Monday, August 22, 2011

Havana Illinois

Today was a day to meet lots of tugboats pushing 9 to 12 barges up the river.  One lock today; 1 1/2 hours wait. We left at 8:00 AM and arrived at 3:30 at the Tall Timbers Marina in the quaint little town of Havana Illinois; a friendly place where the residents brag about their hometown.
Owner Bob built the whole marina in the last 10 years.  He is a handy guy who is surprised that we haven't seen Asian Carp.  His advice to us: look out the back of the boat or at other boats and they will be jumping as high as 10ft.  The can weigh well over 100 pounds and therefore in addition to being slimey, bloody, and just plain messy, they can be dangerous as well!
Havana sponsors a fun (fishing) contest every year.  The fish eat plankton and jump when motors operate at certain frequencies. 
How to catch them? 
Just drive around in a boat, scare them up and use a net to catch the flying fish if they don't hit you first!  Hmmmm.



Along the way,






Waiting for 1 1/2 hours!






Coming in to our Marina



The Town



One of the people we met in town is Ted Connolly, a commercial photographer whose past employers were movie stars, magazines and newspapers. Coming back home to rest, he does a lot of his fine work for free!  We had a great time swapping Chicago and Cub stories.

1 comment:

  1. Very nice to meet you folks earlier this evening. I can't wait to spend more time on your blog and see more of your trip. I envy you guys for doing this, what a way to spend a summer and the memories you are making along the way. My emial is crtrc1@aol.com , drop me a note when you have time. You might enjoy this link from last year's Bath, Illinois Redneck Fishing Tournament http://www.62644.com/2010/AUGUST2010/2010FacesRedneckFishingTournament.html
    and you just might recognize your waitress from the restaurant tonight in the big photo.
    Again, great to meet the two of you.

    ReplyDelete