Mississippi River Cruise ‘N Ride – Last day!

(This is how I imagine the last day might go.)

We’re all up early for a big breakfast of pancakes and toast and bacon and eggs and whatever else we can stuff in our faces. It’s our last meal together because everybody will be heading back today. The boat has to be back by noon so the crew has to shove off by about 8:30.

I videotape the last breakfast and get a parting word from everybody. (I particularly wanted to get comments from the “boat riders” who chose the more leisurely way to the marina yesterday!) Apparently, the captain had them each drive the boat for a while so they weren’t comatose for the whole voyage. They did look relaxed though!

I can’t wait to get back and edit the tape. It should be a candidate for “America’s Finest Home Videos” thanks to some of the comments that I got on camera!

We pack lunches for those that want them as we had lots of leftovers. Then it was time to say our goodbyes!

5 people are heading west through Iowa and the rest are going north east towards Green Bay. (Actually, they are going to the Road America racetrack up in that area to catch a car race this weekend.) I decide to go with the “Road America” group for half a day because I don’t have to be back at the marina in La Crosse until later this afternoon.

About a half an hour after the boat left, we finally managed to head out. The eastward group (including myself) found some great secondary roads and headed towards Fond du Lac where they would turn north and I would turn back! We stopped at a Dairy Queen in Lodi and dug into our leftovers at a picnic table in the back. Then, there were more goodbyes as I decided to head back across country from there to La Crosse (riding alone for the first time in 4 days).

By the time I got to the marina, the boat was cleaned and the captain and crew were waiting for me at a local hotel. They were going to fly back tomorrow from St. Paul while I continued on a more leisurely pace back to the west coast.

768 miles, a few laughs, some good food, and good company – all in all, a tough way to spend a few days in the summer. I can’t wait to do it again!

The Mystic Mississippi River Cruise ‘N Ride - (The 3rd 24 hours)

(For those of you who cannot dream, I’m making this imaginary trip up. Come on along in August and we’ll do it for real!)

The Fantasy

The captain and crew got the BBQ going and we feasted on the pork chops and roast potatoes along with some local corn on the cob and a salad. (Why does food always taste better when it’s cooked outdoors?)

After eating, I did a round of the riders with the video camera to get everyone’s impression of the trip so far and more personal background from everyone. (It will be fun editing these tapes when I get back. Some of these people are characters!)

A few of us stayed up late telling tales of our travels. (It’s funny how so many near catastrophes make the best stories.)

Sometime after midnight, we called it a day.

The next morning, most of us had pancakes and sausages for breakfast before heading out. Three of the couples decided to split up for the day. The spouses wanted to relax on the boat while the riders were going to blast south as far as they could go. I opted to stay with the other 2 bikes and we would also head south but not quite as far (or as fast) as the others.

We rode along the river all day although; sometimes you couldn’t see it as the road ran along the bluffs. We stopped for a late lunch at Davenport, Iowa where we crossed over to the other side of the river and headed north again up Highway 84. (The other group went as far as Fort Madison on the Missouri border before turning around!)

At Cassville, we stopped for ice cream and cold drinks before we made our final push to Harpers Ferry (on the Iowa side of the river) where we were to meet the boat for the night. We got there around 5:30, only to find no boat! I called the captain and apparently the locks were really busy today, so it took them longer than expected through them. They thought they’d be another hour and a half, so we left word at the marina for the other group and headed for R.V.’s Family Tavern (which was air conditioned)!

The other group staggered in an hour later and man were they thirsty! I’m glad I didn’t go that far. They soon cooled off however and we all returned to the boat around 7:00 when the captain called and said they had arrived. Some of us went for a swim off the end of the boat. (They have a slide there.) The rest just settled under the shade of the upper deck bar.

We decided it was too hot to cook so we all walked up to Harper’s Café & Motel and tried some country cuisine around 8:30.

Tomorrow is our last day so we all hit the sack early.