Day 86: Peoria to Havana (IL)

August 25, 2025: Except for about an hour wait at the Peoria Lock, we had a fairly short day - only 50 some miles. It was unusual in that other than tugs with barges, we saw no other boat traffic all day. We got into Tall Timbers Marina in Havana about 1:30 so we had time to take in the town. We share some of the sights below.

A little explanation about some of the above photos. The two kids had captured “alive” a cicaida so we had to take a picture of it (and Tom paid them $1 for the privilege). The “bottle tree” was just there out in the open like that. About half the houses we saw were brick. Being from California, where brick houses are relatively rare, we make appreciative exclamations. The sign about the river depth? In this area the Illinois River is sort of like the Platt River - wide but not very deep. We were very impressed with the bandstand in the city park - it appears to be fairly new. It’s very stylish and the benches are not in rows but spaced out. It was also a lovely setting (the performers get a view of the river).

Below is a mural on the side of a building. In front of the mural is a deep-freeze style of an old Pepsi dispenser. My aunt, Vivian, had the Coca Cola version in her beauty shop when I was a kid. (A closer view is in the photos above.)

SOUND ON for the video below.

So the downpour to hot and humid is sort of the norm. But 8 am at 78 degrees and 47% humidity? Yikes.

From a Central California perspective, PIB is a combination of Shaver Lake, Pismo Beach and a dollop of Disneyland. There are some (very short) nature trails and the International Peace Memorial.