To Our Family & Friends! To Family, Friends, old and new, let me tell you a little story! On November 5, 2004 @ 11:30am we launched the "Izona" for the first ever in Guttenburg, IA. Lori, Miss Lucky, the "Crew" from Kann Mfg. and Myself left the dock on a sunny day for a ride in a dream machine! The Izona dream was kept alive by the steadfast determination of my Wife! Although the road to Guttenburg was bumpy, Randy Heller and his crew made the rest of the ride a breeze! No problem he'd say! And there was not. Yesterday, November 5, 2005 @ 09:15 we launched Izona in Fort Madison, IA. We would start our trip log at voyage #23, with 132.5 hours on the hour meter. It was partly cloudy and cool outside, but with the cabin doors closed it was nice and warm inside. Never even turned on the heater-----but we could have! We started downbound and visited with our friends at Hall Towing, who were unloading barges with a giant crane. They offered me a job welding on the bottom of a barge they were lifting out of the river, but I declined their offer and continued on down the river. We saw five different Towboats in all. Some working, some moored, but all were sad they weren't as pretty as Izona. (You have to speak boat talk.) We went down to lock 19 and talked to the Lockmaster for a bit, and turned upbound and started back. We had a relaxing day as always. Izona's Merc Cruiser purrs like a kitten, and she almost pilots herself. We just ride along and look out the windows at the beautiful scenery along the river. We returned to the harbor in Ft. Madison at about 14:30pm with 137.6 hours on the meter. I guess the only sad part of the day is putting Izona back on her trailer. OH yeah, and Lori had left the cell phone in the glove compartment of the truck.Don't tell Rex! With Miss Lucky asleep in the back seat, and Lori and I so relaxed we could hardly speak, it was a quiet ride home in "Big Red." Well, that's all for now, but thank you all for your kind words, complements and encouragement! Remember, keep your wheels in deep water! Tim, Lori & Lucky! "Izona", built 2004