Thursday, August 2

Woke up to sprinkles, but that didn't stop us from getting out to enjoy the great outdoors.  Krystina and Tony were up at 7:00 to do a little fishing . . . they were very successful catching 12 fish total in just two hours! 

Dave and I went for a long walk around Pettibone Park.  Since the weather wasn't supposed to clear until noon, and we had ALL of three hours of cruising to do, we decided to take our time leaving LaCrosse.  After a yummy quiche breakfast (thanks to People's Food Co-op), we saw our clearing sky, and headed northbound.

LaCrosse ~ Downtown Waterfront

Leaving Pettibone Boat Club and Pettibone Island on our right.

Near the bridge, there are many boathouses.

As we came out of LaCrosse's Lock #7, straight ahead was the channel with beautiful bluffs to our port (left), and on our starboard we saw . . .

. . . beautiful Mississippi backwaters!  When returning in a waterway, the red buoy is always on your right {red, right, returning :)}.  So, everything to the right of the red buoy is backwaters . . . A LOT of backwaters!

As we continued northward, we saw this corps of engineers' boat.  It had just retracted the outrigger arms which hold depth-sounding equipment for charting the depths of the river.

Ahhh, one of my favorite scenic parts of the Upper Mississippi River . . . Trempealeau, with it's beautiful bluffs to the port and starboard :)

Our spot for the night was Sunset Marina, which was just around the corner of Lock #6 in the above picture.  When we got into the marina, there was a lot of commotion on a rental houseboat.  It seemed there were many men getting ready for a river adventure.

So, if you're a woman on the Mississippi, either get ready to enjoy a free boat ride, or STEER CLEAR!!! :)

Krystina and Jacqui decided to have their own fun on the Mississippi River, by having Tony pull them tubing.

We ended the day with a wonderful dinner at Ed Sullivan's Supper Club, where we celebrated my birthday.  Just as our dinners arrived, we were told by the waitress that "Lucky Dog" had just phoned and said he'd like to buy us a round of drinks . . . that would be our friends Dan and Sally who joined us mid-way through the trip!  Sneaky :)  We toasted our good friends with our after-dinner drinks; Bailey's on the Rocks, Virgin Grasshoppers, and a Brandy Alexander for me . . . now that's a birthday treat!!!  Thank you, Dan and Sally!