July 8, 2008 Locks, Packards, and Soda

I slept well again, and was up at 7 for an early tour. We left at 8:15 am to go into Marietta, OH for "Locks, Packards, and Soda". Odd name for a tour, but actually quite descriptive!

First we went to the Wilson Island Lock and Dam. Mark from the Army Corps of Engineers took us around and explained everything we were seeing. It was cool!! We saw a towboat go through the lock with a 15 barge tow. They have about 3 feet of clearance total on the sides. Not easy to steer that big load into a small space! In the 2004 flood, the entire lock was underwater, waist deep where we were standing up on the wall! It was really interesting to watch from the perspective of the lock as opposed to the boat.

From there we went to the Marietta Brewing Company. Kelly, the brewmaster, was brewing ale. He explained the process, which is actually quite simple. Everything you ever wanted to know about brewing beer! The odor was very strong, but we got used to it. He brews his own root beer too, and they passed out root beer floats for everyone. I skipped it, of course, and Laura had mine as well as her own! But, since the root beer is made with sugar, not HFCS, I did enjoy a 2 oz jigger of plain root beer. It was YUMMY! This was the "soda" part of the tour.

The "Packards" part was last, and turned out to be a funeral museum!! Yup, the Packards were hearses! It was really pretty interesting. The ones we saw were from an old horse drawn one, up to one from the 1940s. We also learned something very interesting. In the olden days, they used baskets for caskets. If a doctor came to see a patient, and the patient was beyond saving, the doctor would say "he's a basket case", meaning he would soon be in a basket (casket)!!

On the way back, we stopped at a tiny little chocolate "factory", which consisted of a little shop with a few countertop appliances for melting the chocolate. Laura got some peppermint patties, and I took a tiny nibble of one--it was SO good!! That tiny bit of mint and chocolate packed a LOT of flavor! Back on the boat, we had lunch (a yummy salad with shrimp), and then I headed to the gym for half an hour of elliptical.

After that it was BINGO time again! Danny won $5 for the "stinky card" BINGO. Then I went to the movie to see "The Bucket List". I've always wanted to see it, but missed it in the theaters. It was great, but I had a hard time seeing because heads were in my way. When I came out, it was pouring and thundering. We were going through a lock and I could hardly see with the rain! I got a cup of tea and sat in the Ladies Parlor to read until dinner. For dinner we had yummy beef, and raspberry sorbet for dessert. I have to say, the bag I bought for this trip and Scotland (an Overland Donner bag from the Sierra Trading Post) ROCKS!!! I can carry 2 water bottles, 2 books, my Longaberger travel mug, PLUS all the regular stuff (camera, wallet, sunglasses, etc.) AND it's comfortable across my shoulder. I LOVE it!

The kids are having a great time. Laura has a buddy, Joe, who is a server in the dining room. On Sunday at lunch, he made her a fabulous ice cream sundae, and she was hooked. Now, every day, he makes her something special. He even loans her his PSP for the afternoons! I think my baby girl has a bit of a crush! Danny, meanwhile, is the darling of the boat! Everyone thinks he's just so cute (which he is). He's been exploring all over the boat, and asking tons of questions, which people are more than happy to answer. He also has a buddy, Alicia, from the Front Porch. She noticed how he drinks tea all the time (he was up at 5 am Sunday and drinking already!), and how I make him have decaf. So today in town, she got him a travel mug and a box of decaf tea! He's just eating up all the attention. I guess it helps that they are the only kids on the boat!

We sat up on the front porch after dinner and looked at the schedule for tomorrow. There is so much to do, as it's a river day with no stops. After the movie, we went to bed, knowing we could sleep in a bit in the morning.