It Was A Dirty Job, But We Needed To Do It

Day 122  | Grafton 

Can someone please tell the Mayflies that this is September? We opened the curtains this morning to find Crossroads covered in these insects, attracted overnight to the pedestal lights on the dock. They have two long tails, big wings, and don't bite or sting. They're just a nuisance. We quickly used the water hose to spray down the exterior, temporarily ridding ourselves of most of the swarm.

Today was forecast to be another hot one so we went for our walk early. A metal sculpture of Canada geese in flight sits next to the river. Circling back to Main Street, I stopped to admire the selection of wood on display at Knotty by Nature. Their collection of live edge slabs had me thinking how I could install a mantle onboard. There were beautiful pieces of cherry and walnut, but the aromatic cedar slabs are what I'll remember most.

At the opposite end of Main Street we stopped at the community ball field. The calliope of the Spirit of Peoria whistled in the distance prior to the riverboat passing us as it plowed upriver. The water level is dropping dramatically and the floating logs we've been dodging have now been deposited as driftwood on the shore and in the shallows. Our friends aboard Misty Pearl (a fellow Selene 43) contacted us warning of shallow water at our next planned destination. We saw evidence on shore of a significant drop in water level.

For the heat of the afternoon, we moved inside and began work on a major upgrade project. Out came every tool from every cabinet. Doors were removed from their hinges and set aside. The carpet was rolled up and floor hatches opened. It was time to change out the original 18-year-old stinky sanitation hoses for some shiny, new, fresh-smelling ones. There were two hoses (one for each head) and four hours later installation was done, the old hoses deposited in the dumpster, and the boat put back together. She smells better already.

We cleaned ourselves up then walked to the marina restaurant to celebrate. Clouds were moving in creating a dramatic sky where the contrasting shades of blue rivaled the bright halo and rays for top feature. Since it was International Talk Like A Pirate Day, we settled in at The Arrr Bar and sampled the remaining two flavors of wine slushies -- blueberry pomegranate, and peach Bellini. My choice for winner was the strawberry mango I had yesterday. Storms on the horizon were providing a nice show, but once our drinks were done we headed back to Crossroads. A shower passed over us, but failed to cool the temperature down as hoped.

We spent a quiet evening onboard -- me working on a photo project and Barry revising our travel plans. We will stay one more day in Grafton which sets up a long travel day on Friday to make reservations at our next stop. Tomorrow I will finally vacuum and we'll top off our water tanks in preparation for a first-light departure, hoping to gain quick passage through the Mel Price Lock.