Topic starter
19/09/2008 5:26 pm
The NATCHEZ is of course the Racehorse of the Western Rivers, but today we've got a pretty good imitation flying through our waters. The AQ was delayed in Hannibal until Thursday morning due to the high water under the rr lift span. Her z drives and paddlewheel are propelling her rapidly in her trip upriver, and the lock traffic is light to help. So, while it was originally thought the trip would be ending here in Davenport, they are getting a full beautiful day of cruising in today enroute to Dubuque, where the turnover will occur on Saturday. The downbound cruise will go up to LaCrosse and then head back down on schedule for Dubuque, Davenport, etc. It looked good to see a lot of passengers out on deck watching the locking and enjoying the river and the weather.
19/09/2008 6:01 pm
I watched the AQ going into the lock on the webcams!
Carmen
Topic starter
19/09/2008 8:50 pm
...and did you see an Oregon tie-dye t shirt on the island between the locks?
The reason they had to tie against the port wall today was that there was scaffolding on the Visitors Center building which would have been wiped out by the wingbridge, had they come up the usual side. Years ago when the auxiliary lock was functional, the DQ often used it, so a trip to the island was a fairly common occurence. Today it was a real treat for a change.
19/09/2008 10:35 pm
Judy--- thanks so much for your blow-by-blow account of AQ's travels: it's the only way I found out where the boat'll be when I join it tomorrow to work for 3 weeks! All I knew is, I'm being flown to St. Paul-- & now I know to prepare for a long, but scenic, bus ride.
19/09/2008 11:14 pm
Annie Lebeaux;12787 wrote: Judy--- thanks so much for your blow-by-blow account of AQ's travels: it's the only way I found out where the boat'll be when I join it tomorrow to work for 3 weeks! All I knew is, I'm being flown to St. Paul-- & now I know to prepare for a long, but scenic, bus ride.
Break the appropriate appendage, Annie. And please do the Wizard of Oz thing one time for me.
Paul
Topic starter
20/09/2008 1:31 am
Busing to the AQ
Well, Annie, you got lucky - by getting the boat to Dubuque, they've saved at least an hour and a half on the bus. It should be about 4 hours now. I'll see you at Davenport Wednesday - I presume you'll be heading over to the Village of East Davenport in search of old treasures. Its .8 mile from the landing via the bikepath.
20/09/2008 5:38 am
Live from the Levee Report: AQ landed Dubuque 11:20 p.m. All fast at 12:10. Mounds of luggage stacked up on head of boat, presumably for early departure with pax for Twin Cities. No info yet about departure time for SB trip. Will try to post something tomorrow.
20/09/2008 4:55 pm
Live from the Levee Report 2: When I arrived at the River's Edge Plaza landing this morning to check on the latest about the AQ, I was surprised to see perhaps a hundred chairs set up under the gazebo there. At first I thought, what a nice gesture for passengers who might be waiting to board for the southbound trip. But after investigating a little more, I discovered that there is a 12:30 wedding scheduled at the gazebo this afternoon! One of the groomsmen or ushers arrived while I was there, and I asked him if they had planned on having a steamboat as the backdrop for the wedding. "We sure didn't," he replied with eyes still glued to the big sternwheeler lazing in the late morning sun. I will return as your Upper Mississippi social news editor to document the ceremony shortly. The AQ's NB passengers were long gone via buses when I arrived around 11:00. Presumably those same buses will transport her new passengers to Dubuque later today. The boat is scheduled for a 10 p.m. departure, and will cruise upriver to La Crosse tomorrow as Judy has already posted. One of Dubuque river author Dick Bissell's favorite songs was "Something's Always Happening on the River." A suitable theme song for all that has transpired on this memorable UMR trip for the AQ. Stay tuned for the next installment in the continuing saga . . .
21/09/2008 4:03 am
Live from the Levee: Final Report. AQ's scheduled departure time tonight was set at 10 p.m. However, the final six or so passengers scampered down the concrete walkway and crossed the stage at 10:10, not bad, considering all the new travel arrangements many, if not all of the passengers had to make to board in Dubuque. I presume these pax were not part of the large groups ferried here from the Twin Cities airport by bus. The steamer was underway at 10:35. A comparatively large group were on hand to watch the departure, probably the most exciting thing going on here at that time of night. Suffice it to say that Dubuque is not known for its nightlife. However, Saturday night at the Ice Harbor area is truly the place in town where most of the action is with the casino boat, restaurants, hotel and waterpark. I'll beg off posting shots of the "wedding" that took place alongside the boat this afternoon and the nightime departure until tomorrow. This old man is plain tuckered out from all this steamboat watching today! The AQ is scheduled back here Tuesday for an "officially scheduled" shore stop. Hope the rest of their season up here on the UMR is uneventful.
22/09/2008 11:27 pm
Sorry for the delay is posting the AQ photos from Saturday. In the group below, the first one was snapped around 11:30 Saturday afternoon, prior to the 12:30 wedding scheduled at the River's Edge Plaza gazebo. Pictures 2 and 3 were taken just prior to the ceremony, the last one showing the bride and her father waiting on the Riverwalk adjacent to the gazebo. Note the AQ officer on the port wingbridge taking in the festivities that afternoon!
22/09/2008 11:31 pm
Group two were taken around 10:15 that night after the last of the passengers scrambled aboard about ten minutes after the announced 10 p.m. departure. The final shot shows the boat headed upriver at 10:35, headed for a La Crosse shore stop on Monday. After her stop there, the boat will head downriver again to make her regularly scheduled downstream stops at Dubuque (again!) on Tuesday, Davenport on Wendesday, and so on, arriving back in St. Louis on schedule, finally, next Saturday.
Topic starter
23/09/2008 12:31 pm
If the couple wanted the river as a background for their wedding pix then they were out of luck - but just think what a rarity they now have with a real steamboat as their backdrop! As you said yesterday, let's hope for a very uneventful trip downriver for a change, and also for the remaining 2 or is it 3 UMR roundtrips...