Monday, July 23 . . . Still in the "Twilight Zone"

Woke up in Hamm's Holiday Harbor in Chillicothe, ILLINOIS :)  Since we pulled in late last night after entering the harbor through marginal depths for our boat (at times it was so shallow that the depth finder lost readings) we decided to get a better look around the marina.  Boy did this guy have stuff!

The first thing we saw as we got on to the main channel were those good 'ol flying carp!

Asian Carp that jump out of the water and can not only hit boaters, but injure them also, is not a joke on the Illinois River.  The fish become stimulated by an engine's vibration and leap well out of the water.  The ones that end up in the boats average eight to ten pounds.  The Redneck Fishing Tournament is held in Bath, Illinois, on a backwater and the winner is the boat with the most Asian Carp in the boat at the end of the three-hour contest.  In 2006, 78 boats brought in 1,840 fish!  The only gear allowed are hand-held dip nets.  Protective gear like football helments, baseball bats and rain gear for slime are optional. :)  Injuries requiring stitches from getting hit by the fish do occur.  Bow hunting (like the guys are doing in this picture), is also a growing sport and archers now come from all over the country!

While some people were on the river getting their workout hunting Asian Carp, Kelli and I took a much needed break after our rubber-band workout!

I thought the day was going to be pretty uneventful, but then I think the high temperature (100 degrees) started to get to us!  John knew the right way to cool down as we cruised; a little shower on the bow!

Peoria, Illinois, was a large town we passed.

Notice we're getting closer to the Mississippi River, as they had a hotel named after Mark Twain (right side of pic)!  This was one of the last large and for that matter, one of the last decent-sized towns we would see for some time until tomorrow night.  Since there was little in the way of towns, that also meant no marinas.  We did get lucky, though, as there was room at the Logsdon Tug Service!!!

Somehow we made our way in and found a spot!

Since it was sooo incredibly hot, we didn't feel like cooking, so we ventured to that large flight of stairs and over the big wall (see photo before this one) to see if there was anything on the other side that looked like a very small town.  Again, we felt like we were in the "Twilight Zone", as most of the buildings were closed and there were no people to be seen from anywhere!  We kept walking on Main Street, when Dave noticed a tin bar that seemed to have a smoker in the back.  Walking in of course, we got lots of looks.  We asked if they served food and they said only on Monday nights; ribs and steak!!! 

We had a wonderful rib dinner (of course not quite as good as the famous Lucky Dog Dan Dybdal ribs!!!) at "Annies" on Main Street in Beardstown, Illinois.  Remember, if you stop by, you'll only get this delicious dinner on Mondays :)

Maybe we are STARTING to come out of the "Twilight Zone"!!!