I opened the back door of the boat and there were our friends and dock mates Bob, Nancy and Kim all smiling and ready to help us on our way. This was extra nice and wonderful because they are still part of the working world and I knew that they should have been at their places of employment but were on P Dock with us instead. As our friends helped us untie our lines from slip P37 at Burnham Harbor for the last time, a sense of sadness and loss was mixed equally with my feelings of excitement. I looked back and I could hardly see them waving through the tears in my eyes. 
The sky was a beautiful blue and the seas totally calm as we slowly made our way to the Chicago lock near Navy Pier. We wanted to travel down the river to the Ship and Sanitary Canal so that we may have one last look at our beloved downtown Chicago. Mark drove a little slower than is required and we savored the sights and sounds of the city as we made our way down river.
Shortly after the merger of the Cal Sag Channel and the Ship and Sanitary Canal one enters the Hellhole of Lemont. This is a seven mile industrial stretch along the river where the tow boats and barges are staged for the trip either down the Mississippi or out into the Great Lakes. This can be a very daunting passage as this area requires that captain and crew be ever vigilant and aware of the wake created by their boat due to the crews on the working barges that may have a freeboard of only two feet or so. As communication’s officer, it is my duty to hail the tugs/pushers as soon as I can identify them so that I may ask them how they wish us to proceed. I have found that tug boat captains, for the most part, are very charming. They are professional and at the same time they can be playful and a tad bit flirtatious in their responses. Most of them love our boat’s name and we hear lots of nice compliments about both the boat and the name. Our journey through the Hellhole this time was rather uneventful, which is a good thing. I am not sure if this is because Mark and I now know what to expect and are more confident in our boating skills or if it was a slow day, but either way, it was a pleasant and exciting part of our day’s trip.
We totally lucked out at Lockport lock in that we were able to slide right in with no waiting. For us, this is a very rare and an exceedingly welcome event. It seems that we always come to a lock where we have at least an hour wait before it is our turn. The city of Joliet lay just beyond Lockport lock and we docked at the free municipal docks at Bicentennial Park in the heart of downtown Joliet. Shortly after we got settled in three additional boats joined us. It was fun to catch their lines and meet fellow Loopers aboard Knot Home and Lady Luck who is bound for Florida.
Our friends from P Dock Mark and Lisa, very graciously took us out to dinner and gave us a sight-seeing tour of Joliet. This was the perfect ending to a perfect day. Our adrenaline had been running so high during the day that an evening relaxing with friends was exactly what we needed to cap off the first day of our adventures.
Hours traveled: 6 hours
Nautical miles traveled: 41
Number of locks: 2
Time spent waiting at locks: 10 minutes
Obligatory knitting report: No knitting today.
Thought for the day: Friendship is the best gift to give and to receive.
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