Cruising with "Best Mate": Louisville, KY to Huntington, WV

Total Miles Traveled 671

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We had a great time at Louisville, it was awesome being with our family during our stay. I guess the only downside to being full time cruisers is being away from them for extended periods of time. We were also able to visit with some of our friends from the Louisville Power Squadron. Joe and Janet stopped by for a visit and Kim picked us up for diner at a local yacht club, then to their place on the river for a great evening with friends.

When we were at Evansville, I spoke with another cruiser from Louisville, he told me about a fuel service company that would delivery bulk fuel to our boat. I contacted Jacobi Oil and they delivered fuel to the City Dock at Clarksville, IN, a huge savings from buying fuel at a marina. We topped of our tanks for $2.65 per gallon, this will definitely be a stop on the way back

Waiting for the fuel delivery....

On July 9^th we traveled 46 miles to Madison Indiana, we have visited this little town several times over the years and with a good chance for storms, we decided to stay on the boat for this stop. On July 10^th we cruised 51 miles to Rising Sun Indiana, to a free dock provided by the city. The weather has been very unpredictable with daily chance of pop-up storms. When we left Madison there was little chance for a storm, but after a couple of hours it started to rain, and the fog rolled in.

Having AIS and Radar is a must in this situation, especially when we have an approaching tow coming down river.

You can just make out the barge on the left side of the picture.

We stayed at Rising Sun for an extra day to let the weather settle down. The city was having a car show with 50 or more cars on display.

You don’t see too many airplanes at a boat launch ramp, but you will at Rising Sun.

We departed Rising Sun on July 12^th traveling 37 miles to Cincinnati, Ohio. We were able to make it to a free dock provided by Hooter’s Restaurant just before a pop-up storm rolled through. We caught up with our friends on m/v Chasing 80 and m/v It’s OK2. We joined them at Hooter’s for a bite to eat and enjoy the scenery (the river view of course 😊).

Jimmy Buffett was scheduled to perform at the Riverbend Music Center, near Cincinnati on Tuesday the 13^th. The back of the stage is located on the river which makes a perfect place to anchor and listen to the concert. We had planned to anchor here with Chasing 80 but due to the possibility of storms and anchored on the river with who knows how many boats, we decided to keep moving. We sure hated to miss this one.

After leaving Cincinnati, we traveled 37 miles, passed though the Meldahl Lock, and tied up at another free dock at the old lock 34. There is a museum here, but it is still closed due to COVID-19. Another thunderstorm passed through just after we arrived so I’m glad we decided against the concert.

Some of the barges transport some nasty chemicals, this one stopped at the old lock 34 and changed out a couple of crew members.

On July 14^th we traveled 25 miles to another free city dock at Maysville, Kentucky. We love these little river towns and most of them provide a free dock to visit the town and stay overnight. There is no electric or water provided but it’s a great way to explore the area and learn the history of these small communities.

A train is passing over the flood wall, constructed after the great 1937 flood. The opening in the wall is our access to the town.

This is one of the propellers from a tow boat, they can move a massive amount of water.

If you look close in the top center of the bridge you can see two inspectors checking the cabling on this suspension bridge.

This is the back side of the flood wall, the artists make these murals so life like. This is a parking lot but the cars appear to be driving through town.

We departed Maysville on July 15^th and traveled 51 miles to Portsmouth, Ohio. Here we go again, just as we were securing to the dock another thunderstorm rolled through. We have been stuck in this weather pattern since leaving Louisville. We stayed at the Shawnee Boat Club which has very reasonable dockage fee with water and electric included. They also offered the use of a golf cart to go to town for dinner and pick up a few things at the grocery store.

The marina is located just past the bridge.

Grocery run

Another awesome mural.....

This one is inside the bar and grill of Pattie's and Pints. The owner and a few of the locals are at the bar.

The following day, July 16^th we traveled 47 miles to Huntington, West Virginia. This is another free dock provided by the city. Naturally, we just did make it to temporarily tie to the dock when another storm rolled through, we are definitely ready for this weather pattern to change. We stayed at the Huntington another day as more storms are predicted to pass through the area.

It seems that each town we travel through has a theme of some sort, Huntington has a painted tow boat throughout the town.

We were lucky enough to stop during the weekly farmers market.

Scenery along the Ohio River....

Hmm, maybe this house was built for a retired sternwheeler captain.

Belterra Casino

The lock doors opened but this tow was blocking our exit. He was trying to get into the 1200 foot lock next to us, not sure what happened but we waited patiently.