Live from the AMERICAN QUEEN

Continuing the evening..

We're in Montgomery Lock now a little after midnight, our third lock of the evening.
Out on deck are Jo Ann Schoen, her brother and sister in law, and my roommate Alice.
1) At Art Rooney Drive, just below Heinz Field
2) Big wheel about to turn...
3) Crowd at Emsworth Lock. Seems strange to not have doubloons to toss.

Rolling on the river

1) The stacks have been going up and down with regularity tonight with all the bridges and high wires.
2) My favorite time: sunset. And this one isn't all that great...
3) Dashields Lock

Around the boat

We're still in Montgomery and we haven't lowered much. I think there are new deckhands working the lines with some difficulty...
We're leaving now, and so am I... more later today on our full day of cruising - luckily we have enough locks and miles to go so we won't have to have a 'lagniappe shore stop'.

Judy: Thanks for thinking of us...more if you please! Cap'n Walnut

Morning on the river

Good morning as we pass Bellaire Ohio mile 94. I missed New Cumberland Lock during the night but was up in time for Pike Island. Its a breezy humid morning with haze and its cool enough for a jacket. JoAnn and family are out here on the Observation Deck bow, and the others are prowling about elsewhere. Thanks for responding, Tom, glad to know somebody still reads .org. I'll post more pix later, as the Chart Room seems to be the best wifi spot, and Mary is holding forth in there now with quite a crowd. It seems there are a lot of restrictions on when the riverlorian may make announcements about what we're passing - why would passengers want to know that? A further complication for her today is her PA system is AWOL (as is our cabin attendant), but that's another story! Capt. Joe Jamieson appears to be doing his laps on this deck, unrecognized by most passengers. Oops, Jo Ann just hailed him down. Ah, the sun is breaking forth - another miserable day on the river, but someone has to do it...

Got to post this

One of my concerns was whether there would be a place for solitude and contemplating the river like I could find on the DQ....NO PROBLEM!
1) Alice, JoAnn, Hank and Jenny on the Observation Deck bow at 10 AM

There ARE other passengers on board, somewhere!

Hello from the Hannibal Locks

We are just leaving the Hannibal Locks where Taylor Abbott and friend are watching from afar. Mary is down in the Grand Saloon giving a talk, so the Chart Room is empty and available for wifiing....
1) Surprise - I made it down to the JM White dining room for the jazz brunch. We made the brunch part, but the jazz must have just been at the beginning.
2) The lounge area aft of the dining room.
3) The missing is found - last night I posted a picture of the table at the entrance to the boat, where this silver urn used to be. I thought maybe it had disappeared over layup, but here it is, midship lobby. I think it was more impressive as you entered the boat...

Leaving one chart book and onto the next...

As we pass New Martinsville, we need to switch to the chart book which extends from N.M. to Foster KY. So far we've traveled 127 miles and we've got 138 to go to Point Pleasant, which means we indeed do get a whole day of cruising, with no 'lagniappe' shore stop as they have been bragging about. Needless to say for this group of Rambling River Rats, the whole cruising day can't be topped. It is a partly cloudy day, just the perfect day to get a surprise sunburn, but since only a dozen or so of us are venturing out from under shaded areas, there won't be a run on Solarcaine.
1) The Corydon Connection - JoAnn and Capt. Joe Jamieson, Judy and Alice
2) Lexie, I thought of you upon seeing this.
3) Clarington Ohio, the hometown of J. Mack Gamble

Yes, Judy, there are those of us who are still checking out dot org and who are enjoying your reports. Getting a trip vicariously is better than none at all. Keep on clicking and posting.
G.

From stem to stern...

Got to get back out and burn a bit...
1) the bow
2)the stern

Judy: I totally agree with Ginnie. It's been a long time since we AQ'd and likely to be as long again. Keep the Pix and narration rolling... Cap'n Walnut.

And since I'll be onboard the AQ next week, I'm definitely enjoying your descriptions and pictures!
Pat

thanks for the trip updates, Judy. I definitely gotta make a trip on the AQ some day!

More More

I have been enjoying your travel chores. As you said someone has to do it. Trade places. lol Keep the pictures and nariation coming as I am enjoying them greatly.

Thanks for the updates as you roll down the river. And, in a few weeks when Judy, Jo Ann and others are on deck at the Howard Steamboat Museum for "River Ramblings" (Saturday, August 11th at 3:00 PM EDT) I'm sure they will have stories and pictures to share!

Wrapping up Thursday

2) Sistersville Ferry
3) An unknown excursion boat and barge headed upriver - later we saw the CENTENNIAL near Parkersburg which looks similar. Anybody know this one?

More Thursday

1) Uh oh, no more sunburn today... here comes the wall of rain. It came straight upriver at us and we had to retreat into the enclosed Front Porch. It lasted about 45 minutes and we returned to our outside posts.
2) Willow Island Nuclear Power Plant and site of the Hammett family cemetery, where Roddy is buried.
3) It was an interesting angle shot, but turned on its side, it is moreso. I was standing on the stairway overlooking the Observation Deck.

Still Thursday

1) Mecca, or the Lafayette Hotel in Marietta...
2) the CENTENNIAL across from Parkersburg
3) Sunset

and finally for Thursday

1) What boat is this on Blennerhasset Island?
2) the stack feathers and the arch of the Highway 50 bridge

So ends a day of steamboating, with NO shorestops, a perfect day on a river cruise! One reason I could be on deck so much is the River Grill feature, which due to the rain, was moved to the Front Porch tonight. You can eat and watch the scenery in a normal amount of time, rather than the 2.5 hours in the JMWhite (which was reduced to 1.5 hours tonight for our group). We have a wonderful chef/server who has two daughters in college, the older who is starting her residency in pediatric medicine in Atlanta this fall. He is working 10 weeks and off 2 in order to help finance their educations - and he isn't included in the prepaid automatic tips which go to the JMW crew. I'm sure his grateful patrons this week will reward him well.
I hear my pillow calling - should be an early AM arrival in Point Pleasant.

Shout Out!

Thanks for the shout-out today at the lock, Judy and Joann! Caught me off guard I didn't think I would be recognized LOL! I had to leave a few minutes after you all were finally tied off in the chamber and missed the calliope performance. Maybe next time! I leave for the beach condo tomorrow and won't be back in time to see her on the downbound journey from Wheeling next weekend. Those on board that trip will be in for a treat at Wheeling since the Upper Ohio Valley Italian Festival is in full swing... there'll be thousands on the riverfront for the festival and will enjoy certainly enjoy the boat!

The picture of Clarington that was posted featured the old school on the hill where Mack Gamble was principal for many years. My family owns the top of the hill that the school is nestled up against in the background. Our home sits just beyond the trees on top with a view of the river looking north. Had it been fall I'd bet it would've been visible. Great pic!

Also the small sternwheeler you passed is owned by a man named Ruble and was bound for New Martinsville from Belpre, OH. It's named "The Blennerhassett" and will be taking on passengers for a dance cruise tomorrow evening from 8p-midnight and excursion trips throughout the weekend. She makes her annual summer trip and always has a good following.

Hope the rest of your journey is enjoyable and fun. Thanks again for the shout-out!!

Taylor

Judy,
Many thanks for the photos & stories. Do say Hello to everyone for us, wish we could be there!
Is anyone playing the calliope?
S'
Linda & David D.

That little boat on Blennerhasset Island changes names a lot. I'm not sure my info is the latest, but I believe that was the Jewel of Jeffersonville, which did not have enough HP to operate around the Louisville harbor and went to Dubuque as the Jewel City. Then it sold again and went to Blennerhasset Island and was briefly named the Island Belle, but is now the Celebration Princess. I think!

Friday on the river but not online

Just a test posting to see if it goes - lots to report from today but there has been no internet service. Just passed Ashland KY...

Point Pleasant, more or less

We started the morning nosing in to the Ohio shore across from Point Pleasant to take on fuel, the reason being it is 12 cents a gallon cheaper in Ohio than in West Virginia, and this is no Toyota Hybrid we're talking about refueling. After a little over an hour in the trees we headed over to Point Pleasant to a small welcoming crowd and ominous clouds - the drought may be all over the midwest, but rain has certainly followed us this week.
This was my first trip to the PP River Museum, and WOW! It is even more than I expected. I'll post pix from there some other time and thread. Jack Fowler and crew were most hospitable. They are going to enlarge the building by 20 feet, wonder how many more exhibits they'll get in there.
The boat band and singers put on a show at the landing for the townspeople which was well received. We had a nice crowd at departure and the calliope was played - that was the first moment that flashed back my DQ days...
Shortly after getting underway, the rain found us again for an hour or so, enough to move the River Grill to the Front Porch again. I can't say enough about this option - it is efficient, our chef/server is fantastic, and the food is both plentiful and recognizable. We eat at our leisure and comfort and are done in less than half the dining room time. Last night the word had gotten out about this great option and 80 pax took advantage of it.
At the disembarkation meeting this afternoon they announced that we won't be landing at the Public Landing due to a marathon, but rather at Schmidt Field. Lots of phone calls later, our shuttle arranged by our travel agent was confirmed for the new location.
Tonight is peaceful up here, as BJ Thomas is performing in the Grand Saloon. If you are anywhere aft of midship, you can hear it. Tomorrow night is the Loving Spoonful. The boat band is joining Jackie and Bobby in the Engine Room Bar, I guess. I haven't gone there or to any show - the river is show enough for me.
I just remembered another DQ flashback: I had a Planters Punch this afternoon. I had to tell the bartender how to make it. But unlike my DQ days, I stopped with one, well maybe two...
It is Maysville tomorrow and then back to the real world Sunday.
Apparently our group of Rambling River Rats is driving the company into bankruptcy by asking for copies of the River News for each of us, as last night the cabin attendants were instructed to tell us that they were to leave only ONE copy per cabin, and that if we wanted another, we could come to the Pursers Office the next day for it. So much for public relations and meeting the passengers' needs. (I found out the reason was it was taking too much ink to print.)... oh and we got ONE comment sheet per cabin today. That would be fine if we paid only ONE fare. Penny wise and pound foolish.