Progress report
August 18 to August 24
Monday we were up after a restless night at 6:30 hoping to leave by 8 a.m. Our inexperience
with our gear made our launch late by one half hour. We made good time, even with some serious headwinds that caused us
to detach the rear of our sunshade to cut wind resistance. We pedaled harder than ever straining our legs to the limit,
but we were relieved by a couple of half hour breaks as we went through the first two locks of our voyage. We arrived
15 miles later at Uffington public ramp at 3 p.m. where we were greeted by Arlene and Ali. Ali put the final touches on
his story and left
for home. I went to Arlene's room for a shower and entered the last couple of days of progress reports.
Uffington, WV just downstream of Booth's Creek
Tuesday morning awoke to find our mooring line had been cut during the night. It's lucky
you are not reading a story about an 80 year old going over the dam a mile downstream. We launched at 8 a.m. Arrived
at Hometown Hot dogs at 11:00 where the owner fed Ted and I all the food we could eat plus made a donation to ALS.
Across the street, Barbara the store owner gave us a donation and a bunch of food to go. After a 16 mile day we arrived at
Two Rivers Marina near Maidsville, WV.
Wednesday we left by 8 and did 13 miles by 2 p.m. when we landed at Chuck's Marina. Chuck was
friendly, and his marina was nice. I did repair work on the boat while Arlene took Ted to the motel for a shower. We
launched at 4:00 to make a few more miles downstream to Muddy Run (a little creek near Jessop Boat Club) The water rose 5
inches that night and fell a foot the next morning.
Thursday we shoved off at 7:45 after pushing the boat across 6 feet of mud to find deep water.
14 miles later after fighting heavy headwinds we arrived at Denbo Marina. It was closed because they had no cook. But we
stayed anyway. I went to the motel with Arlene to attempt internet updates, but we had no local numbers.
During the night, Arlene's folding camp chair (that we left with Ted) was stolen.
Friday We fought headwinds for 15 miles and arrived at Smitty's Marina at 3 p.m.
Smitty's Marina in Speers, PA (used to be called Harbour Towne Marina)
Saturday the headwinds were so bad we only made 13 miles and were glad to land at the
Beach Club Marina where several hundred people were celebrating their fourth annual picnic. The host invited Ted and I to meet
the DJ and tell our story to the spirited crowd. The DJ only introduced us, and proclaimed we had made the longest boat trip
to get there. The band played till 2 a.m. at which time the ducks and geese took over the soundtrack.
A loud evening at the Beach Club
On our 8th day of travel, Sunday we had soft winds and did 15 miles by 2 p.m. to be greeted
by a couple of dozen friendly, hospitable boaters at the Mon Valley Boat Club. We had planned to go another half mile to
the Youghiogheny River to get a marina, but these people were so enthusiastic about helping us, that we stayed there for
the night. They are great folks.
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