A dream on the river

For as long as I can remember, I've had a fascination with the Mississippi River.  Not a Tom Sawyer type of fascination, but one of incredulity at such a huge body of water.  Incredulity.  Is that a word?  There is a scale model of The River on Mud Island, in downtown Memphis, where you get a great sense of The River's enormous responsibility.  Anyway, we're headed for a dream of a trip on The River.  The afternoon Stuart and I got married, 25 years ago, we talked about who/where we'd be in 25 years.  I said I'd like to take a trip on The River sometime before then.  Guess I've waited long enough.

We've rented a houseboat on the upper MS river, in what is known there are Pool 4.  That name has something to do with the locks.  We're picking up our floating home in Alma, WI, just south of Lake Pepian.  The river is so wide just upriver from Alma, it's called a lake!  Everything I've ever read calls this part of the river the most beautiful, with bluffs from 300 - 500 feet.  We will have five days to explore the river, and the small towns close by, locking through to go either up or down the river.  Here's the link for the marina we're dealing with:  http://www.funsun.com/ 
Check out the boat we're rented, the Couples Boat.

After we return the boat, we're headed across the upper peninsula of MI, and down the east coast of MI to see lighthouses.  Doesn't this sound like a grand late summer trip?

To make it even better, we've once again lucked into a house-sitting situation that helps everyone.  Our friends Jan and Eddie finally sold their house.  They've had their eyes on one to buy, but had to sell first.  Their new home needs renovations to the kitchen and bathrooms, and they thought they'd have to rent an apartment.  Well, could timing get any better?!?  And, besides, I now know how to move out of a closet to make room for friends.  So, Jan and Eddie are going to move into our house while they're renovating their new house.  No stinky rental carpets, no noisy neighbors, and a very nice porch (if I do say so!) for breakfast and dinner.  So, if the granite counter tops arrive on time, there are no surprises in the ripping out process, we'll all be comfy on almost exactly the same schedule!  And, if not, there is room for us all when we return.

Stay tuned.  It's going to be a grand adventure.  And, who knows.  We might turn into Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn after all.