A new cruise

Hello to anyone out there! Today we are finally preparing to leave St.Charles,Mo and head to Zanesville,Ohio to launch and cruise the Muskingum river to its confluence with the Ohio river at Marietta,Ohio. Not being very good at the computer I intend to try and describe the cruise in this blog. Our boat is a Tracker pontoon boat 32' long powered by a 150 mercury opti max . The boat is sort of a small travel trailer on pontoons. We sit inside a small cabin ( hard sided and roofed ) with a small fridge ,micro wave ,porti pott , a fresh water tank,honda gen on roof ,a/c and heat,and a very small bathroom . Two jack knife sofas fold out for sleeping,and we have room enough to take two fold up bikes. I learned of the muskingum and it's early canal connection to the Ohio Erie Canal and now owned and maintained by Ohio state parks. Since we have traveled the Erie ,Trent Severn,Rideau,Champlain and Chambly canals ,this river and it's historic locks became of interest to me. I am Jim Lefers ,wife Mary and 14 lbs. of mutt- Buddy. We are nearing 70, retired and boating was a passion we had as our son and daughter grew up. We boated (and still do ) on the Mississippi umr224 area,the Alton pool and keep our two boats on hydro hoist at lake center marina in St.Charles,Mo.Our little boat is a c dory 16' cruiser that shortly after thanksgiving we will take to Everglades city,Fla  to cruise the Everglades National Waterway thru the Everglades swamp and mangrove islands. We are very excited about that and planning and outfitting the boat now.The 4th of july the little boat will be coast guard inspected to make sure we are in compliance with coastal regulations as they differ from the inland rules that cover us here on the Mississippi.We are having a summer flood now but hope to have the pontoon "bobcat" picked and set on the trailer Monday the 7th and packed and headin out to ohio on the 8th. It's about a 600 mile pull to our marina on the muskingum,and then we will need a day to grocery stock and put the boat back together as the gen has to be set back up on the roof and we do have some canvas that is takin down to highway travel. The boat is 13'4" high just 2" short of legal height on the interstate with the gen off. It is a pain to pull on the road but the excitement to cruise overcomes that UNTILL we have to pull it back home but the journey on the river makes it bearable.So for now that is our plan and we are watching hurricane Arthur to see that it don't  swing inland and make a huge amount of rain and flooding on the muskingum and ohio rivers. As of noon today it's projected to stay on the east coast as it heads north up the eastern coast.Well this is it for now ,if your a boater are boating is in your future plans maybe my attempt at this blog will be of interest for you,Jim