Idk
Copyright© 2024 by Old Man with a Pen
Chapter 8
Mississippi Too
Before all this, we had been enjoying a leisurely cruise down the Ohio. At Pittsburgh, we lost the Monongahela River and joined the Allegheny at the confluence to form the Ohio. Locking regulary on the Mon we were used to waiting on up bound barge traffic.
It is 981 miles from the Pitt to Cairo and the Mississippi. Had we averaged 175 miles a day, easily done, we could have arrived at Cairo in five and a half days. But we took a good two weeks, always careful to tie up away from the state of Ohio ... can’t sleep on a boat in Ohio ... except in certain designated areas ... like state parks.
In Cairo we turned upstream. We are not fleeing to the Gulf ... we are going to the Cabin ... I didn’t know that. I didn’t find out until I woke up for my trick at the wheel. We were just past Grays Point and needed fuel. Upstream uses more fuel than down. Down coasts, up pushes.
Mom had called ahead. She stayed at the helm while was on deck. The Smites Diesel Delivery truck was waiting at the pier upstream of FMT dock 2. Mr. Smites knew mom ... how about that.
Woodstock figured heavily in their conversations. Old hippies turned responsible.
Sold out.
It wasn’t until we were a considerable ways above Cape Girardeau ... almost to Kansas City ... before Jackie/Edith/Jackie.
Days spent relaxing, safe, sound and well fed aren’t much to write about ... so I didn’t. Mostly it was keeping away from Illinois and their chickenshit gun laws.
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