Peoria, Illinois for 3 days

The trip to Peoria uncomfortably warm; our portable fans came in handy.   Only one lock and only 10 minutes waiting time.  It seems strange to be the only boat in a lock that is 600ft by 200ft(2 football fields?)!!



Tiny boat houses on the river




Working on the River







They have the right of way!




One of many small light houses or markers




Steve's car -nice guy




Illinois Valley Yacht Club



During much of the trip the landscape was really primitive showing no signs of civilization, not even a light pole.  For the last two hours or so we were traveling through a huge lake where the channel was 15 to 18 feet; the rest of the lake we were told was about 2 foot deep! 
The town of Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois river; other independent towns include East Peoria and Peoria Heights.
This the home of the Caterpillar company which is the reason for the area's prosperity
The entrance to Illinois Valley Yacht Club was quite shallow but we made it in.  
The members and help are very friendly and welcoming to visiting boaters.  The club has a really good Yacht Club feel with lots of activities going on, so we stayed 3 days.
The 1st evening the bar manager insisted that we use his new car to explore downtown!   The River Walk was a couple blocks long with a few restaurants and bars; featuring a good jazz band, a good folk group and a rock group. We drove across the bridge to East Peoria  to find the chain stores and restaurants; we ate at Applebees and proceeded back to the Yacht Club after getting lost for 30 minutes!

Saturday night we had fun at the club for their annual Jazz on the Barge evening featuring a great rock(!) band.

Sunday at noon we will pay 5 dollars for all you can eat fish, draft beer, mimosas, and bloody marys on the barge. This is an old  barge that serves as a party room and as a support for boat docks.

Tomorrow we will leave this very friendly and welcoming Yacht Club to travel to the Long Timber Marina in Havana Illinois.