Topic starter
26/01/2009 6:26 pm
There was a great response to my suggestion that we homeless overnight steamboaters book a cruise on the JULIA BELLE SWAIN. I am posting now a change in plans - sort of the "A bird in hand is worth two in the bush" theory. The JBS trip has not been scheduled yet and won't be until probably March at best. The SPIRIT OF PEORIA, a sternwheeler diesel powered, has a 3 day/2 night trip from Peoria Illinois to St. Louis already on her schedule. I have conferred with a few people regarding this and got the go ahead to pull this switcheroo from the JBS to the S of P. If you want more reasoning behind this, please email me at [email protected] I don't wish to comment further publicly.
Anyway, here's the deal: The SPIRIT OF PEORIA will leave Peoria on Saturday August 22 and arrive in St. Louis Monday August 24. This should be good for those of you still having to report to a job. The first night is spent in a hotel in Jacksonville IL. The second night is in Grafton at the Pere Marquette Lodge. Day 3 is the arrival in St. Louis. After a few hours to sightsee, a bus will return the passengers to Peoria. Just as on the TWILIGHT and JBS, all meals and lodging are included in the price, and there is plentiful entertainment. This trip is on the Illinois River to Grafton, and then down the Mississippi some 40 miles to St. Louis. The cost is $475 per person double occupancy. But here is the good news: if we get just 10 or more, we get the group discount of $30, and we get it by booking individually giving the group name. I couldn't remember exactly who we were last year, so I said: Rambling River Rats. The trip is limited to 120 people, which will allow plenty of space both inside and outside to move around. I see plenty of advantages in this trip over the JBS, with the only drawbacks being she's not a steamboat and we won't be cruising a beautiful stretch of the UMR. Here is the website to get a fuller view of the trip: http://www.spiritofpeoria.com/display.php
I am excited about this opportunity and hope it meets with your approval. If you are interested in going, please email me so I can tell Alice that we indeed will have at least 10 in our group to qualify for the group rate. If you know for sure that you will go, feel free to call Alice at 800 676-8988 to book with the Rambling River Rats.
Not to overload the information, but there is also a possibility of extending the trip into a round trip with day trip and deadheading segments, but that is not finalized yet.
Judy [email protected]
photo by Lee and Kathy Havlik, taken at Tall Stacks 2006 (with their permission, Franz!)
26/01/2009 7:58 pm
Judy, nvmd my e-mail to you. I sent that before I read this, and I am very much interested in this trip. I would, however, still like to know when you're going to New Orleans. I know it's sometime this week, but couldn't remember when.
Topic starter
27/01/2009 3:29 am
Side trips beyond the SPIRIT
If anyone is thinking about coming a great distance to do this SPIRIT trip but would like more to do, you could consider tying in a 2 day TWILIGHT cruise before or after. Peoria is 100 miles down I-74 from here and the TWILIGHT. The TWILIGHT goes out Tuesdays/Thursdays/ and Sundays. I'd also add that if anyone would be flying in, the Quad Cities International Airport (MLI) has far more connections than does the Peoria airport, and I'm sure my vehicle has more room than for just me enroute to Peoria!
28/01/2009 12:43 am
Thanks for keeping the Spirit of overnight "Steamboatin'" alive until one, or more, of the over-nite boats gets running again. I don't know if I'll be able to make it, looking for'd this far in advance, but it sounds like a great trip. I think we will see more of these sort of overnight substitute cruises by enterprising operators.
Topic starter
28/01/2009 2:23 pm
Overnight cruises by smaller boats
The TWILIGHT, and the JBS under Denny, have always done well on their 2 day trips out of LeClaire, thanks of course to Dennis Trone's great planning, and to the current owners of the TWILIGHT who have kept his tradition. The SPIRIT runs 2 day trips from Peoria to Starved Rock with success. According to Alice in the SPIRIT's office(she's a pilot in season), they did 1 of these St. Louis trips in 07 and 2 last year. They all sold out, so they are doing 3 this season. The overnight market was there before the steamboats' demise, and it certainly should be stronger now, economy not withstanding. The one thing I'd like to see is a longer trip, a round trip of 5 or 6 days. For someone coming a great distance it seems more viable to do a longer trip. The SPIRIT certainly has this possibility with a Peoria/St. Louis roundtrip of 6 days. I suspect the major problem is housing, as there aren't any cities of size along the route. It will be interesting to see what the various boat operators come up with, and B&B is an obvious one you would expect to capitalize on this situation. I think if people would call the various companies and express interest in such trips, it would help the planning thereof greatly.
28/01/2009 7:56 pm
As I posted several weeks ago, BB Riverboats has a Fall Foliage trip planned for Cincinnat to Pittsburgh in October. You can go one way either direction or go round trip. I believe its a five day each way trip.
Topic starter
29/01/2009 12:31 am
B&B fall trip
That sounds good, but I contacted them as soon as you posted that, and I have yet to hear back from anyone in the office. No reason people can't do more than one trip! Hopefully the 'homeless overnight steamboaters' will be able to support various boats during the absence of the QUEENS. I'm more of a summer foliage when you know its warm enough to be out on deck person though...
30/01/2009 12:31 am
Sadly this will interfere with my Lake Michigan upper circle tour & Badger Carferry trip that I've tentatively planned for August in my proud & mighty US built Buick Roadmaster sedan...
I for one really like the Illinois River, probably because it's close to home, I suppose...I know my parents really like it, I know my Dad can confirm, that they like the Illinois second to the UMR...
I had 3 DQ Illinois River trips...1997, 2001 & 2004...and the last trip was certainly the best, although Captain Muirhead helped make that trip for my parents & me!
I for one like the stretch from Peoria towards LaSalle & Seneca...
If you ever lock through Starved Rock L&D, (as I'm told) and see the flagpole on Starved Rock....the level of rise to Lake Michigan is about equal to the top of the flagpole!
There is a neat Illinois Waterways Center at the L&D as well.. Illinois River Road National Scenic Byway - Ottawa, Illinois - Waypoints
There is a bit more in terms of industrial facilities on the Illinois versus the UMR, however I for one don't see it as a bad thing...given how the LMR from NOLA to Baton Rouge is all industrial or commercial...
30/01/2009 8:37 pm
Deb and I and at least one other dot.orger did the Illinois in September 2004, Ottawa to St Louis, with the epitome of a southern gentleman as master, Capt. Buddy. I remember it being a very pretty cruise except for being stuck in Havana for two days because the next stop down hadn't satisfied the Office of Homeland Stupidity...errr...Security towards what that nasty ol' Delta Queen and her devious passengers were up to. And we were followed from town to town. The boat, when docked, was stared at by two guys in the same panel van the whole time, every town. We finally got fed up and approached 'em...
You got it, Office of H.S.... you just gotta shake your head...
Pretty trip. I remember there was a groundhog at the Perioria landing that wanted on the boat in the worst kind of way...
Topic starter
30/01/2009 9:03 pm
Presumably the SPIRIT isn't as dangerous as the DQ, as from what I hear Florence is a one building town, so I doubt if they have a security plan in place! At this writing, the last prior to winging south to NOLA, we have 7 booked on the SPIRIT trip, that I am aware of.
31/01/2009 12:33 am
Forgive my topic sway, but I must quote & reply here...
I visited Havana & I was on the Delta Queen briefly on that downbound trip you & your wife were on. I think dot.orger Pat Traynor & her family were on that trip.
I picked up Capt Muirhead who took me to lunch in Havana...it was a Saturday, as I drove down my mother's former Silhouette van to pick up a loveseat & chair she had purchased the previous week @ Stephens & Son Furniture while we were there!
Bruno Krause;15465 wrote: Deb and I and at least one other dot.orger did the Illinois in September 2004, Ottawa to St Louis, with the epitome of a southern gentleman as master, Capt. Buddy. I remember it being a very pretty cruise except for being stuck in Havana for two days because the next stop down hadn't satisfied the Office of Homeland Stupidity...errr...Security towards what that nasty ol' Delta Queen and her devious passengers were up to. And we were followed from town to town. The boat, when docked, was stared at by two guys in the same panel van the whole time, every town. We finally got fed up and approached 'em...
You got it, Office of H.S.... you just gotta shake your head...
Pretty trip. I remember there was a groundhog at the Perioria landing that wanted on the boat in the worst kind of way...
31/01/2009 1:50 am
Pete, you are correct. The dot.orger was Pat Traynor, she was rooming with her/our friend Lydia on that trip. Lydia was the one who get fed up with Office of H.S. guys in the white van staring at us and asked then, at the Peoria landing, what their purpose was...which of course they couldn't answer...
31/01/2009 4:24 pm
Hmmm....it really might have been fun to alert the local constabulary that there were creepy guys, that appeared to be up to no good, trailing the DELTA QUEEN.
31/01/2009 7:44 pm
Frank, the four of us actually discussed the very thing. It angered all of us that 1. the two guys were sitting all day, trying and failing miserably to be incognito, in a van we taxpayers paid for, getting paid by us taxpayers to do what appeared to be nothing, other than spying on, wait for it, us taxpayers, and 2. Why were they watching the Delta Queen, what possible threat was this superfast, huge threatening megaboat to these sleepy little Illinois River towns?
But back in those days the Office of Homeland Security was quite Gestapo-ish (everybody remember the issues at Paducah?) and cooler heads prevailed, or maybe just chickened out...
31/01/2009 9:49 pm
Bruno Krause;15484 wrote: Frank, the four of us actually discussed the very thing. It angered all of us that 1. the two guys were sitting all day, trying and failing miserably to be incognito, in a van we taxpayers paid for, getting paid by us taxpayers to do what appeared to be nothing, other than spying on, wait for it, us taxpayers, and 2. Why were they watching the Delta Queen, what possible threat was this superfast, huge threatening megaboat to these sleepy little Illinois River towns?
But back in those days the Office of Homeland Security was quite Gestapo-ish (everybody remember the issues at Paducah?) and cooler heads prevailed, or maybe just chickened out...
I don't think we experienced DHS following us on the way up??? Maybe, and we didn't notice??? I don't know...
We too were in Havana for 2 days, and as we were told...
#1: it was because of the numerous shore tours that were sold
#2: Beardstown, IL was the town skipped, as they either didn't have a security plan in place, or they refused to have one put in place....which meant having a police officer standby the whole time the boat was there.
Havana's fire chief also stood by as the "responsible figure" also overseeing the watering of the DQ when we were there.
Topic starter
31/01/2009 11:10 pm
Unofficial 'return trip'
We've done some checking on things for anyone who might want to extend their SPIRIT OF PEORIA trip to return to Peoria. It would consist of several segnments:
1) hotel night in St. Louis
2) day trip from St. Louis to Grafton
3) hotel night in Grafton
4) day trip from Grafton to Florence
5) bus back to Peoria from Florence with waitstaff crew.
Possible hotels would be the Millenium in St. Louis at $96, and the Ruebel in Grafton at $54/64. Each day trip is $130.
It would be nice if those who wanted to do this could plan together for the hotels, etc., so email me if you are interested or want more info. This would extend the trip through Wednesday evening the 26th. [email protected]
01/02/2009 1:02 am
A great hotel near Grafton is the Pere Marquette State Park Lodge. It is really, really nice! The boat can land right there, too.
Topic starter
01/02/2009 2:09 pm
Grafton lodging
Yes, that is where we'll be staying on the boat-arranged downbound trip. The reason we're thinking Ruebel on the return is its walkable from the boat's landing and we're on our own on the return as far as land arrangements go. (not to mention the big bar advertised on its website that presumably would satisfy one of our unnamed posters and trip participants!)
Topic starter
16/02/2009 6:33 pm
UPDATE on reservations! We have 16 confirmed reservations, with 7 or 8 more from the Schoen/Hameister clans to be made...for some reason those ladies haven't had time to book yet... The trip is officially listed as 'sold out', but they are holding 12 more spaces for us for another week or two. So if you are interested in joining us, please contact the SPIRIT - either Alice or Rachael - at 800 676-8988, soon. See the website: www.spiritofpeoria.com for the whole trip details. Several of us are making a return trip piecemeal by day trips and the boat's crew shuttle, if anyone would like more than 3 days on the river. Email me at [email protected] for further details, questions, etc.
18/02/2009 8:08 pm
Just an update to anyone who's plannin on flyin solo for this one. I booked my trip today, and they charged me $525 (after I had asked for a discount from the original singles price of something like $575). Just lettin u know.
Topic starter
19/02/2009 2:31 am
Rambling River Rats reacted quickly!
After I found out that the boat was 'sold out', I posted and sent an email to those interested, and lo and behold, we now have 30 RRRs booked for the August 22-24 trip! Only 5 of these took the TWILIGHT cruise last year, so we've got a base of at least 46 people rambling on the rivers of MidAmerica! This current group has people coming from Florida, New York, Ohio, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois.