What do we do all day?

For one thing, we find new and interesting ways to do our chores. We are currently in New Buffalo, on the shores of SE Lake Michigan, and as the Municipal Marina cannot accommodate boats larger than 50 feet, we have rented a slip at the nearby Oselka Snug Harbor Marina.  New Buffalo is a great place to stock up on supplies, enjoy some nice restaurants and re-group before heading to Chicago. The marina is nice enough, though the docks are insanely high, there's a tree that blows it's nasty little dead leaves all over our deck, and they do not have any laundry facilities.  The good news is we found a place that does wash & fold (whoot!) though it is a good mile or so away. My bike does not have a basket nor a carrying rack, and my short leg-nubs could not fit around a laundry bundle,  hence the above photo of Ross's mobile laundry rig. That man will do whatever it takes to get the job done!

Naturally, we had cleaned the decks before
discovering it's early Fall here

Even Ross needs the stool!

Our days since being in fresh water usually begin with a 30-40 minute vigorous spider hunt, whereby armed with our trusty broom, we seek and destroy the multitudes of spider families and their nasty homes that have found every nook and cranny of The Zone to fester in. I never thought I'd miss the chunks of salt water and subsequent constant cleaning, but spider poo is just dam nasty and tougher to clean. Besides the thriving spider population, it seems that nightly, hundreds of bugs cling to the decks and outer walls before committing suicide each sunrise at our doorstep. What joy to contemplate the ironies of Mother Nature before coffee. But I digress....

On days we are moving, we each have our jobs and routines and actually use a pre-departure check-list I created, which comes in handy.  No more, "I thought you ___", "oh, I thought YOU ___". Once we are moving, we spend hour after hour checking our charts, planning the next day or days, making sure nothing is awry down below and listening in on the VHF to activity and conditions in the area we are traveling.

Since last we chatted, we've been moving right long at a nice clip.  From Spanish, ON, we went to Blind River, ON in the North Channel which was our final stop in Canad-er, and also the northern most point on our Loop. That was Aug. 12th.

 Not too much to say about Blind River, I'm afraid.

We left the next day, Aug. 13th, for a 45 mile trek to Drummond Island, where we re-entered the US of A via NW Lake Huron!

While docking we let the marina staff know we were in need of  a customs agent to check-in. Officer Diaz came aboard and asked some basic questions.  She took our passports and told us to come to her office after checking in with the marina. Once we were settled we went to the marina office, where we noticed a male customs officer hovering outside. He appeared to be waiting for us and escorted us the whole way (right next door) to the custom's office.  Officer Diaz told Ross with a stern face, that she wanted him to sit down and answer some questions.  Apparently his thickly stuffed passport full of stamps from around the globe gave her cause for concern. "Exactly why were you in Russia? And Israel? And Jordan? And the Ukraine"...this went on for about 15 minutes until she finally was satisfied that Ross and I were NOT evil spies conspiring to spread communism and take over the universe..

and that we are instead simply Loopers looking for a good meal before heading to Mackinac Island. After this excitement, I proceeded to settle in and get things organized a bit down below as Ross was already plotting our course for the next day.  All of a sudden I hear him say, "Laura, why not"?  I say, "why not what?", and as I'm making my way upstairs to end the maddening Abbot & Costello routine, he screams, "noooo, "Why Knot" - they are here, look!"  Alas, our long lost pals Darrell & Lisa were pulling up to the slip next to us. I ran outside and jumped up and down waving to them and helped them tie up. 

It was great to see them and recant war stories of rocky waters and Canadian food and we had a lovely dinner laughing and sharing.

Why Knot & The Zone

I guess this comes in handy?!

Sunrise departure

We left the next morning for another 45 mile day, this time to the unique and historic Mackinac Island, Michigan from Aug. 14-19th!

Mackinac Island Lighthouse

First of all, it is pronounced "Mak-i-naw" Island.  Now that we're clear on that, it was quite a change from the stops we've made the last month or two! It's a hustling, bustling touristy resort town that's only 3.8 square miles.Once you are thrust into the main thoroughfare filled with throngs of people walking or on bicycles - no motorized vehicles are allowed - and get used to the many horses and buggies (and thick horse poo filled air), you might think the island is all about fudge, T Shirts and camp, but go a bit inland, get away from the crowds and you can experience a truly delightful, beautifully maintained area to relax, unwind and eat well! For more about the island see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinac_Island

View from our boat

The main drag

The Grand Hotel

The island boasts a lovely 8 miles of bike trails with great views!

Our ride to dinner at The Woods, a Grand Hotel Restaurant

Horsies everywhere!

Inside The Woods Rest.

Unexpected 1 lane bowling alley inside The Woods Restaurant

View from the Fort

Romantic dinner at The Carriage House Restaurant in
the Iroquois Hotel

We spent five lovely days touring, provisioning the boat from their amazing General Store, as well as relaxing a bit (for me that meant getting a pedicure and having my hair colored, and for Ross that meant waxing the floors).  "Why Knot" stayed a ferry-ride away in Mackinac City and came over for a play-date with us our last day.

The next day, Aug. 19th, we left for Charlevoix, MI.  We at last entered Lake Michigan, our third Great Lake of our Loop, and had an easy ride.Lake Michigan is the second largest of the Great Lakes and is only slightly smaller than the state of West Virginia.  It is the only Great Lake entirely in the US and borders Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.  We adored Charlevoix and wish we spent more time there.  Once again we hooked up with, "Why Knot" and enjoyed a night out together in this sweet spot.

 We watched Darrell & Lisa dock and made dinner plans.

 We explored town a bit and found one of Ross's all-time favorite ice-cream shops, Kilwin's. We unfortunately took home some caramel-corn (for him) and dark chocolate (for me).

Well, "YOLO", as the kids say.

The next morning, Ross & I ventured to town for groceries.  While at the check-out counter my cell rings and it's Darrell highly recommending we high-tail it back to the boat.

The cruise ship below, apparently crashed the dock next to The Zone before moving to another slip. Darrell & Lisa grabbed their passports, hopped off their boat and called us.  Luckily no one was hurt and nothing was damaged beyond some pilings on the dock.

We were very appreciative of Darrell's call and glad that we found The Zone in the same spot and all was well.

Downed piling on the right, The Zone on the left

We still can't believe that giant cruise ship tried to dock here.

After the excitement, Ross & I headed for a bike ride to check out the rest of the town and move our increasingly flabby butts! We discovered we love Lake Michigan in all its glory.  The waters looked inviting and reminded us of the Bahamas!

Lake Michigan.  Who knew??

Ross had met up with Darrell and some newbie Loopers Kermit & Katherine on, "Good Karma" and it was decided we'd have an impromptu BBQ.  Some of Kermit's and Katherine's non-Looper boater pals were joining us as well.

Kermit, Darrell & Lisa

Katherine in red and some of her lovely friends

 We had an absolute blast that evening! Kermit is quite a story-teller and had us rolling.  We really enjoyed meeting, "Good Karma" and look forward to many more fun times.

Onward!

We headed the next day, Aug. 21st, to Leland, MI and another easy trip.  We missed the Pine River Bridge opening and had to wait 30 minutes, but otherwise it was smooth, err, motoring. We docked at the Leland Township Marina, which was a bit of an adventure in itself.  They tried to stick us in a slip that was waaaay too small and yet again, Capn A-some maneuvered The Zone out, around backwards and into a more appropriate spot.

Fishtown!

We enjoyed our quick stay in Leland though I developed a sty and spent much of the next day or so applying warm compresses. Onto Frankfort....we felt like we needed to move ahead as much as possible as we were trying initially to be in Chicago by Sept. 1st to enjoy the generous invitation of Loopers Woody & Ellen Sutton who were hosting a dinner, and in general to beat the winds and weather that are usual for this time period.  We felt it best to keep on trucking and the weather was cooperating.

Frankfort Lighthouse

Gold Looper with one of my fave boat names

Frankfort was another nice place! Being of The Tribe, I can say that it had a very Jewish feel to it, at least in comparison to all the places we have been thus far.  First of all, they have a deli called, "L'Chaim".  Granted, they serve sandwiches with bacon, and the proprietor never heard of a knish, but they did have lox, bagels and little menorahs on the menus.  Nu? My next clue that My People might inhabit Frankfort (spelled with an "o" not a "u" like the one in Germany), is that they have a Chinese Restaurant!  "Aha, right?!" The icing on the cake and the deciding factor, at least in my  mind, is that they were showing the latest Woody Allen movie.  Case closed.  Next!

Onto Pentwater...another day, another town. Don't forget that each evening we need to take time to plot and plan, figure out fuel, maintenance, provisions, check weather...nothing overwhelming, and all for an amazing cause that we are enjoying, but not for sissies, I assure you. Pentwater, MI/Snug Harbor Marina, was another sweet slice of American pie.

Add caption

 They had some good restaurants, nice folks, a surprisingly amazing and gourmet grocery store...and a free concert for the town at night. I can't believe I didn't get a picture, but at 8:00 PM sharp, smack dab in the center of town in the gazebo by the harbor, this group of septuagenarians, by my guess, put on the best marching band concert I ever heard!  The whole town gathered, everyone ate ice cream, and sat listening, toe tapping, dripping ice cream all the while. It was fantastic! I can't explain it, but seeing those folks, a bit long in the tooth, playing their tubas and clarinets and horns like youngsters, just made us feel like we were younger than our years and so lucky to be there to enjoy them!

GrillMasterAwesome!

 The next day we saw another Jefferson and lo and behold they had a Looper flag! I dragged Ross over to say hello and naturally, we both enjoyed meeting these lovely folks who were actually Looper Wannabees.  They are trying to sell their house before they begin their journey and were enjoying a two week trip when we met up with them.  Cynthia & Byron Miller aboard, "Bright Angel" are from Grand Haven, MI which was our next stop.  We sat aboard their boat and chatted for about an hour.  We exchanged boat cards as well as crazy dinghy stories (their story's a doozy!) and we left smiling and feeling good.  Ross is funny.  He's reluctant to meet new folks, but the moment he does, he comes to life and enjoys the camaraderie. Speaking with Cynthia reminded me of how I felt when we were in the planning stages.  I emailed her some books that were helpful to me, and the name of our headsets. I realized how much I have learned and yet how much I still have to learn.

The next day we headed to Grand Haven and found a boater's paradise!  We have never seen so many boats on the water at once. It looked like the LIE at rush hour!

 It's a fun, quirky town/city.   They had everything we could want from banks, to stores to restaurants and museums.  It was very hot and we were tired from the day after day cruising we'd been doing. We were pleasantly surprised to get a knock on the door from our Looper pals from way back when, Edie & Joe from, "Seaquel".  We had not seen them since Deltaville, VA and were thrilled to meet up with them.  Both Joe and Edie are fascinating and accomplished individuals and we were sorry that we had not been able to spend more time with them sooner. We enjoyed dinner and look forward to seeing them again some day soon.

Joe, Edie & us

 The next day we left for South Haven, MI. While en route, Cynthia sent me the below photo that a friend of hers in Grand Haven had taken of us and sent her.  How nice!

Now South Haven felt like Grand Haven Jr.  The marina we were in was packed, it was Africa-hot, and we were full with thoughts of our upcoming travel.  First we made reservations for Chicago to stay in Du Sable Marina right in the heart of downtown.  Then we needed to think seriously about planning our trek from somewhere down south on the rivers to NY for an upcoming family event.  We need to be in NY on Oct. 15 and back in Alabama on Oct. 20th for the Fall AGLCA Rendezvous.  We have decided to rent a car, which we'd need while in NY anyway. We spend a lot of time planning ahead and thinking through possible scenarios, though realistically, nothing ever can be put into action until the final hour.  It's one thing to plan the next day or so, but looking at a month ahead is almost silly.  Back to our trip at hand....South Haven came and went without event.

We enter South Haven

Felt like a movie set or Western Town

Was a fun honky-tonk meal on the river!

We are always touching base with other Looper pals via texting or email and check in to see where everyone is and offer advice and reports and generally help each other.  Cathryn from our "Little Sister" ship, and fellow Jefferson boat, "Next To Me" and I have kept in touch since we met in Norfolk though we haven't seen each other since Solomons, MD.  We arrived in New Buffalo on their last night here and we grabbed this precious opportunity to get together. They ran off to Chicago to meet up with their daughter.  We sure hope to see them along the rivers!

The Jeffersons! Us & Bob & Cathryn, "Next To Me"

Captain Hungry had a mighty feast last night.

And the flies wanted some too!  Note Ross's makeshift fly paper.

They threatened rain today though it has yet to sprinkle.  Oh well, I guess it was G-d's way of getting me to sit at my pc all day and talk to you all.  Well I'm glad I did; I miss you!

We will leave here on Sept. 6th/7th (after we get our laundry back, change the oil and check the engine), and look forward to sharing some time in Chicago with family! AND Ross gets PIZZA!!!