  Besides a levee along the Ohio riverbank, Paducah also has this 16-foot high flood wall that can gate off flooding waters that exceed the levee.  The Tennessee Valley Authority works with the Corp of Engineers to keep the water levels of the Ohio in check as much as possible; water from the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers flow into the Ohio..

The National Quilt Museum is an art museum that exhibits fiber art and quilts from all over the world.  The Quilt Museum was located just a few blocks from the docks and--if you're ever in the Paducah area--well worth a visit.  Below are photos to give you a taste of the displayed art...and yes, they are all quilts.  All but one of them is of fiber/fabric.  Can you guess the one that is wooden (Answer will be at the very end below)?

This quilt is dedicated to all our men and women who serve(d) our country.

Quilts came from all over the world and we saw several from Japan and Brazil.

The quilts were arranged like any other art museum--more traditional, modern, etc.

So much detail and layers of complexity!

Our family has quite a few birthdays in the fall...I thought the kids would like this birthday quilt.

Yep...this is a quilt too.  Amazing, isn't it?  Love the reflection in the water!

This seashell/seastar quilt was featured in one of the Museum's meeting rooms.

Tiffany colors, but not Tiffany glass!

These small quilts were so detailed, it was hard to imagine how they were made.

A lovely display of tiny quilts.

More.

The Museum itself was in a modern, comfortable building with good space for displaying more than 150 quilts.

The quilt in the foreground looked to be hand-dyed, appliqued, and completely hand-quilted.

Paducah's downtown buildings offered architectural interest.  This building which now houses the "Shandies" restaurant is said to be haunted.  We asked our young waitress (who grew up here) about this.  She confirmed it with stories she's heard (she's never seen a spirit, but know others who have) and experienced (the restaurant's music system is located upstairs and stations are sometimes changed or turned off by the unknown). Our waitress said she NEVER goes upstairs at night (where the inventory is kept).

Kentucky means bourbon and it also means moonshine.  We visited the Paducah Distillary where its manager/distiller makes a wide variety of award-winning moonshine.  "If it doesn't win an award, I won't sell it," Mark-the-manager/distiller said.

Besides giving us a tour of the distilling operation, Mark-the-manager/distiller explained items in the adjacent Prohibition Exhibit, as well as his product as we tried samples.  Our favorites:  Pecan, Kentucky Apple and Chocolate (names: Blind Squirrel, Apple Pie, and Buckshot, respectively).

 

As we left Paducah early morning as it was just becoming light, we noticed this large, lighted paddle cruising ship at dock.  While the fall colors are beautiful along the water, the cloudy days have been making it difficult for us to capture the colors in photos.

More facts about Paducah:  (1) It is one of nine "Creative Cities" in the US designated by UNESCO; (2) The Tasting Table listed Paducah in their list of "Best Small Towns for Food in the U.S."; (3) According to the museum staff, the National Quilt Museum is the largest fiber museum in the world.

About to become Gold Loopers, we posted on several online sites this week that Velsignet is for sale.

Mainship 400 For Sale

Velsignet is a well maintained 2005 Mainship 400 Trawler with a 2 stateroom layout, single 370 hp Yanmar main engine, bow thruster, inverter, additional inverter battery bank, Furuno electronics package, vinyl teak & holly sole, gas cooktop/oven, with an equipped galley, salon, dining area, and washer/dryer.  Her single keel helps to protect the shaft, propeller and rudder.  The flybridge is spacious for entertaining.  Her sellers have enjoyed the comfort and ease this boat has given them as they cruised America’s Great Loop.  Velsignet is currently cruising towards Florida and will be available to a new owner starting January 1, 2020.

QUILT QUIZ:  Could you ID the wooden quilt in the photos?  

It was the Seashell/Seastar quilt that included Mike in the  photo.