We left the St. Louis area & cruised past the famous Arch heading south on the Mississippi River. Our first lock was our worst experience out of the many locks we’ve encountered. It was full of debris with tremendous current. Captain Steve got us through unscathed except for torn fender covers, a minor fix. Amazing barge traffic with the largest being a tug pushing 42 barges, all tied together, larger than a football field. Also, great sights of old paddle wheel boats, some now turned into casinos. Our first night was spent tied up to a group of old barges at Hoppie’s Marina in Kimmswick, MO. We got a lecture from Fern (Mrs. Hoppie) about what to expect heading south. Floating logs, major barge traffic, huge whirlpools, strong currents & no marinas for the next 300 miles…. The old town of Kimmswick was very interesting with 200 residents & 40 historic buildings in the National Register. Another day on the mighty Miss with all her sights brought us to Diversion Channel, a safe cove off the river. We lowered the tender, “Little Ho”, & ferried Dylan & Dugan to the muddy shore for some relief. The next day we experienced the ferocious whirlpools & made it safely to a left turn up the Ohio River, a real relief. The Ohio brought us past the town of Metropolis, home of “Superman”, with a Harrah’s Casino on shore. Another night of anchoring out found us in the Cumberland Island Towhead, where the Cumberland meets the Ohio River. The next morning we locked through a major lock that brought us 57′ higher & into Lake Barkley, a really beautiful reservoir. We stayed at Kentucky Lake Dam Marina & encountered a huge bass fishing tournement on our arrival. Kentucky Lake is “houseboat heaven”. The vessel next to us was a houseboat over 20′ wide & 110′ long with 6 staterooms and a slide off the stern, something everyone needs!?!? We cruised down the beautiful Kentucky Lake that had been dammed so there were old buildings still visible jutting out of the water & into the Tennessee River with amazing Fall foliage. Tally-Ho docked at Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville, TN (an hour from Nashville) where she will stay with our crew for 2 weeks while we return to Tryon for some foxhunting, visits with friends and family, our annual hiking trip to Snowbird Mountain Lodge in the Great Smoky Mountains & a weekend in Nashville on the way back to “Tally-Ho”.