Along the Illinois River we have seen many of the 'flying carp' that we have heard so much about. They really do jump right out of the water and flip-flop mid air. It's really quite something! Further downstream there is a warning about hundreds of them, so perhaps we'll run into that in the coming days.
We found ourselves in the small hamlet of Henry IL last night. We actually tied up inside an abandoned lock that hasn't been used for many years. Kind of cool.
We walked into town for some groceries and spotted a consignment shop. We've been looking for a decent barometer for a few weeks. Eric is very particular about having all sorts of weather info - electronic, radio updates etc. The lady in the shop was very friendly and thought she had one, but turned out she did not. I was looking at a few items and we were chatting when she said, "you know, I have a barometer on my wall at home that I never even look at. I'd be happy to give it to you". She said she'd pop by the boat after she closed up.
Well, that was a really nice gesture! I picked up the most expensive bottle of wine I could find at the grocery store ($5.99), and when she showed up later with the barometer, she was thrilled with the bottle of wine. One nice turn deserves another, so they say :). The new addition to Catan was made in Chicago and is now hanging securely on the stairway wall in the salon.
Today we travelled further south to Peoria, IL. We are tied up at the municipal dock with power (free), and we're the only ones here. WiFi coverage from the restaurant next door. The other two boats we befriended over the past few days (one is from Kingston), are a day behind us now (they stayed an extra night in Ottawa IL. We'll likely meet up again soon.
Totally unrelated, but we're able to pick up 20+ TV stations with our $100 digital antenna. The US still transmits over the airwaves. We get all the major channels and lots of local ones too. The Voice, Dancing with the Stars, Survivor etc. are all streaming well for us! I'm a happy girl!
Now, off to make dinner.
