We made it! Underway at 0615, we made three locks in Illinois River, including a key lock - Marseilles - and got to Heritage Harbor Marina in Ottawa, IL at 1830 hrs. I don’t know how many miles we traveled but we’re in a flotilla that has grown to 28 boats! This leg of the trip has been the most difficult thus far. Several things makes it challenging: the waterways are filthy - filled with flotsam and jetsam, lined with industrial towns and facilities, loaded with commercial barge traffic, and we’re traveling at a mind numbing 8 knots! One more lock and we’re out of the group of locks due to be shut down Friday at 0600!

It’s nearly midnight as I write this note. Once we arrived here we learned there would be a river briefing to be led by the Harbormaster. So we had dinner, rushed back to the boat to pull and clean the engine and a/c sea strainers. The briefing lasted from 2100 - 2300 hrs. We just took our showers and are sitting down for a moment before we go to bed. We have a 0630 hrs radio call to lay out strategy for tomorrow.

Don’t know how far we’ll go tomorrow but we will get through the next lock!