Topic starter
23/12/2008 9:07 pm
I just talked to the JBS general manager and told her about the demise of Riverbarge for this year. She said they were planning at least one overnight trip per month, but this news might spur them on to more.
Those of you who went on the TWILIGHT trip this August expressed an interest to do something again next year - I'm suggesting to you and to anyone else on the board or river who would be interested: let's see what the JBS schedule turns out to have. If you've never been to LaCrosse or the Upper Upper, it is truly God's country. Midwest Buffs met there last June, and we were able to take 3 different boats and cruises: the JBS dinner cruise, a cocktail cruise on a sleek liner ISLAND GIRL?, and a luncheon trip on the LACROSSE QUEEN. Of course a must visit on land would be the Murphy Library, where you could spend days... The City Brewery, nee Old Style, still has tours and a hospitality room. The view from Granddad Bluff is spectacular. Depending on which way the JBS would go, you could do a land trip to Prairie or Winona. And if a group wanted to extend their waterborne time, they could rent a houseboat for 3 or 4 days.... just something to think about as the snow, ice and temps fall here on the UMR....
26/12/2008 5:32 pm
The J.B.S.
LOTS of wonderful memories from the old Peoria days 🙂
I remember Denny showing me the drawings of ,,THE NEW BOAT,, "as he called it" ... I think that was in 1985,,,?
the TWILIGHT,,,...
26/12/2008 7:48 pm
Judy and all...
With the success of the last group trip on the TWILIGHT...perhaps we can do the same on the JBS this year? I think it would be great thing for all of us to have a steamboatin' adventure together in 2009! Specially if the cruise is a couple of day cruise down to Dubuque where we could all take in the museum and spend some time together sharing stories and steamboatabilia.
I have checked their website and see nothing like that...but we can hope it becomes available!
~Travis~
Topic starter
27/12/2008 2:34 am
JBS -- anyone interested??
They have been doing one Dubuque trip a season. I think they book it one way, but no reason one couldn't back to back a round trip. I believe the first night is in Prairie, then on to Dubuque where they might stay 2 days?, then back up to Prairie and into LaCrosse on the 5th day. If Dave Tschiggfrie is checking this out, he can verify/clarify this schedule. I did emphasize to Tina that we would want an overnight trip, not just a one way up to Winona and bus back deal.
So, out of curiosity, if there would be a suitable JBS trip of 2 to 4 nights, sometime in the summer, who on this board might be interested? Either post it or email me at [email protected]. I think if we could come up with a possible group of 20 or so, it could help them plan such a trip. One year we had a 5 day trip to Stillwater, but it ended at Winona due to mechanical problems. If you've never seen the St. Croix, it outdoes the UMR in its 23 miles of navigable water....By the way, Saturday I will be heading out to another navigable body of water, the Pacific Ocean at San Diego so I will be computerless until next year... and hopefully ice, freezing rain, sleet and snowless too!
27/12/2008 2:54 am
God, yes! Just have it on a weekend that I don't work, or on August first weekend. That's the weekend MOR might be riding the S.S.BADGER again.
27/12/2008 4:08 am
Sounds great!! I'm ready, if it doesn't hit the one June weekend I have a commitment I can't break.
27/12/2008 4:13 am
Pat,
June would be GREAT!!!!! 'Cause the weather is not all that oppressively hot and humid!
~Travis~
27/12/2008 12:46 pm
Judy, very interested! Deb and I may finally get to do the upper Mississippi... St Croix would be a big bonus... The only weekends that don't work for us are the first weekend in May, and first weekend in June. Sounds great!
27/12/2008 3:00 pm
You can count me as one of the very interested. I don't have any big commitments this year like I did last. At least not yet.
Topic starter
27/12/2008 4:17 pm
One final note this year...
Before I shut this down and head to the airport, it looks like there would be good interest in a JBS trip. Would you do me a favor and email me any dates you couldn't make. Keep in mind that this trip would very likely be during the week, as they have very successful dinner trips on the weekend - its not impossible to include a weekend, but I just want to give fair warning.
Anyway, email me specific dates you CAN'T make it.
Tell me which month you'd prefer: June, July, or August.
And also: would you prefer to do a Dubuque roundtrip or head up to Stillwater and back? The distance is the same on the UMR, but Stillwater would be an extra 23 x2 on the St. Croix, certainly manageable in 5 days.
When I get back from San Diego, I'll phone Tina and see what we can come up with.
One more wild thought: if insufficient crew would be a reason to not run a longer trip like this, would anyone be willing to take turns serving meals and maybe doing light cleanup detail???? I know from my NATCHEZ days that the dining room scene requires the most help. I also know the parsimonious nature of the JBS operation, and extra help means extra hotel rooms, etc. I'm not talking about full time serving, but maybe one meal every day or two, depending on the number of volunteers???
[email protected]
27/12/2008 4:54 pm
Judy,
I would be glad to help serve, clean up, fill in on calliope and piano if needed. I am sure with a little research I could come up with a narrative to use, too!
Dubuque would be great for the museums...however, the St Croix is new territory for all of us who have been on the UMR before. Hard decision there!
~Travis~
28/12/2008 12:12 am
JBS Volunteers
Judy wrote:
One more wild thought: if insufficient crew would be a reason to not run a longer trip like this, would anyone be willing to take turns serving meals and maybe doing light cleanup detail???? I know from my NATCHEZ days that the dining room scene requires the most help. I also know the parsimonious nature of the JBS operation, and extra help means extra hotel rooms, etc. I'm not talking about full time serving, but maybe one meal every day or two, depending on the number of volunteers???
Said volunteers were called "hoppers" at the church camp in my younger days.
Wesley
28/12/2008 1:18 am
I posted this info on another thread. BB Riverboats is planning a Fall foliage trip to Pittsburgh and if there is enough interest a Paducah/ Kentucky Lake trip. Contact BB Riverboats if interested.
28/12/2008 3:56 pm
Judy,
you have hit the idea that I've been pondering for years. Why not a do-it-yourself trip? I can carry a tray and I can wash pots and pans. I can sweep and mop decks. I can even ring a timberhead from FOUR FEET away, if there is no wind.
Sailing tour ships have been doing this for decades: i. e., working as part-time crew members. Why not riverboats?
28/12/2008 8:15 pm
Frank P, please keep us posted about the MOR Badger trip as well. I've been long contemplating a round trip of "my lake", heading east on the Lake Express or traversing the top o' the lake..then back west on the Badger...this time in my Roadmaster, I'd love to do that again as it's been 7 long years since I last sailed that wonderful piece of coal fired steel & iron! I just need to find out if Snyder's will have my room for just one night!!!
28/12/2008 8:18 pm
Travis Vasconcelos;14992 wrote: Judy,
I would be glad to help serve, clean up, fill in on calliope and piano if needed. I am sure with a little research I could come up with a narrative to use, too!
Dubuque would be great for the museums...however, the St Croix is new territory for all of us who have been on the UMR before. Hard decision there!
~Travis~
Stillwater is muy bien beyond all means! I was up there after the June '08 MRB meeting staying with close friends who live nearby in River Falls...and the scenery on Lake Pepin as well is just fabulous!
29/12/2008 4:31 am
Me thinks that Homeland Security rules might put the kabosh on that idea, plus the Coast Guard requires everyone in a "safety related capacity" (which is whatever they deem that to be) to pass a drug test before they are allowed to work. Willing to pay $50.00 for a drug test and wait three days for the results?
29/12/2008 9:56 am
Touring sailships, while not common, are operating at sea and on the Great Lakes with amateur crews. If they can send passengers up to the topmast, why can't riverboats allow passengers to sweep staterooms? A half-hour a day of hotel-keeping is much safer and can replace a chambermaid. Passing through a cafeteria line can remove the costs (and tips) of food servers. I daresay that gathering thirty members of this discussion board will turn up entertainment talent in a surprising variety to eliminate musicians, jugglers and circus elephants. I'll bet a skillful amateur pianist somewhere will read this posting.
On the Gordon C. Greene home-made entertainment was ordinary fare. Pilot Bill Dugan could sing as professionally as needed. Tom Greene, himself, performed. Captain Wagner was a spoon player of distinction. Gabe Chengary is a fine entertainer.
Carefully managed a do-it-yourself trip could reduce costs, fares and still be entertaining and relaxing.
'Professionals' would still be needed to run the boat, to be sure, for no passenger wants to work on deck in a shut-out rainstorm. He would be worse than useless in an emergency landing, a machinery breakdown or a fire, but surely he can make his own bed.
29/12/2008 2:58 pm
"I daresay that gathering thirty members of this discussion board will turn up entertainment talent in a surprising variety to eliminate musicians, jugglers and circus elephants."
Careful there Alan. Let's not throw the Organ Grinders overboard along with the elephants.
29/12/2008 6:12 pm
Piano & CaLLiope
Im in ,,...
Im sure Travis and I turned lose on the CaLLiope and Piano would be and blast,,..Plus,,I can think of 4 more people on the board here that would enjoy taking a turn ,,...
30/12/2008 3:34 pm
If it was during the summer, I would be down for a trip like that. I'm sure I could get out of work for a bit. And Dave, I hope I'm in that list of 4 people who would love a turn at the calliope. What an interesting instrument, and especially one that not much is known about.
30/12/2008 5:37 pm
Matt, actually we've discovered more about the JBS cally than you might imagine. Read about it here: http://www.steamboats.org/forum/blogs/jon-tschiggfrie/14-full-head-steam-week-june-15-21.html.
31/12/2008 5:21 am
Oh wow! Interesting stuff there Jon. Thanks for the information.
Topic starter
02/01/2009 6:12 pm
JBS trip plans
I just returned yesterday from sunny warm San Diego to the icy frigid Midwest and of course now have the creeping crud. I've glanced at the responses on this thread and at my emails, and I'll get my act together over the weekend and call the JBS office next week. I'm afraid my question about 'helping out' was a bit misconstrued - I was only thinking about helping serve and clean up at mealtime, not about doing any other jobs on board. The JBS has their regular crew and it would not be proper to 'hijack' their positions. But on a longer trip, additional food service people would be needed, hence an extra cost to the company. I thought we might alleviate that situation by offering our services at mealtime, but I was not suggesting that we man the entertainment or navigation aspects of the trip or become paid crew members responsible for safety positions, etc. But your offers are certainly a great example of the positive ways this community is willing to contribute!
04/01/2009 12:36 am
Steamboats 101
Somehow, listening to talk about steamboats and pianos reminds me of the first person I fired on the DELTA QUEEN, a green deckhand found fooling with the piano when he should have been with the rest of us following Cap'n Doc through the Orleans Room and back to the U-shaped Deck to get the garbage off the boat while the O' Room was empty. As soon as we passed aft through the firebox door and the errant swab was seen over on the bandstand tickling the ivories on Vic Tooker's piano, Captain H. turned to me and ordered,
"Fire him!"
And I did as I was told, and such a sweet lad he was, and a halfway-decent piano player. Too bad he didn't know his place until it was too late.
But if anyone is looking for volunteers to help with some steamboat chores that are too-oft going begging, like: cleaning up the place after everyone's finished eating and drinking, emptying the trash and hauling it ashore, washing the dishes, pots, and pans, cleaning the toilets, sweeping and moping the decks, soogeying the white work, shining brass, mucking the bilges, or any of a thousands other necessary, but dreaded, jobs aboard a steamboat-- count me in as I was raised on 'em.