Hoppies

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Stats:
Alton to Hoppies Marina on the Mississippi. 7:00 - 12:00, 45 miles

We left early and had an uneventful but pleasant cruise down the Mississippi to Hoppies, a legend in looper lore.  Hoppies is billed as a MUST stay in a lot of the literature and looper travel guides, as it's been here forever, it is the last fuel/water stop for a long time, and the folks who run it (Hoppy and his wife Fern) are very knowledgable about the river.  We had read mixed reviews but we were curious to see what the "Hoppies experience" is all about for ourselves.

Our course today took us right through St. Louis. and we had a great time looking at this very busy city and taking pics.  We wanted to catch a ball game here but the Cardinals weren't playing during our stay so we had to miss that one.  Unfortunately there is NO place to stop the boat and tie up in the city of St. Louis and certainly no place to anchor, with all the industry going on, so we just cruised on by and enjoyed.

Here are some pics of the day:

We're going down in the first lock.  It was just
fifteen minutes from our slip and I had barely ANY
coffee in my system at all!  We called first
and they had it all ready for us and we drove right in.

 This is a photo looking up at the bollard
chamber.  You wrap a mid-ship line around
it and it sinks down the lock with you.

The Mississippi is VERY industrial:

                                                               This is pretty much what it's like the whole way so far.

                                                                                   The St. Louis Arch

And, here's the famous Hoppies:

I'm not kidding.  It is a bunch of old barges.  Neither of us can figure out why people say it is a MUST stop.  We must be missing something.   I would definitely advise people to cruise on by and anchor or tie up somewhere  where the tow boats are not bouncing you around all night.

The saving grace is that a bunch of other loopers pulled in as well and we were able to make acquaintance again with Potest Fiery, Sandpiper and Midas Touch (whom we met way back in Georgian Bay before we even left on our trip).  We enjoyed a walk around town with other cruisers (cute little town) and caught up on our travels.

                                                                                   Susan and Susan at Hoppies

                                                                               BC falls off the wagon. Again.

                                                                           Double, double, toil and trouble....

Lola's birthday treat.  She was so excited about her icecream that she got the dish stuck on her nose!

Jeff enjoyed an evening of playing cards with the guys on Potest Fiery.  I had a pleasant evening curled up reading.Tomorrow, more Gran Vida!