Wow! 50 Travel days since leaving Long Island. Hal moved the boat by himself this time. He went to Alton Marina and pumped out and went to our slip at the end of a T dock. All our friends were there to greet him. I arrived by Uber later that evening. There were many loopers at the marina and some were having docktails. When I arrived we ordered pizza and ate by the pool. The marina is large and has a snack bar/ bar that everyone raved about. Unfortunately we were not able to try it.
At Alton we had the bottom half of the boat detailed by Akeem. He did from the rub rail down to the water line. He has a float that he stands on to get to the areas not reachable from the dock. The boat looks amazing now.
Brenda and I did some exploring in Alton. We saw where Douglas and Lincoln had their debate.
We also saw the ruins of the first State Penitentiary in Illinois. Alton was once a bustling town on the Illinois River.
In the afternoon, I gaveJoAnn and Brenda their first mahjong lesson. We played a few open rounds.
Unfortunately my mom had been ill and was in the hospital in Cincinnati. I was making arrangements to go to the hospital, however she passed before I got there. Sadly she passed on Sunday 9/26/21. So Hal and I traveled back to NY for the funeral. We got back home on Monday night and had a 'pre-shiva' on Tuesday night at Evan's condo. My friends all came by and sent food. There were probably 50 people who stopped by. I appreciated all the love and support that was expressed throughout the evening. Wednesday was the funeral and then we sat shiva at my sister Jill's house in Bedford. Hal and I left early to make the plane back to Alton. Cashelmara, Jackpot and Anna Mae left on the date scheduled which was Tuesday. New Hope was wonderful and waited for us and kept an eye on the boat. We left at day break on Thursday morning to try and make up some time.