"Scott, are we going to make it under this bridge?" Brenda asked. We (Mike, Brenda, Mike's sister JoAnn and brother-in-law Scott) were moving smack dab in the middle of downtown Chicago on the Chicago River and approaching one of the 72 bridges we would encounter that day. Reviewing from the flybridge level of the boat, Scott gave the affirmative, made a small leap to tap the bridge's bottom side with his hand, and Velsignet cruised (squeezed?) slowly under the 18 foot clearance.
Mike describes Velsignet's accommodations like this: Good for 6 people during happy hour; 4 for dinner; and 2 for sleeping. Because JoAnn and Scott had met us in Chattanooga, TN earlier on the loop, they were well aware that our three days on Velsignet for an "after wedding" adventure meant small-space living with matching personal space. None of us, however, anticipated the thrills of squeezing in Three Floyd's Brewery, a Second City/Old Town Walking Tour, a wild ride on Lake Michigan, cruising among the skyscrapers of downtown Chicago, going through locks full of boats, weaving our way around barge river traffic, and laughing with other Loopers!
Tied to a wall in Joliet, IL with several other boats, yesterday morning at 7:15 while three of us were still asleep (Scott was the early riser), we heard a firm knock by a fellow Looper. "The Lockmaster says if we move now, we can get through. Otherwise, it'll be a 6 hour wait!" Quickly, all four of us were in motion. Mike did the engine check. Scott disconnected our shore power. Brenda took down the privacy screens and got the navigation instruments up and running. JoAnn made the much-needed-to-wake-up coffee. By 7:30 am, Velsignet had joined the others on the river towards the Brandon Lock.
Because the locks on the Illinois River were closed for maintenance from September 20-October 13, there is congestion of commercial and pleasure boat traffic trying to lock through. Velsignet is one of approximately 10 other boats who are cruising together for greater leverage (and simplicity for communicating) with the lockmasters, barge/tug captains and when necessary, bridge tenders. While other Looper groups have reported several hours of wait time to lock through, our group has been able to squeeze our way through the locks with minimal delays. Yesterday afternoon we arrived at Heritage Marina near Ottowa, IL (where JoAnn and Scott rented a car and returned home to Noblesville, IN). Today, a group of seven boats left the marina at 7:45 am sharp to make a 9:30 am opening at the Starved Rock Lock. Our final destination is yet to be determined; we'll dock or anchor somewhere near Peoria, IL.
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This is our niece Claire with her "squeeze", David. Their wedding on October 11th near Indy was a wonderful occasion to celebrate. Such a fun party! |
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This is us...all dressed up and ready to go to a wedding. (What color, you might ask, is the dress? DRAB!! It's not easy shopping from a moving boat.) |
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Brenda with her girls! Our daughter, Allison, is on the left and daughter Jordan to the right. (...and, NO! Brenda did NOT wear those shoes to the wedding!) |
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Mike and Brenda rented a VRBO home that accommodated our family. We all enjoyed hanging out together. |
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Morning Coffee! Our girls with Jordan's Jared in the background. |
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Our son-in-laws Brent and Jared found their special place for conversation. |
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Mike's mother, Marlys, with Al and Jordan. |
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Iris (13) with Claudia (16) and her very tall and handsome boyfriend, Noah (17). |
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We had much to celebrate while we were together: JoAnn's birthday, Jordan and Jared's anniversary, Rose's 9th birthday and Owen's 10th birthday. ....and the cake decorator got it all! |
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Rose and Killian(13) put the final pieces in the puzzle. |
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Brent with his contagious smile! |
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One morning, each grandchild underwent Grandma's "snuggle" test. Claudia was first! |
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Our sweet birthday peeps (Owen-now 10; Rose-now 9) with Jordan and Jared. |
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Such fun with family! |
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This sweet photo is Mike's sister, Carol, with 2 of her 4 grandchildren: Chloe (8) and Keena (4?) |
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Our niece from San Diego, Rachel, with her son, Brody (almost 2). |
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Brent and Allison, Rose and Iris. Iris thinks she's taller than her grandma! |
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The day after Claire and David's wedding, JoAnn and Scott hosted a barbeque for family and later, photos. Mike, Mike's dad Glen, Mike's mother Marlys, Mike's sisters Carol and JoAnn. |
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This is Mike's family and their spouses. |
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A reunion of the cousins (# represents birth order): 4. Rachel (San Diego, CA);1. Allison (Arvada, CO); 3. Michael (Saint Paul, MN); 5. Nora (Sacramento, CA); 6. Claire (Charlotte, NC); and 2. Jordan (Stillwater, MN) |
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The cousins and their spouses. What a handsome and talented and "make-your-parents-proud" group of young people! |
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On Tuesday after the wedding, JoAnn and Scott rode with us back to Velsignet. First stop: Three Floyd's Brewery! |
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Because of gale-force winds, Velsignet sat tight in Hammond Marina on Wednesday. However, the four of us enjoyed a tour of the Second City neighborhood (Old Town Chicago) and theaters. |
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On our tour of Chicago's Old Town neighborhood and Second City Stages, we learned about these "Balloon Houses." After the historic Chicago Fire (Official Report: Mrs. O'Leary has been cleared of all wrong doing!) and before brick building codes were put in place, homes like this could be quickly built to solve the resulting housing crisis. Old Town has been successful in preserving many of these historic homes which today sell for more than $1 million. |
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We left Hammond Marina at 8:30 this past Thursday morning. Winds were 10-15 mph which gave us a lively 2-hour ride on Lake Michigan from Hammond to Chicago. This is the lighthouse we passed as we entered the Chicago Harbor at Navy Pier. |
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Scott captained Velsignet to Chicago, maneuvering her such to minimize our discomfort on the rolling water of Lake Michigan. |
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A beautiful picture of Chicago and welcoming calmer waters as we enter the harbor at Navy Pier. |
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Our first was the Chicago Lock and we shared our space with a Chicago Fire Boat! |
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In the Chicago Lock: Mike holding the stern lines and Scott (see his legs?) holding the lines at the bow. |
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The downtown Chicago River was abuzz with tour boats, pleasure boats, and water taxis. |
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JoAnn on Velsignet in front of the Sears Tower (Willis Building). Like one of JoAnn's friends commented about this photo: "Looks like an ad for something!"
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This part of our Looping Journey will go down in our memories as a highlight! |
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As we cruised south on the Chicago River and into the Illinois River, the landscape turned industrial and commercial. |
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This is a mountain of mulch! |
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The river system is busy with commercial traffic. This tug has the ability to lower its bridge to fit under bridges with lower clearance. |
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Captain JoAnn maneuvered the boat on the river through moving and parked barges. |
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This bridge is like none we've ever seen before! |
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Scott and JoAnn experienced with us the most advanced procedures for locking that we've yet to encounter. Following the lockmaster's instructions, each pleasure boat in our large group entered the locks and tied onto each other. |
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Once we were all in place and tied to each other, the lockmaster proceeded to lock us through. |
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In some locks, we were tied onto other boats. In this case, Velsignet was tied to a bollard and other boats were tied to her. This is Scott manning the lines on the wall. |
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Aboard Velsignet, we celebrated JoAnn's birthday (the mother-of-the-bride had other things going on when we celebrated birthdays and an anniversary at our VRBO house). She's now all decked out to sparkle Halloween joy at her Noblesville High School workplace! |
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As we were getting ready to attend the wedding of Claire and David, the University Rotary Club in Seattle was honoring a "Velsignet-Crew-Member-in-Spirit," Guy Falskow. Brenda was able to participate in the special presentation planned for Guy via telephone. Congratulations, Guy! |
Thank you for coming to be part of the wedding, we enjoyed your company in Indy. We also enjoyed the time time cruising Lake Michigan and "squeezing" under the bridges and through the inland waterway of the IL River. Lots of lifetime memories made on the trip.
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