Aug 10, 2007 - CRUISING (OF A DIFFERENT SORT) ON THE OHIO RIVER
by Beth & Al Liggett

This year, as you may know, we've left Sunflower in Langkawi and are again visiting the States. We decided another dose of small town America was in order. We had such a delightful time in Al's childhood town of Ripley, Ohio last summer - we wanted to see if it was a one-shot deal, or if we felt the same after another extended visit. Another draw was the chance for us to get together with Al's brothers and sisters at their annual West Family Reunion Picnic. This was going to be the first time in 20 years that all six brothers and sisters would be together!

The paddlewheel working hard propelling us up the river.

Wouldn't it be good to extend this family visit for more than just one day? By happenstance, a travel brochure advertising cruises on the Ohio River landed in Charlie (brother) and Kathy's mailbox while we were staying with them. And there it was - a 5-day cruise up the Ohio River beginning the day after the Family Picnic. Wouldn't it be great to do that together? The "I'll go if you go" discussion between Kathy and me turned into a flurry of e-mails to the other brothers and sisters. And with a little coaxing and coercion, they all joined up for the cruise. My sister-in-law Kathy is sure that this whole thing was really orchestrated by their mom from Heaven!

Our vessel for this river cruise was the American Queen. She is the largest steam-powered paddlewheel riverboat ever built, and carries on the tradition of elegant 19th century steam boat travel on the rivers of America. Yes - it has a steam engine. Specifically a "four-cylinder, horizontally-inclined, tandem-piston, steeple-compounded, double-acting, reciprocating" steam engine! (I can explain it - but do I have to?) This 1932 engine came from a US Army dredge that had gone out of service and been dismantled. The engine was rebuilt and installed in the American Queen prior to her launch in 1995. The paddle wheel provides 40 to 60 percent of the propulsion, depending on the requirements of travel and the river currents. The rest is taken up by a "Z" drive propeller which helpfully acts as a thruster too in docking situations.

The paddle wheel steamer – American Queen – dockside in Maysville, Kentucky.

The whole gang - brothers, sisters, and spouses (11 of us) - boarded the American Queen in Cincinnati, Ohio. We checked in and unpacked. Our room was small but comfortable - twin beds, built-in wardrobe, dressing table, hanging locker, and a flat panel TV and DVD player. The intercom played easy music and gave us the shipboard announcements. The head had the usual facilities. Conveniently, all the family had their rooms on the same deck as ours.

We had a look around, exploring the different decks of the Queen and trying not to get lost in the process. We settled in at the Engine Room Bar for a Happy Hour toast before our 6pm departure. In general, the boat would travel during the afternoons or overnight, so that there would be plenty of daylight hours ashore at our various stopping places along the river.

Tied up in a lock waiting for the boat to be lifted up to the higher level of water that you can see ahead.

The first morning we all showed up at breakfast wearing our "Ripley River Rats" T-shirts! Al and I had had them made in Ripley before the trip began - a remembrance of when the boys had worn something similar while growing up in Ripley. The shirts - featuring a waterskiing rat! - quickly identified our group. I don't know how many times we told our story (together or individually) of the brothers and sisters growing up in Ripley and our very special family reunion aboard the American Queen.

The 11 of us in our Ripley River Rat shirts in the main dining room. In the back: Charlie, Kathy, Al, Beth, Lucy Ann, Caroline, Donn. Seated at the table: Jo, Bob, Mary Jane, Cliff.

Our first stop was Maysville, Kentucky. Now this is just across the river from Ripley and our family knows it well. It is only about 65 miles up river from Cincinnati and we couldn't figure out why it would take us all night – 14 hours! – to get there. I asked the shipping company, and they just said, "The boat goes reeeeeal sloooow." Whatever. We were docked when Al and I went on deck at 6:30 that morning. There wasn't much point in taking one of the organized tours of Maysville, but we did stretch our legs and wandered out to admire the murals of early Maysville history that are painted along the flood walls, and to look at the shops and galleries in some of the newly restored downtown areas.

Top deck. The twin stacks (just one showing) are hinged to lay down in a cradle so the boat can get under the bridges. The Pilot house is on an elevator so it too can cope with low bridges!

Another stop on our journey was at Point Pleasant, WV, the oldest city on the Ohio River. There we strolled another wall of murals (scenes of the Indian battles prominent in local history), visited a restored 1796 tavern, and saw an artist's rendition of a local legend, "The Moth Man". Highlight of our next day in Marietta, Ohio, was a tour of the Campus Martius Museum which features a restored part of the original 18th century fort and General Putnam's house, and had wonderful exhibits relating to the early settlement of the town and the Ohio River Valley. In Wheeling, WV, we bussed up to the Oglebay Estate, visiting the Eckhart House, one of the nation's most outstanding Victorian structures. The grounds also house the Oglebay Institute Glass Museum, a treasure house of over 3000 examples of fine glassware that had been made in Wheeling factories between 1829 and 1939.

The steam calliope played when we would leave a port. You can see the pipes and the steam whistling out of the ones making the tune right then. It is REALLY LOUD if you are on this deck!

But my favorite parts of the trip were the afternoons when the American Queen was traveling up the river. There was nothing to do but choose a comfortable deck chair, hang out, and let the river scenery flow by. A couple of times we watched as the Captain positioned the boat into one of the sets of locks along the route. There wasn't much room to spare. Each lock lifted us up into the next "pool" by 13 to 18 feet. While we were watching, one of the stewards came around pulling a little red wagon filled with ice cold beer and wine. Or you could get soft drinks, soft ice cream, cookies, fruit, snacks and such on the Front Porch. In fact, FOOD was everywhere!

There was a Continental breakfast on the Porch and a lunch buffet in the Grand Saloon as well as the more formal full-service breakfasts and luncheons in the main dining room. The Calliope Bar had hot dogs and snacks available most of the day. Afternoon Teas were served in the Ladies Parlor; the Captain's wife would serve. Most of us would gather for Happy Hour in the Engine Room Bar which had special themed hot hors d'ouevres daily. A very special part of each day was the gathering of our clan in the main dining room for an elegant dinner together.

Al and I dressed up for the Captain’s champagne reception and dinner. WOW! Dig those socks!

There was entertainment on board the American Queen too. There were daily talks or on board tours by Clara, our Discovery Guide, who could tell you almost everything about our voyage, the boat, the river and the places we were passing! Our evening shows featured an AmQ quartet and a pair of lively singers, or a Ragtime piano player. The band would then continue with great dance music in the Grand Saloon later in the evenings. Or you could join the piano bar crowd in the Captain's Bar for singalongs featuring Broadway tunes, songs of romance, or Irish melodies. We preferred the Engine Room Bar, where Greg at the piano played livelier music - Oldies but Goodies, or Country-Western tunes. The River Rats pretty well took over the joint!

Early morning in Maysville. One of the many bridges ahead, so the stacks are both down.

Well, all good things come to and end of course. We could hardly believe that five days went by so quickly. We had such a good time on this cruise, and such a great time just being together as a family too. No feuds, no huffing around, (well, hardly any) and we all parted still speaking to one another and saying what a good idea this was, and let's see if we can work out something like this again for next year! I hope we can.

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