October 9, 2018. Mississippi River. Arkansas and Tennessee.

We are under way, heading north on the wide Mississippi River. Our flight from St. Paul to Memphis of just over 90 minutes was uneventful. Our room at the Peabody was lovely and after a room service of salmon for dinner we slept well. After breakfast in a large sun room on the top floor we assembled for the bus to be taken to our small boat. Capacity of this boat is 184 but rumor has it that several folks cancelled with the switch to Memphis to begin the trip. Most folks are not grumpy but a couple we had lunch with today gave me all the reasons they were irritated with the change. He had been looking up the history of all the towns we were to visit and now we will miss them. We will go north up to Chester, Il. but then we turn back south. Most people on this cruise are retired and many of them are challenged with mobility. I have seen few young folks. Our cabin is big, as cabins go. Our bedroom is a separate room and our balcony is roomy enough to eat breakfast, which we will do tomorrow. Our lunch today on the boat was delicious. I ate a cold seafood salad which was high on seafood and low on greens which is perfect for me. We look forward to dining well. Portions on any cruise are small, fortunately. The river is wide and the topography is flat. We have passed three barges being pushed by a tug boat. The barges are long and they move quickly. But we pass them by. Destination tonight is New Madrid, Mo. We arrive at 7:30 tonight. Dinner is 6:30 with music of the Mississippi presented at 8:15. I hope the musicians are good. I would hate to hear Old Man River sung poorly. So far so good. We are here in one piece so now we will enjoy ourselves. We already knew it but The Mississippi River is big. Most importantly, our bed is comfortable. Cheers.