Day 375: Saturday, September 14, 2013

Port to Port: Ottawa to Henry Harbor Marina

Underway: 6:16 am      Motor Off: 4:50 pm      Miles Traveled: 44      Stayed At: Marina

First Things First: First time tying off to a random barge along the river; first time having an asian carp fly into the side of our boat.

Mile 240 to Mile 196: Sun Gypsy, Bucket List, Journey, Down Time, Harmony, Tour De Loop and Shell Seaker – we could have had our own private Looper Rendevous at the Starved Rock Lock and Dam.

We got an early start but we should have slept in longer. There was a light fog over the river but the sun was starting to light up the sky so we headed out and down river. We only made it a couple miles before the fog got too thick to see oncoming tows so we pulled over and tied off to a barge parked along the river to wait for the sun to burn the fog off. To pass the time, we decided to untangle all our lines and cables and restep our mast. This went very smoothly – it’s great to be a sailboat again and not have all that junk in the way. We headed out again down river but another bank of fog reformed over the river and we decided to turn around and go back to our safe harbor and tie up to the barge again. This time we made cinnamon rolls to pass the time – they turned out perfect.

The fog finally burned off and we headed downriver toward the first and only lock for the day. Not long after we got started, a large tow snuck up behind us honking his fog horn so we decided to turn off and let him go by and lead the way through the continuing light fog. He was going really slow so as soon as we passed a narrow pinch point, we slowly motored by him and turned the corner only to find the lock just a couple miles away.  Bummers, this is going to be a long day.

It was a really long day but the lock worked out better than we thought. The lockmaster (who really seems to like his job – he was hilarious) told us to hang out by the wall near the dam for a little while so they could bring the first half of a tow up through the lock (they pull the first half out with a tow cable) and then he would take us down before the second half went in. Woohoo! With two large tows waiting, we could have been here for 4 or more hours – we could cook a turkey dinner in that amount of time if we had one. As we waited by the wall, we saw a flotilla of large power boats heading down towards the locks – what are the odds we know them. Pretty good I would say. We knew everyone except the four little speedboats that came in last. Now we have three categories of Looper boats – hares, turtles and snails. At the moment, we are not the snails.

It was fun to see and chat with everyone for a little while on the radio. Our lock down went smoothly and everyone headed downstream for our next rendevous on the Illinois River. After the lock, our day was just long and boring. The scenery was nice – if somewhat industrial in parts – but the sky was a deep blue, the temperatures perfect and the water calm. What more could we ask for (other than about 2 more knots of favorable current).

We had wanted to go farther but we were tired and we needed gas so we pulled in to Henry Harbor Marina and decided to tie up with Tour De Loop and Shell Seaker on the wall of the first lock on the Illinois (now abandoned) built in the mid 1800’s. Not pretty but cheap and historic.

We joined our friends for drinks at the bar/restaurant and decided the prices on the menu were so good we would stay for dinner (leftovers or a good hamburger…leftovers or a good hamburger and no dishes or cooking involved – which would you choose). We had a blast.

Day 374: Friday, September 13, 2013

Port to Port: Joliet to Ottawa, Illinois

Underway: 6:28 am      Motor Off: 0:00 pm      Miles Traveled: 48      Stayed At: Free Dock

First Things First: Saw our first asian carp on the Illinois; locked through with a tug/tow for the first (and last) time; listened to our first high school football game just across the river from our dock.

Mile to Mile: After only 12 hours of adventures (a half day) and 48 miles, we finally pulled up to the free dock in Ottawa for a much deserved drink and rest. We had a long and exciting day.

We started “early, early, early” today just as the sun was giving us a nice glow on the horizon. Our first lock was only a couple miles downstream and we waited for a tow to pass our dock (after coming up through the lock) and headed down and through the lock without issue. We were joined by Tahoma – a Looper boater who docked after dark last night and that we haven’t had the chance to meet yet. One down, two more to go. Will the lock gods be with us?

No, they won’t. We had the same challenges as the other Loopers before us – long delays waiting for tows to go through the locks. Yesterday, a bunch of Loopers had to wallow above one of the locks while a large tow locked through in two pieces and reassembled itself before they could enter – it took almost 4 hours. We had a similar experience with the Dresden Lock. A huge tow had priority even though we got to lock well before them. They unhooked and loaded half their load, backed out, let out the water, towed the barges out with a huge winch system, brought the water back up and loaded the last half with tug for another ride down. We luckily spent all this time chatting with a Looper boat we had not met yet – Jim and Margaret on Tahoma – and the time flew by. They are doing the Loop in one month/year increments on a 27’ boat. They are from the Portland area in Washington.

The excitement started when the lockmaster asked us if we wanted to lock through with the tow. Even though we had been warned by Spiritus that they would never do this again we had to learn the hard way why. All went well getting tied up and going down. It was actually an interesting experience up to this point. The learning curve started ramping up when the tug started slowly moving forward to reconnect the first load. The current swirling around in this small space at the back of the lock was wild. This was manageable but tiring and went on for at least 15 minutes when he really hit the throttle to push the load downstream. Keep in mind, we are both hanging onto two long ropes 20+ feet down in the lock basically at the whims of the current. It was not for the faint of heart. One strong eddy caught us both and our bows swung out so far and hard that both bow lines had to be dropped. That is not good. I dropped the stern line and luckily Boris started on the first pull and I kept Aurora planted straight back in the prop wash behind the tug. I was able to slowly crab sideways back to the wall where we miraculously picked up the guidelines again and held on till the tow was out of the lock and we were safe to leave. Tohoma sat sideways against the back wall with only one line until an eddy swung their bow back around and they were okay again. We just keep learning every day. Moral of the story: Listen to your elders!

After our adventures the rest of the day went smoothly. We locked through the last lock with Sun Gypsy and Bucket List (somehow they were behind us again), and we continued on a little less than an hour to the free dock in Ottawa. We enjoyed a nice spaghetti dinner before doing a couple boat projects (get gas and clean up a little) and planning our day for tomorrow. Only one lock tomorrow – will we get lucky this time?

Day 373: Thursday, September 12, 2013

Port to Port: Chicago to Joliet, Illinois

Underway: 6:19 am      Motor Off: 2:22 pm      Miles Traveled: 40      Stayed At: Free Dock

First Things First: First time seeing a NASCAR semi-truck parade.

Mile 328 to Mile 288: Lakeshore Drive, Columbus Drive, Michigan Avenue, Wabash Avenue, State Street…one lock, 31 bridges and one hour later, we were past downtown Chicago and on our way south again. What an amazing experience to pass through a city like this on our own boat. The waterway was surprisingly quiet at 6:30 am in the morning – we only saw two water taxis moving in the first several hours of travel. Being down on the river, with all the tall building towering above you just as the sun is starting to light them up is indescribable. We didn’t want it to end. But we were soon away from the city and passing through some industrial areas and tree covered shoreline on our way down the Illinois River.

After a total of 2 locks and 67 bridges (we fit under all of them thankfully), we tied up to the free wall near downtown Joliet and were glad to be done early for the day. I walked a mile and a half to the nearest gas station to fill one of our cans. I had planned to walk about 3 miles to the main post office but the package we were expecting was awol and I spent an hour on the phone trying to find someone who could find it and forward it down the river farther. We will see what happens tomorrow. One of life’s little inconveniences that Loopers don’t get to avoid.

A short time after we docked we were surprised to see several shiny new semis going over the lift bridge near us and then several more and them several more – we had our own private NASCAR Sprint Cup Hauler Parade going by our stern. It turns out (according to Google), that there is a race at the Chicagoland Speedway nearby this weekend and this is their way to get the fans excited for the race. (Lucky a barge didn’t show up needing the bridge opened up). I found out later, when I walked downtown (and saw the parade go by again), that there was a street fair in town tonight with old cars and race cars on display, fair food, beer and free music. Believe it or not, but I didn’t buy a corndog (although, as I am writing this, I wish I had).

After our parades and projects, we heated up some leftover pizza (not as interesting as the fair food but a lot cheaper), relaxed, planned the day tomorrow and should sleep like babies with the finally cooler temperatures riding in with the north wind this afternoon. Just 288 miles and counting till we find our wake again. A drop in the bucket don’t you think. What an amazing day.

Day 372: Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Port to Port: Chicago, Illinois

Underway: 0:00 am      Motor Off: 0:00 pm      Miles Traveled: 0      Stayed At: Marina

Mile 327 to Mile 327: We are almost alone again. Many of our Looper friends have moved on south on the Illinois River including Spiritus, Carina, Free At Last, Tour De Loop and others. Given how far we have traveled, we wanted to spend as much time as possible in Chicago.

We didn’t have any specific agenda today – just to wander, enjoy the parks, see the “bean” and do a little grocery shopping. We did all that and more in our second day of 20,000 plus steps. We started the day sitting in a park by a manmade stream soaking our feet and blogging – the internet in the parks is free and fast. I didn’t want to leave. We stopped at the bean and people watched for a while, sat on a bench by two tall rectangular glass block art features watching kids play in the water flowing off the tops and down the sides, stopped at Target and Walmart to get a few groceries, ate lunch in a different park on a picnic table in the shade, dropped off the groceries at the boat, took the mast down and secured it (again), rested and relaxed, stopped by to say hi to Freya and stayed to chat and help fix a couple computer issues, wandered over to our secret grocery store and bought more treats and essentials (and some more gelato) and finally returned to the boat for good.

We are going to miss Chicago. I wish we could stay longer but we have a lot of miles left to go before we are home. Tomorrow we start our last official leg of our Loop – the Illinois River. Wish us luck.

Day 371: Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Port to Port: Chicago, llinois

Underway: 0:00 am      Motor Off: 0:00 pm      Miles Traveled:       Stayed At: Marina

Mile to Mile: 20,000 steps and counting – today was a busy day. With only two full days planned in Chicago, we have to make the most of every minute of daylight. We were up and moving a little after 6 am to hop on a train for an hour ride out to Palantine – one of many towns and suburbs surrounding Chicago – to meet Sarah’s boyfriend Jake’s parents, Barry and Karen at a hole-in-the-wall bar restaurant for breakfast, It looked a little sketchy at first – there were actually customers drinking at the bar – but the breakfast turned out great and we had a nice two hour visit. They are newly retired and are in the process of moving their household to a new home in Wisconsin. This early morning visit worked out perfect for both of us.

We said our goodbyes and hopped back on the train back to Chicago to do some power exploring. We headed up to the Navy Pier to do the touristy thing and had another random surprise. There are millions of people who live and work in downtown Chicago and we don’t know very many of them but as we were walking along the sidewalk near the Navy Pier who do we run into but Bob and Debbie from In My Element – they are staying at the marina just down from us. We of course chatted for a while before Surprise Number Two when we see two people biking up the path on folding bikes (clue number 1) and they rolled up and said, “We know you” and we said., “We know you too”.  Dennis and Karen on Shell Seaker were riding up from their marina down the lakeshore about 4 miles and just randomly crossed paths with us – what are the odds. It never ceases to amaze me.

Did I mention it was hot today. We were melting. We wandered around the shops at Navy Pier, had a couple ice cream cones and took in the sights before heading back to the boat. We relaxed in the shade under the sun cover, savored a couple strawberry margaritas (actually strawberry smoothies from the nearby snack stand spiked with a little tequila) and cleaned up before heading over to finally meet up with Eddy and Linda on Spiritus. Of course, while we were waiting for them, we saw Bob and met Calypso again.

Remember when I wrote about the risks of this boating life? Well, Eddy found out the hard way. A few days ago he was getting on the boat from the dock early in the morning and there was dew on the piece of wood he stepped on and he slipped and fell hard bruising his ribs, knee and calf. It looked painful although he says it feels a lot better – he has not slowed down at all. You’re in Chicago – you can’t stop now. After a nice reunion chat we went down to a different dock and introduced them to Freya and In My Element and we met Radiance too. We also saw Free At Last and Sun Gypsy also down on that end of the marina. It’s like old home week in Chicago.

We chatted for a while, laughed a lot and finally headed off for our dinner date. We ended up having checking out this cool grocery store hidden downtown by a park and enjoyed sandwiches and salads, a bottle of “The Loop” wine (thanks Linda) topped off with some gelato to finish out a perfect day. Spiritus is leaving tomorrow but we don’t plan to say our “real” good byes until Grafton Illinois after we cross our wake.

Day 370: Monday, September 9, 2013

Port to Port:  Michigan City to Chicago, Illinois

Underway: 7:02 am      Motor Off: 2:12 pm      Miles Traveled: 44      Stayed At: Marina

Mile to Mile: Our dash across Lake Michigan was amazing. We had perfect winds out of the east and south east which allowed us to put up the sails as soon as we cleared the breakwater and motorsail at about 6.5 mph or better for most of the journey. And best of all – no swells from any direction. Just a light ripple on the water and hazy sunshine all morning. The wind died off the last couple of hours but we still made it in to the marina early afternoon. Our last big water done. Yaaaa!

Carina peeled off about 10 miles from Chicago to go down the Calumet River to Crowle’ys Marina to get their mast de-stepped (again) tomorrow for the trip down the Illinois and Mississippi. We didn’t really say goodbye – we are planning to meet up again on the Illinois in a few days.

We love Chicago – the architecture, the parks, the restaurants and the water. It has always been a dream of ours to come here in our own boat and here we are. Cool. Surprisingly, this has been one of the hottest days of the year so far for us – 96˚ and humid. I can’t remember the last time we had sweat pouring down our faces like this. It helped to put up the sun shade and, later in the afternoon, a nice breeze helped make it more comfortable – especially sitting out in the cockpit. We finally saw the unmistakable skyline of Chicago peak through the haze as about 12:14 pm and we relaxed a little even though we were still more than 10 miles away.

We had several choices (always choices) for mooring. We could stay on a mooring ball for $1/foot (no min) but have to dinghy to shore or us the water taxis at $4.50 per trip (ouch); stay at the wall along the waterfront for $1.50 per foot (25’ min) and not have great security; or stay at the marina in a slip for $2.35/foot (30’ min) plus $10/day for electricity. Decisions, decisions. We finally decided to go for the wall and got a good deal so it all worked out perfect. We are only a couple blocks from our friends at the marina and the money we save will pay for all our food and entertainment. What a deal.

We finally got inspired to take a walk up Michigan Ave to the Walking Company Store. We have been looking for one for months close enough to the boat to get to. Cindy bought some expensive walking shoes there in Florida and within a month they started squeaking – on tile, asphalt, the grass and even the sand. Something in side failed and I could hear her walking 5 aisles away at Walmart. It would have been hilarious if it wasn’t so annoying. But she kept wearing them because she felt they were helping her heal pain. Well, long story short, she brought them in and they exchanged them for new ones with out a problem. Hope they fixed the problem on these new ones.

We relaxed for a while and arranged to meet our friend Bill (from Hudson Florida where we stayed last fall) for dinner. What a blast. Bill has a plan – he and Kate are future Loopers and are in the fun planning stage – finding the perfect boat, learning about the route, talking and learning from other Loopers and just dreaming about the adventure. You could see the excitement in his eyes. We shared a lot of Looper stories – most of which he had already memorized from reading our blog. We were bummed that Kate had to fly back home on Sunday but we will meet again someday, no doubt.

Day 369: Monday, September 8, 2013

Port to Port: St. Joseph to Michigan City, Indiana

Underway: 7:29 am      Motor Off: 1:00 pm      Miles Traveled: 38/36      Stayed At: Marina

First Things First: First time in Indiana.

Mile 311 to Mile 347: We are almost there. Today was almost a carbon copy of a couple days ago – good sailing winds, large long swells and sunshine. We made good time and were tied up with lots of time to explore. We even gained an hour after crossing back into the central time zone. We lose an hour of light at night but gain an hour in the morning. (Easier to leave early now – sorry Cindy).

We are going to have some hot weather coming up in the next few days – mid 90’s in Chicago – hopefully a breeze off the lake will keep things a little cooler. We are planning to stay in Chicago for three days and then head down the Illinois starting Thursday. One last major leg to finish before we cross our wake.

We are always amazed at how nice people are in some of these towns. A lady on a sailboat on a different dock saw us cruise in and assumed we were transients and walked a long way to get over to our boat to see if we needed a ride to West Marine or the grocery store. We ended up taking a long walk with Jane instead to get some exersize and ended up at West Marine about 3 miles away and a guy checking out in the store found out we were at the marina and offered us a ride back (which we happily accepted).

  We have a 38 mile run across the end of Lake Michigan tomorrow to get to the marina in downtown Chicago and, so far, the weather looks good – light south breeze and sunshine. Hopefully these northerly swells are gone making for much more comfortable travel conditions.

Day 368: Saturday, September 7, 2013

Port to Port: St. Joseph, Michigan

Underway: 0:00 am      Motor Off: 0:00 pm      Miles Traveled: 0      Stayed At: Marina

Mile to Mile: Kind of a lazy day. We could have traveled today but the wind would have been on our nose and there was a chance of thunderstorms. Two more hops and we will be done with the big water. Sounds like a good reason to celebrate with ice cream (save us some Linda).

It’s always amazing how easy it is to fill the time each day with projects and activities. Today is a good example. I got up, borrowed the courtesy bike at the marina, biked to the gas station to get gas, brought the computer up to the lounge and caught up on the blog and did some internet research, plotted our course for tomorrow, chatted with Dennis, had a coffee or two, ate breakfast that Cindy brought up, built a temporary mast support for when we lower the mast for the bridges in Chicago, went for a walk downtown, strolled the beach, sat in some rocking chairs while we ate popcorn and watched the merry-go-round go round, snacked, helped with the laundry (free x 3), power cleaned the dinghy and looked for leaks, put away my clothes, blogged, made and ate dinner, fixed a leak in the dinghy, took a shower, chatted with friends on Shell Seaker and slept like a baby. No naps again.

We are really looking forward to spending a few days in Chicago wandering around and sightseeing. We also should catch up to some of our Looper friends including Spiritus (and future Loopers Bill and Kate). We can’t wait.

Day 367: Friday, September 6, 2013

Port to Port: South Haven to St. Joseph, Michigan

Underway: 8:01 am      Motor Off: 12:00 pm      Miles Traveled: 24      Stayed At: Marina

Mile to Mile: Today was pretty much a carbon copy of yesterday except we did not have the northerly swells (yaa!) and we only went 24 miles. It didn’t help us to go farther since we will still have two modest hops left to get to Chicago. We motor-sailed the whole way again which just makes the whole trip a lot more fun for some reason. More sand dunes and sandy beaches slowly passed by on our port side as we aimed straight down the shore for St. Joseph’s. Before we knew it, we were motoring up the channel and turning into the West Basin Marina just in time for lunch. Carina led the way and Shell Seakers zoomed up behind us just as we entered the breakwater. Our Looper group is slowly shrinking – they aren’t too far ahead, though, since a large group of Loopers left the West Basin this morning aiming for Michigan City which is the last hop before Chicago. Hopefully, we will catch up and have another fun reunion before we all cruise south on the Illinois River.

We found a nice protected spot to tie up next to the seawall, had lunch, scrubbed the grime off the boat and had plenty of time to walk over the bridge to make a quick tour of downtown before we had to be back for docktails. With only six of us around, docktails was quieter than usual but we still had fun – for some reason we ended up sharing our boating horror stories but you learn a lot listening to the bad as well as the good (and since we all survived, it can be funny, after the fact).

Just in case anyone was wondering, real life does not take a holiday while you are boating. We have been very lucky so far with only stubbed toes and a few bruises (know on wood) but we have heard about a lot of other accidents or health issues which are more serious. Boats are basically accidents waiting to happen. There are lots of things to hit, bang or trip on. Things break. The decks are slippery. Boats move in strange and unexpected ways. Docks aren’t any better with lots of tripping hazards, oddly placed cleats, uneven surfaces and lines to trip over. We have heard of people crushing their knee between a lock wall and boat, dislocating their shoulder trying to hang on to a line at a lock too long and falling in the water, falling off their bike and breaking their arm, slipping and straining knees and twisting their ankles. Normal health issues also still afflict boater including the flu, colds, cancer and heart attacks. This is just part of life and everyone deals with it as it comes. At least we are all doing something we love when the real world inevitably shows up.

We plan to hang out here for an extra day since the wind is supposed to kick up out of the southwest tomorrow making for a lumpy day. Chicago will still be there when we get there and this gives us a little time to relax, explore and maybe squeeze in a nap if we get everything else done. Plus, we aren’t in any hurry to be done – we’re unemployed remember so as long as the snow doesn’t start flying, we are going to savor every moment while it lasts.

Day 366: Monday, September 5, 2013

Port to Port: Grand Haven to South Haven, Michigan

Underway: 7:30 am      Motor Off: 3:03 pm      Miles Traveled: 48/53      Stayed At: Marina

First Things First: First tractor parade of the trip.

Mile 236 to Mile 289: These big water passages are a lot different than the Intracoastal or North Channel or even the river systems. You look one way and see the shoreline – here we have lot of tree covered dunes, sandy beaches and a few houses – and you look the other way and all you see is water. Plotting our course requires maybe 6 waypoints to get out of the marina, into the lake and straight down to the next marina. There aren’t many landmarks to measure your progress and you can only have so many pictures of sand dunes and water. We are happy, though to be having good weather and relatively warm temperatures for our hops down our final big water.

We left on time this morning and have definitely noticed the gradual loss of daylight – it is dark out at early, early, early morning – 6 am. I don’t think we will be leaving that early anymore this trip (I can almost here Cindy yelling yah!). We just left at our new normal time and it was chilly out until the sun got well above the horizon. We were surprised to find a solid east wind flowing off shore – even though we hugged the shoreline, the wind was able to build up a decent chop. Another surprise was the persistent northly swells rolling under our hull. Where do they come from? Some of these were a little exciting to surf down. We were averaging 6.6 mph with some bursts up to 7.3 mph. We both raised our sails right away to get a boost from the wind and help steady the boats motion. We didn’t take our sails down until we were less than a mile from the entrance to the harbor at South Haven. Carina was able to sail at more than 7 mph for over 2 hours on just wind power – no iron genny (motor) assist.

After a fast, lumpy and tiring ride down, we were happy to pull into the municipal marina and be perfectly calm again. We (especially Cindy) got a definite workout today. We caught up with Tour De Loop and Karen and Dennis on Shell Seeker who were already in port relaxing. We got our boat projects done quick and wandered downtown with Jane to check out the shops and restaurants of Grand Haven – quiet today but a vibrant and nice tourist destination on the weekends and in the summer vacation months.

Surprisingly, we know somebody who calls South Haven home – Warren and Marti on Jubilate – so we emailed them and they were willing to drive all the way down here to the marina (about 45 minutes) just to visit again and take in another docktails (thanks guys for visiting – it was a blast). They know Carina and Tour De Loop so it was another grand party sitting at a table on the deck in front of the marina watching the sun set in the west. We even had a free tractor parade drive by the marina while were chatting on the docks. We don’t solve any of the world’s problems but we sure have fun trying.

Day 365: Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Port to Port: Grand Haven, Michigan

Underway: 0:00 am      Motor Off: 0:00 pm      Miles Traveled: 0      Stayed At: Marina

First Things First: First “pool-tails – cocktails by the pool.

Mile to Mile: Yesterday after noon we did not have any specific plans for today. Docktails was a probability and a little shopping was a certainty. Before breakfast was over, our calendar was full and we were going to be busy.

Jim showed up promptly at 9 am to shuttle us around on our shopping errands. Kathie from Tour De Loop joined us as we stopped to get gas, a couple pieces of wood at Home Depot (for a small temporary mast support) and groceries at Walmart. As usual, we only had four or five items we really needed at Walmart but, by the time we finished walking through the store, the total bill was over $100. No wonder the founding families are billionaires. But at least we are well stock for the next couple weeks – we should be almost done with the Illinois River before we need to restock.

Our errands took most of the morning and, by the time we stowed everything, had a quick lunch and cleaned up it was afternoon. We made plans to join Jim and Sharon at her brother’s house (where they are staying) for happy hour by the pool (I know, it’s a rough life on the Loop). Some good friends of theirs that they met in their cruising – Bill and Mary from on Harbor Reach – happened to be driving through town this weekend (their boat is waiting for them down by the Tennessee/Tom Bigbee) and we had a wonderful time meeting them and sharing stories. Jim and Sharon are Platinum Looper – they have Looped twice over the last decade of cruising and hope to do it again. Bill and Mary are Gold Loopers planning their second trip around. No shortage of stories and experience at this party.

After pool-tails, we all headed to the American Legion for their Thursday fish fry (excellent) and some more together time. Sharon’ brother and sister-in law – Paul and Jill – also joined us. We finished a great evening ice cream from the Dairy Crème right in front of our boat and said our goodbyes (as we shivered in the suddenly cool night air). We hope to cross paths again on our respective adventures. Sooner rather than later, we hope. We are thinking about you guys.

PS: Big news back home – Sarah and Jake just adopted their first puppy – Snooter. Isn’t he cute? We can’t wait to puppy sit some day. He looks like a perfect boat dog doesn’t he?

Day 364: Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Port to Port: Ludington to Grand Haven, Michigan

Underway: 7:15 am      Motor Off: 5:30 pm      Miles Traveled: 69      Stayed At: Marina

Mile 151 to Mile 236: After a blustery and windy day yesterday, we were a little worried what the morning would bring but it was calm, warm and the sun was peaking above the horizon as we motored out of Ludington early in the morning. We put up our sails and sailed for several hours before the wind died off. We were able to sail again for the last several hours on a beam reach.

We had originally planned to stop and anchor at a little over 40 miles at Whitehall but it was another one of those days where we couldn’t stop – we were consistently running at or above 6.5 mph. Except for the persistent swell from the north making steering a challenge, the day was uneventful. Bright sunshine reflected of the mostly calm lake all day and the temps were in the mid 70’s. Tomorrow may be windy again so Grand Haven is a nice place to hang out for a day waiting for better travel weather.

After a long beautiful day on the water, we were tired and ready to get into port. We motored up the channel and by the municipal marina and all our friends from Ludington welcomed us back again. Plus we had a surprise visitor – Jim (and Sharon) from Blue Angel whom we met and spent some time with way back in Carrabelle Florida greeted us and helped up get tied off. We couldn’t believe it. It turns out this is their homeport (although their boat is down in Demopolis, Alabama along river) and they are home taking caring of Sharon’s mother for a while. He already offered to take us shopping tomorrow if there is anything we need. It will be fun to catch up on our respective adventures.

We made a quick tour of downtown Grand Haven – the stores were pretty quiet now that Labor Day is past – and came back to the boat, made a quick dinner and walked less than 30 steps to the Dairy Crème restaurant right in front of our slip. (This may not be such a good place to stay after all). I think this wins the award for the closest ice cream store on the entire trip.

Day 363: Monday, September 2, 2013

Port to Port: Ludington, Michigan

Underway: 0:00 am      Motor Off: 0:00 pm      Miles Traveled: 0      Stayed At: Marina

Mile to Mile: As predicted, today was overcast and windy but it never really rained – just a little mist. We made an early stop at the House of Flavors (the claim to fame is fresh made ice cream) for their breakfast special – for $3.89 I got two eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and 2 pancakes. Cindy got French toast and our total bill was $6.79. I wish I had known about this yesterday.

Today was a lazy day. We went on a couple long walks enjoying downtown, the waterfront walkways, the sculpture garden and the beach (have I mentioned there is a lot of sand here). We vision of 3 big golden brown turkeys cooking on the rotisserie wouldn’t leave my brain so we ended up going back to the House of Flavors to have an early dinner – the turkey, homemade mashed pototoes, gravy, stuffing and cranberries were amazing. Cindy had a fresh turkey club. So much better than cooking on the boat on a cool and blustery day.

We ended the day with another walk and a movie on the boat. Tomorrow may be a good travel day and we have several options for places to stop. Now that Labor Day is done, the marinas should be quiet and easy to find space and we may be able to find a touristy T-shirt from Lake Michigan on sale before the week is out.

Day 362: Sunday, September 1, 2013

Port to Port: Ludington, Michigan

Underway: 0:00 am      Motor Off: 0:00 pm      Miles Traveled: 0      Stayed At: Marina

First Things First: First time I qualified for a $1 discount on my breakfast because I was over 55 (I’m not sure that is a good first or not).
Mile to Mile: Even though the weather is ideal for travel, we decided that Ludington is a good place to stay for a couple of days while we wait for some blustery weather to move through. Winds tomorrow are supposed to be 20-30 mph with 5+ foot waves and rain. There are even high current warnings along the shoreline and rip tide alerts. The next several nearest ports are okay stops for one night but might be challenging for longer than that. So we get to explore Ludington for more than a short afternoon.

We said goodbye to Down Time and Journey this morning. They are doing a long trek to Grand Haven to hang out while the weather blows through. We may not catch up to them this time. But you never know.

We enjoyed a good brunch this morning with Kent and Jane at the Old Hamlin Restaurant.  On our way back to the marina, we stopped to watch all the fishermen returning from their morning on the water with their catches of salmon at the four-station cleaning station. These fish were huge. I can see why it is a big business here – especially during the fall fish run when they head up into the side lakes and rivers to spawn. I heard one of our neighbors talking last night – they had only caught one fish but it happened to be huge – 45 pounds and it took them 40 minutes to haul in. I guess that makes it worth the hundred of dollars a pound they cost in gas, equipment and expenses.

Cindy finally had time to take a nice leisurely nap this afternoon. Now that is a luxury. I worked on the blog and other online tasks for a while and wasted enough time for docktails to roll around again. Two more Loopers pulled in this afternoon – Steve and Meredith on Free At Last and Looper Dreams (we haven’t met them yet). We found a perfectly positioned picnic table overlooking the harbor and caught up with everyone’s adventures.

We had a nice show just before docktails broke up for the evening – the S.S.Badger, the last coal fired ferry on the Great Lakes, steamed down the channel and headed into it’s slip near the marina. If you used your imagination, you could envision how it must have looked at any busy port in the world 100+ years ago when coal fired steamboats were the high technology of the day. Thick black smoke streamed out the single huge stack and drifted off with the wind. Dirty but somehow romantic. The ship is so old that they keep a sister ship docked just in front of her to use when they need parts to repair something.

We borrowed a few movies from Jane’s DVD collection and watched George Clooney in the Descendants before crashing for the night. I’m always surprised at how quickly our unplanned “down” days go filled with mostly spontaneous and random activities. Hopefully only one more day before we move on to another port somewhere south on our way to Chicago.