Grafton and Alton

Grafton Marina - our last stop on the Illinois River.

• We were delighted to see this marina, it's new, well protected and has beautiful accommodations. Funny, when we go to a marina Mike looks for a good restaurant and I look for clean showers. We went to a restaurant in town called "Fins". In the wall at each table they have a fish tank. Each tank is a little different, a mini aquarium. It's a fish place more than any other food. So while you eat a fish, a fish watches you!
• In the ad for Grafton Marina is a "pool, hot tub, restaurant on site and lots more." The ad was in a 2 year old book. On the property is a fiberglass pool waiting to be installed as is the hot tub. The owner said he was waiting for the town to approve his plans. The forms are sitting on someone's desk. Karen and Rich, sound familiar? The restaurant is only open on weekends; today is Monday.
• Heading down the river there is a 50' shrine called Our Lady of the Rivers. In 1951, a disastrous flood stopped just short of flooding the village of Portage des Sioux. The shrine was built in gratitude and each year the blessing of the fleet is held here.
• Next stop - Alton, Ill. This is a good marina to stop at if you want to go to St Louis, Missouri. There is not one place to anchor or dock for us in St Louis. We decided to rent a car and spend 3 days seeing it all. We're gonna breathe it ALL in. Too often we fly through an area and miss most of the sights.
• The first restaurant we went to is called Fast Eddies. At one time it was an Anheuser-Bush brewery that was also a saloon. The law was changed and a brewery could no longer be a saloon. So Fast Eddie opened a restaurant. The first thing I noticed was a sign that said "No children"; we all got a kick out of that. The waitress only serves the alcohol, if you want food you have to go get it yourself. Steak on a stick with peppers, hamburgers, shrimp by the piece ($.25) and french fries. A very limited menu and very inexpensive. Picture an old time saloon in the cowboy movies you saw as a child, that's Fast Eddies. There were about 10 couples and we had a real good time. This place has the largest consumption of beer in the state of Illinois and we helped.
• After eating, it was just too early to go back to the boat. Within walking distance is the Argosy Casino Boat, we were just going to look around. I am now as bad a Mike when it comes to going to the casino; I really enjoy it. I took my $30 (the amount I was willing to lose) and lost it in 2 hours. I scouted around for Mike and found him with a nice pile in front of him. He immediately gave me $200 and I took off with it. About 1 hour later I made the mistake of going to check him out and he asked for the $200 back. To make a short story shorter, we lost.
• Up early the next morning to do some laundry and get some groceries. Now we're off to St. Louis. Only a half-hour ride and you can see the Arch. What a sight!! After always seeing it on TV when the St Louis Rams play, this is the real thing. We put the car in a garage; just like N.Y. it's very difficult to find a parking spot. We walked to a beautiful park to the arch. You look up so far and you start to topple over, your neck hurts, the sun is shinning, the arch gleams so much you have to squint. You have to go a little below ground to get in, but first you have to go through security. Just like at the airports, shoes, belts and bags are put in a bin.
• The ride to the top is only 4 minutes. The arch is 630 feet. You climb through a porthole, like the ones in a submarine, into a little cage. Similar to the ones in an amusement park ride, only you can't see out of this one, it's all enclosed. Five people sit with their feet on top of one another's and your knees are touching. The car starts to move and you rock; you hear all kinds of squeaks. The noise makes you think it's about to come apart. Finally you're at the top. The little porthole opens and you crawl out. You're on a narrow staircase with people standing to one side of it waiting to go down. You go single file up the staircase to a room that is long and narrow. Maybe 15 feet wide and 40 feet long with 6 little windows on each side. On one side you have the city and the other is the Mississippi River. I start to sweat and get real clammy, my face turns pure white...Mike says, "Is something wrong?" Are you kidding?! I'm about to pass out, I swear this thing is coming down; I can feel it swaying, I know it's going back and forth.....get me out of here...We had to wait our turn on the narrow staircase for the next group of little cars to come up. Crawl back into this little cubbyhole that a mouse wouldn't be happy in and listen to the god awful squawk of the chains bringing me down to safety. When we get to the bottom, Mike says, "Well that's an hour and a half of my life I won't get back." It's all about him!!!!
• A tour of the lower part of the arch was wonderful. With my feet planted on the ground I enjoyed the museum and the history of Lewis and Clark.
• It's now dark and time for us to go back to the den of degradation. The casino was once again calling us. We went with a positive approach. In Missouri you have to buy your own drinks, unlike Atlantic City where it's free as long as you are playing. I won back the $30 I lost last night plus $10 more. I was happy. I will not talk about my honey, "Chris Money Maker."
• Our next trip to St. Louis starts at a little sidewalk bistro for lunch. Then a walk to the Cathedral Basilica. Unbelievable, it's amazing, 83,000 square feet of mosaic artwork. It's a lesson in faith and history. The mosaic tells the story of the Catholic faith from Creation to the Last Judgment. It has scenes from both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. The eyes follow you in a lot of the scenes.
• If you believe in ghosts, Alton is the place to visit. If you don't believe--you might by the time you leave Alton. It's considered the most haunted town in America. There are still tunnels beneath the streets as Alton was a major stop along the underground railroad. Slaves hid in caves, barns and basements. You can hear the slaves' tales and feel their fear. (It's like being at the top of the arch all over again.)