It didn't take long to settle into life at home after 195 days on Tourist. Lawn mowing, weeding, painting, etc. I'm ready to get back on the boat! Pam has gotten reacquainted with Tommy at the nail salon and Patty at the hair salon as well as catching up on all the family happenings. She even went to the latest Harry Potter movie with her mother while I did some of the above mentioned chores. I did have time to get most of the river grime off of Tourist. The picture of the swim platform shows how grungy it was after plowing upstream on the Mississippi for 579 miles.

We got home in time to spend the 4th of July holiday (where else?) on the river with friends watching the fireworks, drinking, and eating. Once the sun goes down it's pretty cool to view all the boats with their lights on waiting for the show. Needless to say it's a mess if you're in the middle of the group. The 4th is one of those holidays that brings out everyone that owns a boat. We generally get a spot on the fringe and stay there all night to avoid the flotilla and not have to worry about drinking and driving.

This past weekend my Chapman's training came in handy once more as I was called to tow in a disabled vessel which had broken down in the main channel of the river with a barge approaching. Later the owner of the vessel decided to do his Bob Marley impersonation thinking that it would suffice for payment. I'd rather have cash but it was entertaining!

Next weekend we take the grandkids on Tourist. Hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can hit Chestnut Mt. and their alpine slide.