Monday, June 23:
According to the forecast, it was supposed to rain on Tuesday and it was still VERY hot so we decided to stay and Heritage one more night and take off first thing Tuesday morning. It was a relatively quiet day. We cooked outside to try and keep things cool inside, but brought the food inside to eat.
Tuesday, June 24:
Marcels Lock was ready for us first thing, so we shoved off shortly after 0630. As we were switching over to Inverter, the switch wouldn't work. After a little troubleshooting, Wes determined it was the switch itself and there was nothing we could do about it, so off we went. For the most part we had no power while moving (except for 12 volt items). Wes was able to get my laptop plugged in so I could still work. We took out all the ice from the ice machine and put them in as many insulated cups as we could to try and save as much ice as possible as it was another VERY hot day. We had very little breeze and the predicted rain did not come until the evening. We made it through the four locks without much issue although one was quite full as we locked through with a tow with 2 barges and another tow. We made it to the Joliet wall and struggled to get the shore power to work without tripping the breaker. Our friend Mike O'Malley drove down to see us. He was kind enough to drive us to dinner at JD's BBQ. I think they mostly do take-out, but the food was delicious and reasonable. We got back to Toscana, and Wes did his magic to bypass the switch so we could have power for the night.
Wednesday, June 25:
It was a cooler day (finally) after the front went through. It was a partly cloudy day, but very pleasant to still be outside, which was a welcome change. We went into Lockport lock and as we were getting locked through, Wes heard a warning buzzer. He checked everything out and at first glance thought everything was fine, but realized pretty quickly that there was an issue. The starboard engine was getting hot, so we were either leaking coolant or the impeller wasn't pulling in the needed water to keep the engine cool. So, Wes shut down the starboard engine and we ran the rest of the way to Chicago on one engine. It was a beautiful ride through downtown Chicago. We made it through the last lock and made it to Lake Michigan!! After some more power issues at the yacht club (we kept tripping the GFI breaker) we headed to DuSable Harbor for two nights. We caught back up with Luis and Kim (from Knoxville). One of Wes's old employees Joe, came to visit us. I cooked and we all enjoyed a nice dinner on the aft deck. Luis and Kim stopped to say hi and then we watched fireworks to close the evening.
Wes was busy fixing the impeller while I worked. He had the parts to fix the electrical issues deliver to the marina, but they did not arrive until almost 1700, so that project would wait for another day. We walked over to a nice Chinese restaurant that was about half a mile away and had a nice dinner out with Luis and Kim. We got a lot of food and we all left with to go boxes! It was another delicious meal!!
It was a beautiful sunrise that my dad was able to get a couple pictures of. We shoved off around 0800 and headed out on Lake Michigan to Southport Marina in Kenosha. Such a beautiful view of Chicago as we headed north and then the beauty of open water as we headed north. It was a little choppy, so Wes put up the sail to help with the "rocking" of the boat. It helped!! It was a beautiful day! We arrived at Southport and got settled in. We enjoyed an evening playing cards.
Wes got right to work on the electrical issue. The switch was fried! Very scary when you think about it as it very easily could have caused a fire. I cooked a big breakfast while Wes worked. We noticed a bunch of tents nearby, so my dad and I walked over to check it out. It was a big farmers market with lots of vendors. There was a lot to see. There were food trucks, other food "stalls" where they made the food right there, flowers, jams, fresh veggies, clothing, jewelry and much more. I picked up some bread, jams, popcorn and freeze dried candy. After the electrical was fixed, we played cards and had some fun!
Sunday, June 29:
It was a relaxing day. Finally a day off for Wes where he didn't have to fix anything (except to superglue a pen for me)! We gathered all of my parents things and they headed home. Wes and I caught up on household things and computer things and did a few videos. The weather was great and we were finally able to have dinner on the aft deck again! We missed being able to just relax outside!
No comments:
Post a Comment