Alton was a quick 25-ish miles from Mel’s River Dock Restuaurant where we spent one night on our way south from Peoria towards Alton. We got off the boat only to eat dinner that night and slept in the next morning.

The Illinois river started to become more scenic by way of less industry and more beautiful bluffs and hills. As we neared Alton, we spotted some pretty impressive homes nestled on the top of the bluffs. What a view they must have!

Much to our delight, some of our very best friends drove the 3-plus hours from Springfield to hang out with us on the boat for the day. We took a ride up the river for a bit and just enjoyed the day.

We dined afterwards in St. Charles and headed out to…you guessed it—Ameristar Casino. We may have to call the hotline. All in all, we spent a day reuniting with fantastic friends.

Our great friends Rob and Colleen picked us up on Sunday and we took a chair lift up to Grafton Winery for lunch, wine, and some live music overlooking the mighty Mississippi. You’ll recognize these two yahoos from our Key West session.

We ended the night with one of Alton’s must-see locations, Fast Eddie’s. It has been around these parts for a long time and is a well-known bar and restaurant. The burgers were delicious.

Our new friends, Kenton and Kathy (Sessions 46 & 47) eventually caught up with us in Alton and we spent a couple of days showing them a bit of St. Louis as well as the obligatory dinner at Fast Eddies. While Kenton and Kathy had planned to travel all the way from Alton to Green Turtle Bay with us, their boat had other plans. We were sad that they had to stay behind to sort out an engine problem.

Leaving Alton on Saturday, October 16th, we were joined by Maureen and Glenn from Baboo who we met in the Chesapeake Bay and who caught up with us the day before we departed. Off we went down the Mississippi to the Ohio and finally the Tennessee which took us right to Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers, KY. This last journey took three days and two nights of us tying up to a lock wall and anchoring out.

Fun fact: There are many, many more boats on their loop journey this year. We all take similar routes for obvious reasons. You may meet someone in Florida, part ways for a few months or a year, and find yourself sitting next to them at a Looper Docktail function somewhere else. This happens frequently.

Next stop: Green Turtle Bay!!!