Day 129 Grafton Marina

Spent a gloriously relaxing day in Grafton, Illinois. The marina is huge and well maintained. There are a lot of other Loopers here. We hear there are some water level problems down river - not sure if they will affect us since our draft is so shallow. In the morning, John changed some filters while I walked the city streets exploring. Not many shops, but some very neat buildings from the 1800's. It's a very small town with a population of under 700. It's hard to believe that over 10,000 citizens lived here about 150 years ago. It had 5 quarries; was a huge commercial fishing center; and supported a  thriving boat building industry. The boat works is now a weekend antique and craft market. In 1993, the town endured a devasating flood that destroyed many buildings and drove a third of the population away. Now they mostly cater to tourists, but are trying to become wine producing country. There's 3 wineries and a vineyard here within walking distance. Later in the day, we called the restaurant/winery on the mountain above us for a shuttle ride so we could have a late lunch. In the third picture, St. Louis is on the far horizon. The weather is perfect - 74 degrees with a light breeze. The view from the deck was spectacular of the river and lands below. Food was good, wine was better. Had a delicious salad with yummy dressing, so I asked the waitress if they bottled their dressing. She said that they make everything on premises except for that dressing - it was Kraft - right off the grocery shelf. Surprise! Good stuff - try it if you like a sweetish, thick raspberry vinegarette. As I was finishing the blog, I looked down the slips and there goes another pirate ship. Ahoy! There's 3 in the marina heading south to warmer climate.