#2

July 13th at 1000 hours we finally -- after months of planning, researching and thinking about this trip -- we cast off our lines to circumnavigate the Eastern  half of the United States.  It was sort of a grey, blustery day with winds 15 out of the West waves 3-4 ft. Not bad, since we were still in the St. Mary's river, Bill threw a line in the water hoping for a fish for supper. By the time we trolled out way to the Detour Passage lighthouse the winds were more like 25 and the waves were every bit of 4 ft, some pushing 6ft. Well, enough of this, so we headed to Whitney Bay across the river from Detour.  6 miles.  Didn't get very far! It is a beautiful quiet, well protected cove all the way in on the SW corner of Drummand Island just off as you enter the St. Mary's River from Lake Huron. The excitement and anticipation of finally leaving called for a nap.  Around 2:30 pm the winds suddenly switched for the North and immediately the 

seas began to lie down.  We decided to run the shoreline along the LesChenaux Island and headed for an anchorage in Government Bay.  It is amazing how fast an angry lake can settle. The lake became calm and supper was a celebratory affair of grilled Salmon (thanks, Brian!) veggies, peaches and cream.  37miles the first day.  

the 14th we winding our way west through the LesChenaux Island, past Cedarville and Hessel. What lovely area to live and play on the water.  Lake Huron this day was flat so we decided to make a long run 99 miles to Charlevoix where we dropped anchor aound 8:30 pm. Then the weather turned nasty with high winds and rain.  we just hung out there for the 2nd night also.  Never went ashore but spent a lot of time trying to sort out why our AIS (Automatic Identification System) was not transmitting. Contacted many - manufacturer, installer, technicians, - - anyway, we finally figured that it was because the AIS was running in silent mode.  Receiving but not transmitting.  Every time you quit for the day it reverts to "on" so all I have to do is get into the settings and turn the silent mode "off". 

At Mackinaw Island we hailed the Coast Guard, a freighter, and were assured they "saw" us on their screens.  Why do we need AIS?  When traveling down the winding rivers we want to know if there is a big tow coming at us around the bend.  Procedure calls for us to hail that tow operator and ask what he would like us to do. He will respond with "I'll see you on my one" (which means pass port to port) If he says "I'll see you on my two" we must turn left and pass on his starboard side.  Sometimes, he will tell us where to go and wait until he passes, as his size may need complicated maneuvering. 

On to Traverse City on the 16th, seas were pretty rough going west till we turned South into Grand Traverse Bay.  These few days here were spent checking in with Kelly, borrowing her car to do errands, playing with her dog Bosun.

Pals

She took us sailing on her boat from her mooring in Bowers Harbor right down to the Hotel courtesy dock.   Bill's Sister Pat and husband Rich came to visit on the 18th and what a grand time we had.  Took in a movie at the refurbished State Theater.

The movie was great but the theater itself is a "must-see" in Traverse.  Red Velvet seats, gold gilt, luxurious curtains, 40's style lighting - a step back in time - Beautiful! Traverse has many good restaurants but the best casual place to go is "The Little Fleet".  A bar that filled their parking lot with Food Trucks. Many ethnic varieties and the place was JAMMED with everyone having a grand time. We love the Traverse Area.

  

7/19   Leland, MI is another fascinating destination - Fishtown right near the the harbor. Carson's for their famous smoked Whitefish sausage and fish pate - Don't turn your nose - it's delicious! These pictures were taken early morn before the throngs arrived; so you can really see the little village.  Great fun, great restaurants and a lot of local History. Oh, and don't miss "the Dam Candy Store for ice cream and treats.

The next three days we anchored in Frankfort's Betsie Bay and Pentwater then on to Muskegan where we took on fuel.  We moved along south  because the weather was cooperating. The Michigan shoreline is almost all sand dune; Not just around Traverse City.  We passed some of the prettiest beaches. In fact, CNN did a piece on the world's 10 best beaches and Good Harbor Bay Beach is on that list.  

7/23 & 24 were spent in Grand Haven.  Joyce and Lee (Sister and Brother-in-law) came to visit from Grand Rapids for the afternoon and evening. Eric (Joyce's son) wife Amy and two girls also came.  Their two little girls are adorable, brilliant and Kate 7 is a real comedienne. Uncle Bill tried the "claw" get you game.  She says "Mom, can you take care of this?" Mom says, "What?" Kate points at Uncle Bill and says "That". Then she actually got down in aft deck deep storage locker after Bill told her that's where he keeps the kids.She came up out of there and says, "There's about 200 down there!" 

Later we watched Grand Haven's "Dancing water fountain", largest in the world. I believe it too, as long as a football field. The next day Joyce and Lee took us to see their new home in Rockford, Ill. Beautiful place - just the right size and many unique features that Lee designed himself.  It's so close to being finished and they are anxious to get moved. Before taking us back to the boat we took a short detour past the house Bill and I lived in a short time 51 years ago.  That is another story!

Nest stop - Saugatuck - a true Michigan water playground. We anchored in the designated anchorage middle of the bay. We were all alone on Friday at 12:30. lovely homes on Douglas side and Marina after marina on Saugatuck side. Hundreds of boats of every size and make. Around 4pm other boats began anchoring in our peaceful anchorage.  A real paddleboat plys these waters taking tourists as well as an amphibious "Duck"boat. The tourists take pictures of our boat as they go by.  By 6 pm we have 15 boats anchored by us - all different shapes, sizes, etc. as are their occupants. Lots of girls with triangle pieces of fabric held on by strings -- almost mermaids!! Come to find out, Saugatuck's Venetian Festival with a Pirate theme is on.  There will be dinghy Poker Run and lighted boat parade and fireworks tomorrow.Saturday more boats began arriving at anchor for the festivities by 9 am. The poker run took place in morning and there were hundreds of them including jet skies, kayaks, canoes scurrying in, out, around all over the lake, back and forth between Douglas and Saugatuck.  A GOOD TIME is being had by all. Connie wonders why the guys didn't take their T-shirts and long shorts off??  But those girls, chilly as it was, never put on a cover-up - must have been the anti-freeze! We were attacked by marauding pirates with a balloon launcher also. By 6 pm there were 49 boats, by dusk just before the parade there were 61. Oh, even had ladies in moomoos and bunny ears doing a bump and grind. All in all a very interesting stay in Saugatuck.  So when travelling, it is another "Don't Miss"  for Michigan, especially for the last weekend of July and their Venetian Festival.

7/27 In dead calm and dense fog we headed for St. Joseph/Benton Harbor. along the way the North wind began to blow. We made the breakwall and found an anchorage just in time as another 40 minute Black sky thunderstorm rolled in and out again.  the next morning we moved to the West Bay Marina as the winds built to 25 out on the Lake.  The waves were measured 9 and 10 ft. 

I walked out to the breakwall to have a look!

The Marina Manager gave us a ride to the grocery and picked us up again.  in Afternoon we used the marina bikes to explore town. Bill's shoulder has been bothering him so we slipped into an Oriental herb and Massage parlor for a good rubdown.  In keeping with the ethnicity we went to an Asian stir fry place - - Tim's Too. It is another "Don't Miss" when in St. Joe. Tim owns another Restaurant called Timothy's; so this little gem is called Tim's Too.

7/29 Again the weather stupefies me!! The wind switched yet again last night and the morning found the lake settled to 1-2ft. Taking advantage, we headed straight for Hammond Harbor, just 14 miles from Chicago.  When we first arrived Bill thought ''what a terrible place!" due to all the weeds in the slip. Seems they have 5 types of weeds, the chemicals they use kills 3 - the other 2 are invasive species to Mich and they are fighting them every way they can. The facilities here are TOP NOTCH!! Clean, Clean, Clean! laundry, snack bar, TV, lounge, store, fuel, pumpout, 

And then there is the Casino - a floating building -- no, not a boat -- a building!
The building is not attached to the ground. They built this complex on barges. Note the 4 pier structures periodically around the building to keep it in place. Hammond is a great place to stage your departure before heading into the Chicago Lock.  Groceries can be had on weekends by Ship fees are $35 a night (not per ft.) compared to  $2.35 a foot at DuSable Harbor in Chicago plus $10 per day for electricity.

8/1 Friday 0820 we cast off for Chicago. Flat seas, no wind and a haze on this southern industrial tip of Lake Michigan there is always a haze.  There she is - - the great City of Chicago - - we are excited to see Terri and be so close to entering the River system to really start our journey. Lallapalooza music festival is in town and you can hear the music two miles from the city.  Terri arrived early afternoon and we just caught up and enjoyed a glass of wine. Later we joined the throngs on Navy Pier for ice cream.

 We also checked out the Chicago Lock on the way and watched as boats entered and exited.  Now we know :)  I couldn't help smiling -- all these people  --  from everywhere enjoying themselves.  After a latte at Capi's Italian Cafe we headed to Lallapalooza in Grant Park.  5 stages, big names (although Bill and I didn't recognize any names), sold out for Friday and Saturday. Tickets for Sunday were still available for Sunday at $150. per. That's alright, we heard it and watched on our cells for a little while.  on our stroll around we saw these strange waterfall structures.

 Bill was fascinated! I thought they were creepy. At one point , the image made a round  o shape with her mouth and water spewed out.  The kids splashing around thought it was great!

8/2 Saturday we leisurely got around  - coffee, muffin, paper then headed for a short river cruise. The book says it is only a two foot drop but it is more like 4 and the gates control the water depth; it is not pumped in.  They open the gates about 2-3 ft and the water pours out into the river causing quite a tug and movement of the bots as it rushes to the river.  It was quite an impressive sight going right down through the city. Hundreds of boats, kayaks, canoes, pontoon boats, tour boats large and small.  VERY BUSY! We went as far as 18th Street and turned around. After a great dinner at a Mexican restaurant tucked away a midst the skyscrapers we went back to the boat and was entertained with a fabulous display of fireworks!

8/3 Sunday Bill and I went very early of coffee shop and got back around 7am. Terri was up -- oops! Bill left his cell  -- so back to the coffee shop we all went. Bill ran ahead, I called and confirmed they had found it.  Poor guy is having  a rough time of it.

We then took in Shedd Aquarium and lunch on their patio with the best view of Chicago before returning to see Terri off to the airport.  What a great visit!

8/5 Up early and ready to go!  we cast off at 0630 and exited the lock at 0720.MM326  It was a quiet transit through the city this morning, no tour boats, kayaks, canoes -- only an occasional water taxi. The sun was rising and illuminated the beautiful buildings. There had been a heavy rain last night and already we are seeing flotsam, in the river.a Some really big ones that we had to dodge. As we left the city the river became dirtier, and dirtier. We traveled through very industrial areas and the barges and tows began to appear. In just a few miles we learned to look back every once in a while for traffic overtaking you. One tow/tug (they don't like to be called 'tugs') hailed us on the radio. Bill says, "Is somebody calling us?" About that time we heard his engines.  Yes, we answered. He was letting us know he was going to pass us on our port.  And he did! Rather quickly and we learned our second lesson.  A passing boat's wake can cause you to rock and roll twice because the wake hits the sides of the channel and comes right back at you.
Our third lesson of the day, commercial vessels are first (we knew that) but didn't know that the lockmaster can make you wait for other traffic that is not there yet. Even tho it was a small tow (one pusher, 0ne barge) we could not lock down with it because he was carrying hazardous cargo. So our first lock MM290 down river was a 5 hour wait! We pushed on passing tows, moored barges, industrial sites. and several -- Marinas for barges -- at least that is what it looked like.  And tow boats, pushing, towing, and working moving them all about.  We saw one tow pushing 9 barges, 3 abreast and 3 deep. These guys do not stop easily. Some will not fit in the lock and must be separated in sections. This takes a lot of time. Our experience with the operators of barges, Lock Masters and Commercial boats was excellent as they ALL were very professional and spoke to us by ships radio whenever needed. We did pass thru the electric fish barriers which are controlled by the Coast Guard, they consider those zones dangerous because of electrical currents. However, we only saw a few carp (dead) in the locks.  we traveled on to MM273.5 to a little Harborside Marina along the River, tied to their gas dock. a total of 53 miles for the day. A long exciting, stressful day learning the ropes.

8/6 Today we were much more at ease. Traversed two locks without a long wait and no issues. The river has widened and is getting a little cleaner. We are told it will continue to improve.  One bit of info  -- I think I saw 22 ft depth once, the average depth so far has been 13 to 16 ft.  Amazing! and you must stay in the channels as the sides of the River is very shallow.  36 miles to Heritage Harbor Marina MM242.4 is all we could do today.  Sort of taking a deep breath and settling into a routine. This facility is a huge development. The marina is state of the art and there are some condos built, some "cottages", some homes, a restaurant and all amenities a boater needs.  As we finished tying up the boat a gentleman came up and introduced himself as the owner and developer and wished us welcome;  assuring us of good service and anything we need just ask.

The river is marked in Miles. The Chicago Lock from Lake Michigan is MM327. We are now at MM242.4 Which means there are 242.4 miles to the Mississippi River at Grafton, Illinois MM0.

Tomorrow? Where will we be? I don't know.  I am having trouble getting all the pictures I want into this blog. so there may not be many.  I don't think I am going to wait so long to do another blog either.  This one is too long and it has taken me forever. So, talk to you soon.