Year 2 Day 155

Today is Friday, August 31st and we're in Ottawa, Illinois and probably will be here the next day or so while waiting for the remnants of Hurricane Isaac to pass through.  A lot has happened since I added to the blog so I'll go back to the final cruise on eastern Lake Michigan.  We arrived at New Buffalo on Sunday and it was a rainy night.  Fortunately the rain cleared up on Monday and we were able to make the crossing over to Chicago.  Once again, the lake was rough and we bounced around like crazy.  I told Mike if I never cruised on Lake Michigan again it would be too soon.  Anyway, coming into Chicago on the water was spectacular.

Approaching Chicago from Lake Michigan

Looking out from the cockpit

Inside the harbor

Once we located our assigned slip, we spent the afternoon cleaning the boat which was long overdue but since we were expecting guests, we decided it was time.  I took a break and noticed a Canadian goose outside so I went out and decided to try to call it over by tempting it with a cracker.  I knew I could get the ducks to come but never a goose but he must have been hungry because he rushed over.   That night we went out to dinner with Carl and Ricki at Bubba Gumps at Navy Pier.

Feeding a Canadian goose

On Tuesday morning we went with Carl and Ricki on a Chicago tour bus which drove all around the downtown area and then through the neighborhoods of Chinatown, Little Italy and Greek town.  It was very interesting and after finishing with the tour,  Mike and I headed back to the boat to wait for Kay and Steve to arrive.  They had taken the train from San Antonio and arrived about 2:00 in the afternoon.  Once they arrived, we visited on board for awhile before going to dinner at an Italian restaurant called Maggianos.  The food was great and the incredible thing was that they gave you an equal amount to take home!  We all walked out with bags of food and ended up having a feast the next night.

Kay had mentioned that she wanted to take the architectural tour so Wednesday morning we headed over to Navy Pier and boarded the boat which took us through the city by water.  The buildings are spectacular and we were so glad we did the tour because when we knew when we took our boat through, we wouldn't be able to look around much.

One of two incredible twin

apartment buildings (The bottom floors

are reserved for parking)

The four of us at Navy Pier

Kay and Steve on board Queen Kathleen

I had been nervous about cruising our boat through downtown Chicago because of the height of the bridges.  We measured no less than 4 times because the lowest bridge you have to clear is 17' and we were slightly under that.  I worried about that constantly and was relieved when it was all over. 

Check out the height of this bridge!

Low bridge with "L" train crossing above



We were cruising through downtown when we heard someone yelling at us.  We turned around and it was Kay and Steve from one of the bridges we had just crossed under.  They had left us earlier to drop off their bags at Union Station and do a little more sightseeing before their train left returning to San Antonio.

The first stop after leaving Chicago was Joliet, Illinois where we parked alongside the city park which was free.  After a very uneventful night we left about 8:30 and arrived here at Ottawa - once again alongside a free city wall.  As I mentioned before, we may be here another day or so because of the coming storm.

While cruising today I noticed an animal walking alongside the shore and thought it was a dog.  After careful observation, I discovered it was a buck!  Notice his rack!

A nice buck

One of the things we were told was that the Asian Carp are a threat to other species in the Great Lakes and they're trying to hold them in check by an electrified canal below Lake Michigan.  This was the sign we saw while passing through one such area.

They're serious!

While we were in one of the locks today I dropped one of our boat hooks in the water and fortunately friends on another boat were able to retrieve it and pass it along to other friends Carl and Ricki.

Getting ready to pass the boat hook



Year 2 Day 149

Today is Saturday, August 25th and we're currently in South Haven, Michigan after a long day of uneventful cruising from White Hall.  I tried to add to the blog on Thursday but am having difficulty with the wifi and have been unable to get any photos to load.

We arrived in White Hall, Michigan on Tuesday afternoon under not so good conditions.  We were in Lake Michigan getting ready to enter the rather long channel into White Lake when our steering went out!  We went a little farther out into the lake and Mike actually went under the boat to see if anything was wrapped around the rudder.  After discounting that, he went down under our bed where the steering mechanism is located and discovered a piece broken.  Our choice was to either call for a tow or have me sit down there with the emergency tiller and headsets steering us in.  We chose the second option and there I sat for about an hour listening for instructions and pulling or pushing that tiller as hard as I could.  I have extremely sore shoulders as a result!

Kathy operating the emergency

tiller from below listening to instructions

from the captain through headsets

The piece was definitely broken but fortunately, there are mechanics at this marina who were able to get it repaired and back on the boat today.  While the boat was being put back together, Ricki and I went to the mall and had a mani/pedi and did a little shopping.  It was great to have a girl day.

Prior to cruising to White Hall, we made a stop in Frankfort where we saw swans immediately upon entering the slip.  We were almost able to have them eating out of our hands.

Mike feeding "Ralph"

Frankfort is a cute town with beautiful homes and a great beach which we discovered by riding our bikes around the area.  We only spent on night there and headed to Ludington where we also spent one night.

As I mentioned we're in South Haven for one night and tomorrow we head to New Buffalo which is our last stop before Chicago.  This place is very active - lots of boat traffic and noise.  I think this is one of the last week-ends for the people of  Michigan before having to store their boats for the winter.

We're meeting Mike's sister Kay and her husband Steve in Chicago where they'll stay with us for a couple of nights so we can do some city tours.

 

Year 2 Day 144

Today is Saturday, August 18th and we're now at Leland, Michigan having arrived here on Wednesday afternoon.  The awful weather arrived on Thursday and we've been stuck here because of extreme rain and winds.  Hopefully we can leave tomorrow.

We enjoyed Charlevoix quite a bit and were able to move over to the City Marina where all our friends were and enjoyed "docktails" and dinnerl.

Docktails at Charlevois City Marina

In the city of Charlevois there are some homes built by Earl Young known as the mushroom houses, gnome homes, fairy or hobbit houses.  Mr. Young was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's philosophy that structures should harmonize with the environment.  We rode our bikes around the neighborhood to take in these homes.

Notice the wavy roofline

Child's playhouse in backyard

even with a fireplace

Another Earl Young home

When arriving or leaving Charlevoix you have to go through a long channel with a lift bridge which opens on the half hour.  When arriving, we waited in the narrow channel for 15 minutes struggling to keep the boat straight.  Once the bridge lifted, there was a huge ferry boat waiting on the other side and I had to compliment the captain on what a good job he did getting us out of a tight situation.

Charlevoix lift bridge

We arrived in Leland on Wednesday afternoon and the girls proceeded to the beach for the afternoon.  I have a little cold today because the water was absolutely freezing!  However the water is so clear and blue that you can see the bottom.

The sunset after the storm on Thursday

The weather came in on Thursday but in the afternoon we girls hit the sidewalk sale in town.  As I mentioned, the winds have been too high to leave but hopefully tomorrow they will calm down as we head to Frankfort down the coast.

Year 2 Day 138

Today is Sunday, August 12th and we're currently in Charlevoix, Michigan having finally left Mackinac Island this morning at 7:30.  We had intended to leave on Thursday but had to wait 3 more days due to high winds.  Even today once we were in Lake Michigan the waves were high enough to cause us an uncomfortable trip.

Leaving Mackinac Island

This lighthouse was featured

in "Somewhere in Time". 

Approaching the 5 mile long

Mackinac Bridge

Closer shot of the Mackinac Bridge

It wasn't difficult to stay at Mackinac as it's such a fun place.  There are lots of people vacationing on the island including lots of day visitors from St. Ignace and Mackinac City.  There were other "loopers" at the marina and we enjoyed their company.

The only negative thing that happened is that Friday night about 2:30 AM there was a loud commotion at the end of the dock.  We heard yelling and splashing like people were drunk and jumping in the water.  It was very annoying and I was wishing somebody would say something to them.  Eventually I went back to sleep.  Unfortunately, the next morning they discovered a dead body in the water right at the end of the dock.  It was a young man who worked on the island.  Mike gave a statement to the police about what he heard and we both were upset that we didn't get up and attempt to quiet things down.  Apparently he drowned.

Anyway on a positive note, we arrived here at Charlevoix and have to change marinas tomorrow as we couldn't get into the city marina yesterday.  We spent the afternoon doing laundry and resting.  We hear there's a lot to do here and we're looking forward to seeing it.

Year 2 Day 134

Today is Wednesday, August 8th and we've been on Mackinac Island since Monday afternoon.  We left DeTour early on Monday morning and unfortunately we had the worst water crossing we've had since we began cruising.  We had considered turning around and going back but it would have been difficult even to turn around in those waves.

Waves hitting the bow

 We finally made it safely here at Mackinac and have been enjoying it so much the last couple of days.  We traveled with our friends Carl and Ricky on their boat Quest and when we arrived we ran into Joe and Ede on their boat Seaquel who had been here for two days.

On Mackinac there are no motorized vehicles except for emergency fire and ambulance so everybody either rides a bike or takes a horse drawn carriage.  Monday night the six of us took a carriage to the top of the island through the woods and as Mike said, "it was magical".  The setting and the restaurant were beautiful.

One of the carriages

 

Dressed and ready to go to the

Grand Hotel for dinner

Front of the Grand Hotel

On the porch

View of the 5 mile long

Mackinac Bridge from the porch

(We'll be cruising under this bridge

when we leave Mackinac)

Ede had found a hair salon on the island and I called immediately and was able to get an appointment Tuesday afternoon for me and Mike since we hadn't had a haircut for a couple of months.  We went to the Grand Hotel for dinner and celebrated an early anniversary.  In order to eat dinner in their restaurant, women are required to wear dresses so I had to shop.

 The experience was wonderful and it was so neat to walk through the hotel and see photos of Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour as they looked in 1979 when they filmed "Somewhere in Time".  Just to walk on that long front porch was a thrill.

Today we took a horse and carriage ride around the island stopping at Fort Mackinac and taking a tour - very interesting.  We had lunch on the patio overlooking the harbor.  Mike went back to the boat and I walked the town checking out all the shops.

View of the harbor from

Fort Mackinac

I love Mackinac Island and hope to return again someday.  There are about 450 permanant residents on the island and the rest are seasonal workers and tourists but it's an incredible place to visit.  Due to the northern climate, the season is very short.

Our plan was to stay one more day and leave Friday morning heading to Beaver Island but due to weather again, we may have to change our plans.  We'll update the situation later.

Year 2 Day 131

Today is Sunday, August 5th and we're happy to be back in the good old USA!  We spent 2 days in Blind River, Ontario due to the weather (high winds) and we're stuck here in DeTour, Michigan for the same reason.  Blind River was a depressing, dying little town with nothing there.  We did manage to find a pretty decent restaurant and the six of us (we've been cruising with two other boats) called a cab and had a nice dinner.  The only negative was the fact that there was only one waitress and it was her first day there!  Considering everything, she did a pretty good job.

We left Friday morning and it was about a 6 hour cruise here where we had to call and clear customs.

The first thing we saw when entering

United States waters!  Yea!!

The water here in DeTour is really beautiful - blue/green like the Caribbean and see-through.  I wish my photos would do it justice.

Beautiful water

Whitecaps on the water today

Yesterday we rode bikes into town and visited the botanical garden, local library, gift shop, farmers market and the Presbyterian Church which was having a craft show and salad lunch.  We ate lunch there which consisted of many salads and was great.  Mike went to church last night and went with me again this morning.  The church had a lunch after services so we went again and had left over salads and they were still great.  We spent a lot of time talking with an older woman who offered us produce from her garden which we're eating tonight with dinner.

Tomorrow we leave for Mackinac Island for 3 days and I'm really looking forward to that as I've wanted to visit there since seeing the Christopher Reeve movie in the eighties - "Somewhere in Time".  We checked into staying one night at the Grand Hotel but it was $655 so we decided to stay aboard the boat.   Hopefully the weather cooperate with us as it's a 5 hour cruise in open water.

Year 2 Day 127

Today is Wednesday, August lst and we're in Blind River, Ontario.  We left Killarney on Monday and cruised to Little Current where we enjoyed dinner on board with our friends, Carl and Ricky on their boat Quest.  We left Tuesday morning and the current was so strong that we crashed into the boat next to us damaging one of their stanchions which is one of the stainless steel rods along the side of the boat.  We had no less than 10 people trying to help us get out of there and the current was more than all of us could handle!  Finally we were able to get out of the slip and alongside the fuel dock and then after talking to the owner whose boat was damaged, we were on our way.

Waiting for this swing bridge to open - only

on the hour for 15 minutes

We cruised to North Benjamin Island where we anchored along with 29 other boats!  We took our dinghy over to shore and walked around awhile.  So gorgeous!

Granite formations on the shore

People actually snorkle in this freezing

water behind me

We met a new friend on shore - Max

Another shot of the rocks

Today we left the Benjamin Islands cruising to Blind River and saw a couple of boats out in the McLean Channel that we recognized so we contacted them on the VHF.  They were headed here also so we followed them in and had dinner in the very small town with them.  Tomorrow we plan to anchor out for the last time before leaving Canada.  We plan to be on Mackinac Island on Sunday as we have reservations at the marina there for 3 nights.  We wanted to stay one night at the Grand Hotel but the cost was $655 and even though that includes meals, we thought it was excessive so we'll stay aboard Queen Kathleen.

Canadian Coast Guard helicoper on

one of the islands we passed today