June 21, Thursday

We are posting early today to let you know that Carlo is in good spirits. He knee was quite swollen this morning, so Roger (a relative who lives in the area) is bringing a wheelchair and crutches so he can get to a doctor in Peoria. Then, because he cannot put weight on his knee, he will figure out how to get home. We will miss him on the rest of the trip but we don't want him to be uncomfortable.

Well, Carlo has two broken bones beneath/around his kneecap. He just left the hospital and Diane (his wife) will meet up with Roger and take him back home. He will go to the dr. tomorrow, but it appears he will need surgery. It's a beautiful day, but the crew is very down and feel terrible.

We wanted to dock at a marina, but it was closed due to lack of water (less than 3 feet). So we stopped at the Longston Tug Service and tied up next to a tug boat named Clyde that was attached to a barge / crane in Beardstown, Illinois. Beardstown is very hispanic (which we found to be strange in the middle of nowhere), very quiet, and very hot. Most of the people out and about are teenagers driving around in their cars. We walked to the grocery store and got supplies, and went back to the boat to sit for a while. The weather report says storms, so we put up the canvas and walked back into town. We ate at a Mexican restaurant and, of course, walked down to the DQ. On the way back, we scaled a 2 foot wall with dropoffs on both sides (one of Kip's shortcuts). We just stepped onto the boat, and it started raining buckets. We went about 75 miles today. We miss you Carlo!