After a great night spent with my cousins, I woke up with plans of meeting them for breakfast. Sandy and I drove to the Mississippi Cafe in Albany, IL to meet them. A delicious meal of ham and eggs filled me up, as did talk around the table.

After the meal Katie, Bart and the boys headed back home toward Genoa, IL. Sandy and I drove across the river to Clinton, IA to hit the nearest grocery store. I stocked up on food for the coming days.

We drove the 20 or so minutes back to Sandy's and began packing up the gear I had set out to dry, refilling my water bottles and loading the boat. With the sun shining for the first time in 3 days it was almost as if it was meant to be that I had taken the weekend off with Sandy and family and was set to hit the river once again. I gave a heartfelt thank you to Sandy for her extreme generosity in hosting both me and my family, and pushed off from shore. Sandy stood on the raised bank, waving as I coasted away. A few doors down I recognized one of the gentlemen who had throw his wife the 60th birthday party. He waved and gave me a shout - I returned it with a "Thanks for having me to the party!!".

With the sun shining it felt great to be back on the water. The river was busy with folks boating, likely enjoying what could be the last nice Sunday of the boating season. The kindness of river folk in these parts is mind blowing. As I paddled, I passed 3 separate groups who offered to lend a hand. One group sitting on a dock asked if there was anything I needed, and where they can follow my journey. Another gentlemen grilling on shore shouted to me, asking if I was hungry for brats. A third group, what I assume was a husband and wife, pulled up next to me in their boat, cut the motor and asked if I needed a place to crash for the night. All of these encounters were short, with the folks offering to lend a hand and open their doors to me without hesitation.

As I continued to paddle boats lined up on the sandy shores of the various islands, beaching and enjoying the warm fall (but summer like) weather.

I continued through the evening and camped on a sandy bank just south of Lock #14.

Solid day on the water. Quad Cities tomorrow!