What a trip!

[Laura's Babies]

Since my boat was in the shipyard, they had to put me on another one to get my days in. I knew when I left home that I was going on the Ohio River, just didn't know which boat.. I ended up on this one...


I was taken to just below Cincinatti to get on, spent 26 days on it and got off about 30 miles above Cincinatti. We made 2 trips up to Pittsburg, arriving both times just in time for those winter storms. Now, living in the deep south, we can not buy clothes for that kind of weather but I didn't have to go out in it so I didn't! I use to work on the Ohio river when I first hired in with the company and always wanted to do another trip up there, just not in the winter!

The boats regular cook is off due to having surgery and these guys were really excited to have me there without even knowing what kind of cook I was. I worried all the way to the boat about the type of crew I would have and afraid they wouldn't like my southern style of cooking. Ha! They LOVED my cooking, the pilot even told me he has been out there 30 years and never has seen a cook, cook as good as I do... and I thought up until then, that the man didn't even like me because he hardly spoke to me.

All in all, it was a great trip, not my choice of where I'd rather be but I am glad I had the experience and I did enjoy it. The Ohio is so different from the Lower Mississippi that I took tons of pictures and thought I would share a few with you. On to the pictures...




A crew member getting off at a lock.. I had to climb a lock wall to get on and off that boat. The ladder is between those black and white strips on the wall.


Going into a lock




more coming

[Laura's Babies]

[Laura's Babies]

Guys doing tow work


River freezing over... Now THAT'S cold!!


The other cook climbing down the lock wall the day I got off..


Giz Welcoming me home last night... (Just throw it down and she will come)

[catlover4ever]

Hi Laura, welcome home!!! We missed you!!! Thank you for sharing some photos with us. I loved all of them. Enjoy your time home!!!

[Karen]

Hee hee - Paul was at an event yesterday held at a Marriott near here. One of the people commented on "the lake" out in front of the hotel.
"That's not a lake," one woman explained - that's the Charles River."
"But, how can it be frozen? Don't rivers have a current? Doesn't that keep them from freezing?"

Yes, he was from Florida.

I am sure are glad to be back home, but welcome North whenever you are! Winter has its own kind of beauty, up here where the rivers can freeze.

[Taz_Zoee]

Welcome home Laura!! I had to think a minute because it just seems like a couple weeks ago that you left. I can't believe it's already been almost 4 weeks!!

[kuhio98]

Hee hee - Paul was at an event yesterday held at a Marriott near here. One of the people commented on "the lake" out in front of the hotel.
"That's not a lake," one woman explained - that's the Charles River."
"But, how can it be frozen? Don't rivers have a current? Doesn't that keep them from freezing?"

Yes, he was from Florida.

I am sure are glad to be back home, but welcome North whenever you are! Winter has its own kind of beauty, up here where the rivers can freeze.

It would probably blow his mind to learn that we drive on frozen rivers all winter. Much easier to get around.

[Cinder & Smoke]

Since my boat was in the shipyard, they had to put me on another one to get my days in.
I knew when I left home that I was going on the Ohio River, just didn't know which boat ...
I ended up on this one...

Michael J. Grainger
0529829
Length 168 feet - Width 40 feet -
Twin Screw GM 16-645E7B 5000 hp
Built 1970 by Dravo Corp., Neville Island, PA
Originally named: Steel Courier
Renamed: Michael J. Grainger 12/1996

PS: The BOAT was visiting Its Hometown, too!
The Dravo Corp Shipyard, on Neville Island, right on the Ohio River,
is just south of The Point in Pittsburgh.

We made 2 trips up to Pittsburgh, arriving both times just in time for those winter storms.
... I used to work on the Ohio river when I first hired in with the company and
always wanted to do another trip up there, just not in the winter!

The Ohio is so different from the Lower Mississippi that I took tons of pictures
and thought I would share a few with you. On to the pictures...

HUH??

HEY - I lived in P-burgh for 25 years ... where'd THAT bridge hide all that time?
I spent 3 hours searching on http://pghbridges.com/index.htm
for that Mystery Bridge ... on an impulse - I tried Cincinnati ...
a "distant Suburb" of Pittsburgh. Yuppers, that snappie is of the
John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge over the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio,
and Covington, Kentucky.
see: http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/suspension.html



Hey - It's (sorta) close to Pittsburgh!
----------------------------------------------------

Now THAT's a famous Pittsburgh Antique!
The Monongahela Incline

The Monongahela Incline (built in 1870) is located near the Smithfield Street bridge,
directly across the Monongahela River from downtown Pittsburgh.
It has a length of 635 feet (193.5 m), a height of 367.4 feet (112 m), and a
grade of 78% (38 degrees). Its lower station is across the street from
the Station Square shopping complex, and is easily accessible from the light rail system
at the Station Square station. It is operated by the Port Authority of Allegheny County,
which operates the rest of Pittsburgh's transit system.

It's one of only two (out of an original 15) Inclined Railways that still operate
on Mt. Washington
(Pittsburgh's *BIGG* Hill) ... If you're ever in P-burgh, make a ride on either the
Monongahela or the Duquesne Inclines a Must Do!
The view of downtown P-burgh is BREATHTAKING from the Inclines!

Here's a site >>> http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/transi...urgh/Inclines/
with lots of details and photos of the Inclines.

THANKS to Laura for all those Memories ...

/s/ Phred

[phesina]

Welcome home, Laura! What a sweet welcome home you got from all the kitties.

Thank you for all the pictures. Are those from around Cincinnati?

[snowbelle15]

This trip looked fun except for the weather of course. The pictures were beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

[smokey the elder]

Neat shots! And, I approve of the name of the boat.

The Hudson is frozen to the point where there hasn't been ferry service at Haverstraw or Newburgh since mid-December!

[cassiesmom]

Wow, neat pictures! I hope DavidP gets to look at them. I especially like the last photo in the first post- it looks so serene.

When I worked at the Rehab Institute, it always used to amaze me that the surface of Lake Michigan would freeze. But it was never smoothly frozen because of the water movement under the ice. That was always one of the signs of spring for me, when we could look out of the windows from the patient rooms that faced the lake, and see the ice cracking, then melting.

[Laura's Babies]

phesina- Thank you for all the pictures. Are those from around Cincinnati?

Yes, I got on below Cincinatti and got off above it. I love that bridge!
Some are along the way up and some of Pittsburg one on the Monongahela River.

I hope Davidp gets to see I was in his neck of the woods!

[Killearn Kitties]

Welcome back! Your pictures are beautiful!

Frozen rivers! You weren't in danger of getting stuck until Spring were you?

[davidpizzica]

Laura, I'm sorry you didn't get a warmer welcome in Pittsburgh, but you did get some nice pics of the downtown area. I liked the shots of the Duquesne Incline and the Majestic, both of which I've been on plenty of times. I live less than ten minutes from the downtown (up the Allegheny river) so I know the area well.