We were told that the water levels were low, something to do with wickets (which we only now know what they are) and that navigating into the Illinois Valley Yacht Club (the IVY) would not necessarily be impossible but would most surely ruin our hull, props and therefore our day. So we stopped at the free docks at the Peoria City wall. Free is good. Free with power even better! Until we realize the mistake that Peoria has made. Beautiful riverfront, so-so docks (again, Free), but absolutely everything you want to do is on the *other side of the river*. Seriously. No restaurants, no grocery, nada. Well, there is the Caterpillar headquarters/visitor center. In addition, we weren't really comfortable with the amount of interest some unsavories were paying to us and our boat at the city dock.
Todd's friend Jeff used to live here and lined up one of HIS friends who would lend us their car. He also lined up a nice slip for us at the IVY. They both told us that we really should be able to make it in there. I think the earlier communication we had was clouded by the not quite southern accent that is starting to emerge, or maybe enough days had passed such that water levels had risen again. Todd was concerned that we might get in, but maybe not be able to get out!!! But we went anyway. I am going to go on record that we maybe had inches to spare. But we got in and nothing was damaged. Amen.
We found a really nice, large slip and then found our way to the club house/harbormaster office. Do you know the scene in those old westerns where the "out of town" folk enter the bar and everything goes silent as all eyes turn toward the door? We had stumbled upon a really nice tradition of the IVY club - despite the season being "over" - a few of the IVY club members would gather each Sunday to watch Da Bears play football and enjoy each other's company and a potluck. It was a really good spread; ribs, sloppy joes, pie, 7 layer bean dip, you get the drift. Once they were over the shock of the door opening and strangers walking in, they welcomed us with open arms. I assumed it was due to the adorable children, but Todd set me straight; they were eyeing the dogs and plotting ways to abduct them.
We had just such a great time. We didn't anticipate "hanging out" in the clubhouse, but....well, there was a bar; and beer, and really good bloody mary's, and a really nice crew of folks. Meanwhile, I did a load of laundry. We just can't thank the fine folks at IVY enough . Cady's Carts and Trailers deserves a huge shout-out the loaner car and going above and beyond with providing options for us, and the ultimate welcoming attitude of everyone. Thank you, Peoria!
Oh. The "pooper" - so many "memories" already! Recall that someone may or may not have flushed marbles down our vacuum toilet (powered by pistons, so the terrible noise that emanated from the pistons theoretically hitting a marble instead of forming a nice quiet vacuum was starting to form a memory in our brains that might never leave. Add to that the gut-wrenching worry that a total failure was about to happen and you understand why I was again searching for the wine opener). Todd had found a rebuilt toilet pump system somewhere in Washington State and it was being express delivered to the IVY (at a cost we don't want to talk about again). Technically, the IVY is closed for the season. But since God is smiling down on us, Todd was walking the dogs, headed up to the clubhouse just as the UPS driver was pulling away - so he, in his rugged athleticism, jumped across the railroad tracks and up onto the highway to flag the truck down. Success. We had a new pooper on board. Todd wanted to install said pooper that same night after dinner. I thought this was a task best faced early and on an empty stomach; so we waiting until morning.
Most tasks are easier when there are two. This is no exception. As you can imagine, there are many small places in boats. Sadly, we needed to contort our ever-expanding and ever-aging bodies into one of these small spaces and extract a plastic housing full of poop water. Let's let that thought sit for a moment. <Sigh>. Let's just say that there were a lot of paper towels and bleach involved. Todd was the one closest to the "deed", and I thank God every day for his resourcefulness. We were able to extract and replace the pooper without incident. The stressful moments of that first flush; "how long should we give it to form a vacuum?" "how long has it been?". "Maybe we need to add some water to sort of \"prime" the pump?" (that was my suggestion, I'm proud to say, and it was the golden ticket - we had a new pooper AND a solid vacuum seal. Don't think for a moment that there wasn't a serious family meeting afterwards.
An autopsy was performed. There are many details being left out for your reading pleasure. Suffice it to say that it was NOT marbles. It was rocks. In retrospect, we are fairly certain that the rocks were not thrown down the toilet. There is a certain child in this family that we love SO MUCH, but who had at one point a proclivity towards eating sand and rocks when presented with a beach. We are hoping beyond hope that we have now outgrown this habit. Again, a serious family meeting was held. There is a bit of irony in this as our last name is "Stone". Also, I felt a little disrespectful as I texted some of our friends that "Todd totally "rocks" and has fixed the pooper".
See the picture above with "Shirtsy" and the kids? At one point in the spring, the Mississippi had risen to levels such that the water was in the clubhouse up to the top of that wagon. Understand, however, that from our boat and the current water level, that was a TWELVE FOOT difference. I can't imagine living next to such a formidable and unpredictable beast. In the short stay that we were there, we saw water levels change 4 feet! Thankfully, that change was to our good, so we were able to easily navigate out way back out. Peoria Heights hosts an awesome Hallowe'en, but we just couldn't burn those extra few days - we had to keep moving. On to Grafton, it was.
Peoria, we are taking these twelve or so crickets hostage. 🤪
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| "Shirtsy" only had eyes for the kids, and gave them wagon rides around the club as well as a history lesson. |
Oh. The "pooper" - so many "memories" already! Recall that someone may or may not have flushed marbles down our vacuum toilet (powered by pistons, so the terrible noise that emanated from the pistons theoretically hitting a marble instead of forming a nice quiet vacuum was starting to form a memory in our brains that might never leave. Add to that the gut-wrenching worry that a total failure was about to happen and you understand why I was again searching for the wine opener). Todd had found a rebuilt toilet pump system somewhere in Washington State and it was being express delivered to the IVY (at a cost we don't want to talk about again). Technically, the IVY is closed for the season. But since God is smiling down on us, Todd was walking the dogs, headed up to the clubhouse just as the UPS driver was pulling away - so he, in his rugged athleticism, jumped across the railroad tracks and up onto the highway to flag the truck down. Success. We had a new pooper on board. Todd wanted to install said pooper that same night after dinner. I thought this was a task best faced early and on an empty stomach; so we waiting until morning.
Most tasks are easier when there are two. This is no exception. As you can imagine, there are many small places in boats. Sadly, we needed to contort our ever-expanding and ever-aging bodies into one of these small spaces and extract a plastic housing full of poop water. Let's let that thought sit for a moment. <Sigh>. Let's just say that there were a lot of paper towels and bleach involved. Todd was the one closest to the "deed", and I thank God every day for his resourcefulness. We were able to extract and replace the pooper without incident. The stressful moments of that first flush; "how long should we give it to form a vacuum?" "how long has it been?". "Maybe we need to add some water to sort of \"prime" the pump?" (that was my suggestion, I'm proud to say, and it was the golden ticket - we had a new pooper AND a solid vacuum seal. Don't think for a moment that there wasn't a serious family meeting afterwards.
An autopsy was performed. There are many details being left out for your reading pleasure. Suffice it to say that it was NOT marbles. It was rocks. In retrospect, we are fairly certain that the rocks were not thrown down the toilet. There is a certain child in this family that we love SO MUCH, but who had at one point a proclivity towards eating sand and rocks when presented with a beach. We are hoping beyond hope that we have now outgrown this habit. Again, a serious family meeting was held. There is a bit of irony in this as our last name is "Stone". Also, I felt a little disrespectful as I texted some of our friends that "Todd totally "rocks" and has fixed the pooper".
See the picture above with "Shirtsy" and the kids? At one point in the spring, the Mississippi had risen to levels such that the water was in the clubhouse up to the top of that wagon. Understand, however, that from our boat and the current water level, that was a TWELVE FOOT difference. I can't imagine living next to such a formidable and unpredictable beast. In the short stay that we were there, we saw water levels change 4 feet! Thankfully, that change was to our good, so we were able to easily navigate out way back out. Peoria Heights hosts an awesome Hallowe'en, but we just couldn't burn those extra few days - we had to keep moving. On to Grafton, it was.
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