White pelicans 
Local ferry service
Confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.
We enjoyed last night's dinner so much that we returned to "Mel's Riverdock Restaurant" for breakfast! It was terrific, and George vowed that we would return on Friday night for Mel's fried chicken special, one of his favorite meals. After all this dining at this "find", we finally got underway at about 9 a.m. for a short 20 mile trip to Grafton Harbor Marina, dubbed "The Key West of the Midwest", since it is located at Mile Marker .0 on the Illinois River. This is a point where the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers come together, known as a "confluence".
We docked before noon at this lovely marina, bought some tee-shirts in the ship's store to commemorate this spot, and set about exploring this small town of 615 people. There were a number of shops and restaurants, a hotel that claimed to be haunted by a young girl, and even a winery. We made several stops along the way, and then decided to split up with Pat returning to the boat, and the others to continue shopping and going to the hardware store for a replacement screw for the anchor.
Upon Pat's return to the dock, she was delighted to see "Houlegan" with our friends Ray and Caryl aboard pulling in. We hadn't really visited with them in person since July, even though we have talked by phone, emailed each other, traversed the fish barrier on the same day, and been tied up at Joliet together. They came aboard bringing George's "quick-release" hose connection which he had left by accident at Tall Timbers Marina, and which Bob, the owner, had asked them to give to us when they could.
We invited Ray and Caryl to come back later for cocktails, so we could really catch up with them on their activities. Our crew again split up for the afternoon: some to read, some to nap, and some to sit at the pool. We had a great cocktail party aboard and after the Houles returned to their boat, our crew went to "The Mississippi Half-Step" for dinner. The restaurant was in a charming historic home with dining in various rooms inside as well as on the outside patio. Since three of us were nursing lots of mosquito bites on our legs from other night-time outdoor activities, we chose to eat inside. The dinner was great, and we closed the place at 10 p.m.
We docked before noon at this lovely marina, bought some tee-shirts in the ship's store to commemorate this spot, and set about exploring this small town of 615 people. There were a number of shops and restaurants, a hotel that claimed to be haunted by a young girl, and even a winery. We made several stops along the way, and then decided to split up with Pat returning to the boat, and the others to continue shopping and going to the hardware store for a replacement screw for the anchor.
Upon Pat's return to the dock, she was delighted to see "Houlegan" with our friends Ray and Caryl aboard pulling in. We hadn't really visited with them in person since July, even though we have talked by phone, emailed each other, traversed the fish barrier on the same day, and been tied up at Joliet together. They came aboard bringing George's "quick-release" hose connection which he had left by accident at Tall Timbers Marina, and which Bob, the owner, had asked them to give to us when they could.
We invited Ray and Caryl to come back later for cocktails, so we could really catch up with them on their activities. Our crew again split up for the afternoon: some to read, some to nap, and some to sit at the pool. We had a great cocktail party aboard and after the Houles returned to their boat, our crew went to "The Mississippi Half-Step" for dinner. The restaurant was in a charming historic home with dining in various rooms inside as well as on the outside patio. Since three of us were nursing lots of mosquito bites on our legs from other night-time outdoor activities, we chose to eat inside. The dinner was great, and we closed the place at 10 p.m.
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