Saturday, October 05: Marion to Boston
Sunday, October 06: Boston to Louisville, KY
Tuesday, October 22 - Thursday, October 24: New Orleans, LA
Friday, October 25 - New Orleans to Boston to Marion
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As indicated on the following map, our trip was originally scheduled to start in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Heavy rains have caused such flooding on the Upper Mississippi River that it has become unnavigable for our riverboat - I'm guessing bridge clearances and swift water. Instead, we will go aboard AMERICA in Louisville, Kentucky. We will proceed down the Ohio River, then up the Mississippi River as far as St. Louis, Missouri, before cruising downriver until we reach New Orleans.
As you can imagine, having less than six days notice of this major change in itinerary caused some problems.
There was the unpleasant change fee for switching our flights (for which American Cruise Line has agreed to reimburse us). And unlike Minneapolis-St. Paul, Louisville is not a direct flight from Boston. Hello Detroit. On the plus side, we depart Boston on Sunday a bit later in the day, giving us a more leisurely start to it.
We had to shift all our Minneapolis-St. Paul reservations for ones in Louisville. Pam is frantically researching what to do in Louisville the day we are there. Our time in St. Louis and Memphis has also been elongated, sending her back into her references for additional things to do in those cities.
As suggested by the map above, outdoor temperatures will span a much narrower range. The contents of suitcases that were close to being packed are now strewn about as we swap out heavier clothing for additional lighter garb.
The shock of the sudden change has worn off, new airline and hotel reservations are in place, and by Friday the bags will be repacked. It is disappointing that we will not be seeing the Upper Mississippi River, but we are back on track for what we anticipate will be an interesting experience.
