On our first day in Grafton, we got up and took the scooters out to explore the town a bit. There is a nice bike path along the river in Grafton and our marina was walking/biking distance to pretty much everything in town! There is a lot of action packed into this tiny town and although it is small, there is no shortage of things to see and do! There are lots of cute open air bars and restaurants and tons of live music on the weekends! There is a chair lift that takes you up to a winery, many eclectic shops, and Grafton Harbor Marina has a floating Oyster bar with delicious food, a floating winery, a general store, and a pool! There's even a water park in Grafton!
Just down the coast, there is a stunning and dramatic cliff line and you would never know we are in Illinois!! We drove the scooters down the coast and then back into to town.
On the way back to the boat, we noticed that the old riverboat cruise ship had docked in Grafton for the night. This was the 4th time we had crossed paths with it so far!
We dropped off the scooters at the boat then headed back into town. A few blocks from the marina, there is a chair lift that takes you up to the top of the bluff in Grafton. At the top, there is a resort called Aerie's that has a restaurant named "the Terrace". We rode up top and enjoyed the beautiful views, along with some pizza and wine. They were building an alpine coaster while we were there so we will definitely have to return when it is finished to ride it down the mountain!
After lunch, we found a trail that said Lookout Point. We followed it and along the way, they had games to stop and play and rope swings. We let our inner child out and played around a bit. The Lookout point had grown over and was mostly tree covered, but it was still a nice walk through the woods.
After an afternoon in the sky, we went back down the hill and met up with our Canadian friends for dinner at the Oyster Bar before they headed out on the next leg of their journey.
Over the next few day after work, we tried to explore the area as much as we could! One night, we took a dinghy ride on the Mississippi to see the stunning cliffs in Grafton, IL!! They are so pretty, especially with the glow of the sunset on them! There were so many logs and sticks to watch out for!
Another night, we took Bella for a sunset stroll around town to see the lighthouse and some more of the sights!
And on a very hot evening, we met up with some other "Loopers" and went for a swim in the marina's swimming pool then cleaned up and went to dinner at the Oyster Bar with everyone. Grafton was a fun stop and we had a great time hanging out with other couples that are on the same adventure we are on! :)