Chicago Stay

SEPTEMBER 7, 2006 (Chicago) Jaycie and I got an early start and headed for the rebuild. Being in a strange city and not knowing what kind of areas we were going into… my guard was up and I wasn’t all that comfortable. We walked to the bus stop, took a bus to the subway, took the subway to the airport, took the bus from the airport to the town it was in and walked 4 blocks to the re-builder (carrying a windlass motor and housing). We definitely were at the right place though, if anyone could rebuild it… this would be the company. We dropped it off and headed back to the boat. The bus back to the airport, which was supposed to be every five minutes (and we must have just missed), was actually every hour (standing in the sun and with no bench to sit on). On the way back Joyce called and said she finally heard from Vetus (the windlass manufacturer) and they did make a replacement unit (which we were told was discontinued earlier). Had I known that, I just would have bought it and not taken our journey!!! And then I get a call from the rebuilder who says that it cannot be rebuilt!!! But, now our parts are with him and our anchor cannot be used at all without it, we’re coming into an area soon that will require anchoring. We are going to order the new one, but have to schedule to get it shipped to somewhere we will be and before we will need it! To sum it up…it was a HORRIBLE first day in Chicago. When we finally got back, Joyce took Jaycie to the aquarium…but I stayed behind and took a nap! An interesting, but sad, side note, we saw that some streets shut down with emergency vehicles and personnel doing hazardous exposure emergency response drills. I guess they are preparing for any possible problems on 9/11. At night we took out bikes into the city because John (TT) said we have to see “The Bean” (according to locals…the Famous Bean!). We passed through millenium park and it was beautiful. When we got to The Bean it was awesome! It was a HUGE (approx. 15’ high by 35’ long?) chrome or stainless steel…bean! Just laying on the ground. You could walk around and under it and the reflection of us and the city was amazing. It was really clean, bright and nice. We did notice a number of women walking alone late at night…the city was starting to feel more comfortable and safe. SEPTEMBER 8, 2006 (Chicago) IT’S A NEW DAY! And although I whined a lot yesterday… I really shouldn’t complain (one rotten day, out of 90 traveled, really isn’t too bad). We had a nice relaxing morning and then headed to the museum to see the King Tut exhibit. Good…but not great. Joyce’s friend, Pam, lives in Chicago and is coming to visit tonight (this is the friend who when she heard Joyce was marrying me said “Why the hell would you do that!?”). Anyway, at our more mature age (lol) we hit it off great! We had a really fun time. She didn’t know a lot about the area, so we showed her around “our” city. First we hiked (by accident) into a “bad” part of the city. After talking with a policeman, we took a cab out of there and went to the “good” part of the city. We went to dinner and, of course, took her to The Bean. She was impressed. They also have these 2 huge waterfall towers with video graphics displayed on them. We saw them yesterday, but only from a distance. We went to look at them and there is a giant puddle between the towers that a swarm of kids were playing in. The tower kept changing colors and images. Then a there was a face on both towers, opposite each other. They smiled and made different expressions… and then…puckered their lips and a stream of water shot out as the kids played under it! It was great. Later the water fall flow increased dramatically and all the kids would line up under it and yell. Everyone had a great time. Unfortunately, the pictures are not going to do it justice. It was a great night in Chicago…we really loved this city!

St. Joseph's to Chicago

SEPTEMBER 6, 2006 (St. Joseph to Chicago) Left in the morning, foggy and cool…but nice. Got into the lake and it was a little bouncy, but within a couple of hours it laid down and was flat as a lake (Michigan). Really nice. It’s about a 7 hour cruise to Chicago, so we set the autopilot and went about our daily business. Chicago came into sight (through the smog) but looked great with the tall skyscrapers which seemed to be coming out of no where. The water was a beautiful green blue…even in marina. When we came into the marina, dead ahead was a beautiful 210’ blue hulled trawler yacht with a helicopter on top. In the small rivers and back canals we were the KING….now we are just a dinghy! We were told to stay at the other marina in town, but couldn’t get in because they were booked. We were glad to have ended up where we were because we had a quieter location, with a SPECTACULAR view of the city. When it got dark, it got even better! (I’m not sure why people recommended the other marina)! I spent the afternoon trying to locate an engine re-builder for my windlass and found one (unfortunately it was about 25 miles away).

Saugatuck to St. Joseph's

SEPTEMBER 1, 2006 (Saugatuck to St. Joseph) Got up at 7am, got the breakfast and headed out. Cold morning out on the lake. This is the first time we piloted the boat from the lower helm. It was real nice, with the auto-pilot on, were able to clean and organize the boat. It’s been three months and we are still reorganizing and systemizing (it’s kind of like moving into a new home… it takes a long time before you have things just the way you like it). Jaycie slept until about 11:00am. My port engine is still giving me a little trouble. My port engine is now named Matt because it tends to be temperamental and every now and then it gives you a little trouble. The starboard engine is named Joyce, because it is very consistent and steady. The Generator is Jaycie…it’s small. I had to wear pants, sweatshirt and my wool cap. The Lake was pretty good, although about ½ way into the trip it started getting a little rolly with that stern quartering sea again. We heard Looper’s closer to Chicago were having a rough few days traveling with bad water and weather. As it looks so far, we should keep the good weather until after we arrive (hopefully). We head up a little river and arrive at the marina. TT goes in first. There’s a strong current and the docks are perpendicular to the current. John gets in, like a pro, but the current pushes his stern sideways as he muscles into the slip. I look at my slip and Joyce says, “You’ll never fit, it’s too narrow”. I would have to come in above TT and was concerned about being pushed over and hitting his dink, which was hanging out about 4’ past the pole. I assess the situation and tell Joyce and TT that I can’t get in there (a man’s gotta know his limitations-Dirty Harry). Joyce calls the marina and tells them there’s no way we’re going to fit into that slip. Anyway, TT was in the wider of the two slips and had about 1’ combined clearance on the two sides. My boat is a little wider than his and the slip was definitely smaller…good call Joyce! They move us to another part of their marina, up river, which has larger boats. Right away we see Bonas II, NJ at the dock. We also see Lazy Susan (but not at their boat) who we haven’t seen since Peterborough, Canada. And… we hear Ocean flyer, from MA and Popeye are at the municipal marina! If you remember, Popeye was the first Looper we met back in Manhattan on our second day. He had 1300 miles under his belt to our 50. Now we have passed 1300 miles under our keel and are very excited to see him. We’ll try to go visit later. Jaycie is catching up on some home schooling with Joyce. Joyce is doing a great job and really seems to be enjoying it (thank God!). The parts I ordered from 2 different companies in two different states…SHOWED UP ON TIME! YAAAAAHOOOOOOOO! I’ll get to installing them some time this weekend. Almost everyday we can’t believe how lucky we are to be doing this trip and to have found this boat to do it on. SEPTEMBER 2, 2006 (St. Joseph) Installed new fuel line and replaced filter (which was really dirty). Suspecting a bad batch of fuel on the last fill-up. The area is racially divided by the river with Benton Harbor ( the not good area) on one side and St. Joseph on the other side of it (separated by a bridge). We went to Wolf’s marine supply store (BH) and it was amazing! The largest marine supply I have ever seen (about the size of a Home Depot). I was only looking for a piece of teak (which they had tons, new & used) so I didn’t have enough time to look around. Joyce and Linda went grocery shopping, but said they didn’t feel too welcome and were getting a little concerned. We met up with them and on the way back to the boat stopped at an outdoor BBQ food place which served “jerk chicken & ribs” (among other things). We never had it before, but it was GOOOOOD! John says we’ll be seeing a lot more of that type food down south. When we got back Jaycie and I went swimming in the marinas pool. SEPTEMBER 3, 2006 (St. Joseph) After giving it much thought, I decided to polish all fuel in all tanks. Polishing is really just taking the fuel out of the tank running it through a multiple filter system and putting it back in the tank (which I had designed and brought along-just in case).I really didn’t want to do it, but the filters clogged so fast I had concerns for our last leg of Lake Michigan where we have to cross the lake for about 7 hours. Maybe we picked up a bad batch of fuel on the last fill-up…I’m not sure. TT didn’t fill up at the same place so I couldn’t compare with him. While polishing, Popeye stopped by to visit...it was great to see him! We caught up on where we’ve been and what we’ve done. Triumph was at another marina near by and stopped by to see Lazy Susan, Lady Hawke and others, who were down the dock hanging out. We were right in the middle of polishing and couldn’t go stop to say hi…we’ll see them again in the river system. They will all be leaving tomorrow, but we’re going to stay until Tuesday. TT needs a part which won’t be hear until then (due to the holiday weekend). Went to the pool and met a 3 year old that swam like a fish- no kidding! Watched part of a Nascar race, Joyce made chocolate chip cookies and watched some TV. SEPTEMBER 4, 2006 (St. Joseph) Took a nice easy day. Went into town, worked on some business. Throughout the town, there were all different types of life size bears, painted with vivid colors. When we got back, went swimming with Jaycie. Had a BBQ dinner on the dock. Relaxed. SEPTEMBER 5, 2006 (St. Joseph) Went back to Wolf’s and this time spent some time. They have EVERYTHING! As an example, if you are looking for a helm seat, they have two rows, both sides about 40’ long! Every style, size, type and color you could think of! And, the whole store is like that. After spending a few hours there, we picked up a lot of odds and ends we had been looking for and headed back and, of course, picked up some more Jerk chicken & ribs. Planned on doing an overnight cruise to Chicago, leaving at about midnight, , but got shot down when no one would let us come in that early and there was no where to anchor out.. Very disappointing. There was a beautiful full moon clear night…would have been great. Went for a late swim with Jaycie and called it a night

Grand Haven to Saugatuck

AUGUST 30, 2006 (Grand Haven to Saugatuck) We were suppose to leave early for Saugatuck, but TT is having an issue with his electronics and had to run to West Marine for something. We ended up leaving about 10:00. We cruised about 2 ½ hours and came into a small river which goes to a small “off shoot” lake. While traveling to our next marina, we saw a nice place on the side of the river with a pool so we called in and got a spot. It’s a small, really nice motel with a Jacuzzi, continental breakfast, beautiful “hang out” lobby, etc Our boats were docked “on their wall” so we were about 8’ from the hotel entrance. In fact if you were sitting inside, it was as if TT’s boat was in there with you. We had a great time swimming in the pool and that night there was a Jazz band playing in the gazebo in the park (right next to us) and it was nice. a few “toys” we miss). Jaycie met some kids at the pool and had a lot of fun with them. They’ll be staying tomorrow so Jaycie is very excited. We all like it here and the weather looks like it will hold until the weekend, so we think we’ll stay here another day. AUGUST 31, 2006 (Saugatuck) Woke up to a beautiful day. Jaycie went to the pool and pretty much played there all day. Joyce and I caught up on some more business (but poolside!). Met some nice people. A local place had a Thursday night special of $3 hamburgers…WE”RE THERE! Went expecting to see a white castle size burger, but was surprised with a big, 1/3lb. loaded, burger. Walked around town to get Jaycie drops for her eyes (too much pool) and headed back to the Jacuzzi. Great day, great place. We have a 6 ½ hour cruise tomorrow to go to St. Joseph’s, which we’ll stay put for the weekend. I have some supplies being shipped there (fuel line, new temp gauges and inline holding tank filter) and it’s supposed to rain starting tomorrow afternoon. It’ll be the perfect time to install them. Going to get an earlier start tomorrow (after continental breakfast).

Submarine Tour

AUGUST 29, 2006 (Muskegon to Grand Haven) In the morning, before we left, we went to tour the submarine. It was really interesting. We got to go in and climb around (un-supervised) and play with everything…very cool (although I still think theis town stinks!). We leave and, for me, it couldn’t be soon enough. We head to Grand Haven and have another very smooth cruise. When we arrive, the dock and town are beautiful. We want to stay tomorrow, but the weather has been so good on the Lake that we hate to miss a “weather window” by not traveling. I’m not sure if I mentioned, but the rule is to be off the lake by September 1. After that the opportunity for travel diminishes greatly. Instead of 3 or 4 “nice day” weather windows, you may on get 1 or 2 good days in a week. Since Lake Michigan is still huge and potentially dangerous, if we see a good opportunity to travel, we will probably take advantage of it. We head into town an enjoy the sights. This is the town where the USCG originated, so there is lots of memorabilia everywhere. Every night, back at the dock, they put on a water fountain display, with lights and music. It’s about as long as a football field and lasts for about a half hour. It’s a really spectacular show, unfortunately, because it is moving water, I couldn’t get any good pictures of it. The nice thing was that the show was directly across from our boat, so we had the best seats in the house.

Ludington to Muskegon

AUGUST 28, 2006 (Ludington to Muskegon) Short cruise today (about 2 hours) but water was flat. Nice easy cruise. When we get to Muskegon, it’s the first town that I look & tell John, I don’t care for this town and he agrees. Pretty much a dump. Not the marina…the town. Plus the marina is chain linked, all around, with barbed wire on top (that tells you something). We get a ride, from the marina dockhand in a city pick-up truck (with emergency lights on top) to West Marine. The area is pretty much how we thought it was…depressed. The kid driving had a great personality and was a lot of fun. As we approached the marina he says to us, “Do you want to turn on the lights and drive around some more?…or I could bring you to the lake?” I told him, “we’re not that easy… let’s just go back to the marina.” Went out to dinner at a nice restaurant. She asked what we wanted to order and we told her we didn’t get a menu. She said, “Oh, you don’t need a menu, we only serve pizza!”. So we had pizza. First place I really don’t like at all. The only thing that is here worthwhile seeing is a World War II sub and coast guard boat, we will probably tour in the morning before we leave.

Manistee to Ludington

AUGUST 27, 2006 (Manistee to Ludington) What a beautiful morning! We decide to fuel up and pump out before we leave. Unfortunately, they are not used to bigger boats and the pump is SLOOOOOOOW! It took about 1 ½ hours total…WOW! TT decides we don’t want to wait any longer so he’ll fuel at the next stop. This is the first real fill-up, for us, since Brewerton, NY (other than 150 gallons at Detour, MI). We take about 400 gallons and it costs $1,200. Not bad considering the distance we have traveled. The water is quartering us from the stern, so it is a bit rolly, however the auto-pilot is working well in the conditions and makes the cruise a little better. Total trip was about 6 hours of cruising. When we get to Ludington it’s real nice. We head to the beach for a swim. The water is crystal clear, but cold. Nice, big white sand beach. We head back to the boat and BBQ with TT & Triumph. Triumph had been given some Salmon from so local fisherman and it was good. Although we would like to stay, the weather is with us and we will probably take advantage of it and move on in the morning.

Frankfort 2nd night

AUGUST 23, 2006 (Frankfort) This morning is very overcast and looks like rain. It’s the perfect day for maintenance, boat upgrades and cleaning. I changed the Racor filters first thing in the morning, fixed one of the stereo speakers and did some other small projects on my list. Joyce spent most of the day on the computer. I went out to talk to ask John something and as we spoke, smoke (like winter) came out of our mouths. It was cool but not freezing. It was really strange. Across lake there were tornado warnings in Wisconsin. Later in the afternoon the sun came out, so Joyce went to town with Linda to shop and Jaycie and I went to beach and played in the small waves (some locals were surfing-kind of). We had a lot of fun and even build a sand castle. On the way back we walked some different blocks in the neighborhood… really nice! When we got back the boat they had another BBQ going. Guacomole, shrimp cabobs, ribs…MMMMMMMMM! Later that night a boat got brought in by USCG with lights-a-flashin’. It was a fishing boat (like the Montauk sport fishers- fishing is HUGE here) and looked like minor infraction/inspection. We talked with the Coast Guard guys-really nice- and then headed in for the night.

Frankfort to Manistee

AUGUST 24, 2006 (Frankfort to Manistee) Got up early and the weather was funky. We checked the weather reports, walked down to take a look at the lake and decided to leave. We cruised about 2 ½ hours to the next port (Manistee). When we got to the municipal dock, there was a heavy current and it was windy in river, but docking went o.k. The marina is really nice and the dock hands are kids, but know what they are doing (as compared to one a while ago when Joyce asked, “Port or starboard tie up?“ and they replied, “I don’t know what those are“) This is a really cool looking town. Very old and classic looking buildings, as if you were back in time. I visited a local funeral home (you can take the man out of a casket company, but you can’t take the casket company….) and walked around town, while Joyce and Jaycie looked around town too. . AUGUST 25, 2006 (Manistee) I did business on the boat for most of the day and Joyce went shopping with Linda and Jaycie. We had dinner on TT’s boat and at about 10:00 a big we heard a boat horn but looking down the river could not see anything except blackness. Finally we realized that the darkness down the river, from side to side, was a HUGE freighter! It passed about 20 feet behind our boats. It was so big I couldn’t believe it fit or that it would fit through the small draw bridge which had now opened. When the freighter applied a little throttle for adjusting, it turned the little river into white water. The boats were bouncing all around (luckily, not ours- we were on the straight part of the river). It passed through the draw bridge and we thought for sure it would scrape the sides…but it didn’t. I said I will never complain about docking again (yes I will)! UNBELIEVABLE!!! We walked along the “River walk” (a boardwalk) and followed it down to the next bridge and turn in the river. I tried to get pictures of it, but had to use a night setting and since the boat was moving (ever so slowly) they might be a little blurry. What an amazing sight to see. Another one came through at about 2am. I woke up, went out and looked, and went back to bed. Been there done that! AUGUST 26, 2006 (Manistee) When we woke, the weather was pretty threatening looking. TT was waiting for a part and it still didn’t show up so we figured we would stay anyway. The sky was getting darker and suddenly the river looked like a boaters parade, with dozens of fishing boats coming back in from the lake. We heard them talking about lightening and sure enough we started hearing the rumbling. We quick ran out and washed the boat (as much as we could before it started getting bad)… and then it rained! And the lightening started. Jaycie suggested we play Monopoly and it certainly seemed like the perfect day for it. The rain and lightening went on for HOURS! Some so close and loud that it you felt it in you body. It lasted so long, we actually finished our game! By the time it was done (we found out later) it dumped 6-8” of rain on Manistee. It was almost dinner time and had gotten a lot nicer out, so we decided to walk to the theatre and see Invincible. The theatre was very old…very run down…and smelled like it looked….but it was fun. They tried to get the movie started, but were having technical difficulties. It was a big theatre with only about 20 people in it, who we got to know pretty well while waiting for the movie to start. It was jumping around, going in slow motion with sound (or no sound) to match! Someone watching suggested we go to the other movie, but someone else said, “No, you can’t. They spilled oil on that film and it’s not showing tonight!”. Do you believe it? Anyway, back in Jr. high I was on the A.V. (audio visual) squad (don’t laugh!) and thinking, how much different can it be? So I’m in the projection room with the manager of the theatre and the projector is quite a bit larger than the ones I remember from 7th grade! The manager tells me the projectionist is not in and he tried getting “talked through” projector operation over the phone. Long story short, I re-route the film and it works. I walk out of the room with both arms in a celebration of victory to which the theatre (all 20) gives me cheers and a round of applause! After the movie people came up and thanked me and the kid manager asked me if he could give me complimentary tickets, which I declined, since we were leaving in the morning (although I should have asked for complimentary ice cream!). That was a lot of fun and a night to remember.

Northport to Frankfort

AUGUST 22, 2006 (Northport to Frankfort) Today is our 25th wedding anniversary This trip is the perfect celebration for 25 years of marriage. So, back to the trip, it’s a nice morning so we pack up and leave early. Since we have good weather we decide to skip a port and cover some distance, since the future looked like we may have some rougher weather coming. It will be a 7 hour cruise- thank God for auto-pilot! Jaycie and I started our carving projects, while Joyce did some Suduko. The lake in the beginning of the cruise was good and fairly calm, but towards the middle it got to be a bit rougher. We started to lose our port engine (it starts dropping rpm’s and coming back). I go below to check engines and Joyce calls TT on the radio to tell him we’re having problems. It ends up that his port engine is doing the same thing…weird! My engines are “dropping” every 1-5 minutes. This goes on for about an hour straight-but we figured we would try to make it to port before changing the primary filters (I had just done the secondaries). The last hour the water calms down and the engines perform close to normal. As we pull into the marina the port engine dies…but it quickly restarts and we dock with no problem. We are low on fuel and have had two long days of “rough” water, so we think that might be the cause of our problem (sediment being stirred up and clogging a filter). Or, it may have been bad fuel from the last fill. On the way in the “inlet” I see a beautiful beach and as soon as we get tied to the dock and hooked up, we head to the beach. Beautfiul white sand with crystal clear water. Joyce says it’s too bad our water at home isn’t like this. There’s a long concrete pier about 12’ above the water and extends hundreds of feet out to a lighthouse. There are throwable life saving devices all along the pier and later, we notice, a sign that has a picture of a 14 year old boy who was washed off the pier and drown. The life savers are donated and maintained by his memorial fund. It just shows how bad these lakes can get (there’s even a surf shop in town). We walk home through a local neghborhood and once again it is so nice and comfortable. Every house is unique with porches and balconies, columns and woodwork. It’s well maintained and clean and the people are nice (although not overtly friendly). We get back to the boat and earlier had invited TT to go out to dinner for our anniversary. It feels a little strange because it is the first time, in a lot of years, that we did not go out to dinner with our best friends, Todd & Jenn (we miss them- When?- inside joke). A while back, on John’s birthday, he insisted on picking up the tab because in Holland (his birthplace) the custom is for the birthday person to pay for his friends. So, this time I tell him, in America it is customary for the anniversary couple to buy dinner for their friends, at a place Joyce mentioned earlier. When we get there we order dinner, but before the food comes the waitress brings John change? It appears that, earlier in the day, he went there and made a deal to pay! Very nice…but I’ll get him next time! For dessert we went to an awesome ice cream/candy store,called Kilwin's (a popular chain here in Michigan). Nice day.

Charlevoix to Northport

AUGUST 21, 2006 (Charlevoix to Northport) Supposed to leave at 8am, but getting conflicting information and weather reports. Waves 2-3’ increasing to 3-5’ by midday with chance of thunderstorms. Everyone (by now there are about 8 Looper’s in the marina) has decided to stay, including us. Then we get another persons input (a local fisherman) who says that we should be good to go. He says he will be out there shortly and radio us with a report. We also here from Triumph, who left about 15 minutes ago and they say it’s about 2-3’ and not so bad. The fisherman confirms it and we decide to leave immediately. The waves started 2-3 with an occasional 4...then 3-4 with occasional 5 and then an occasional set of 3 waves at about 6’. really fun-seriously! The trip today was short, about 3 1/2 hours so it never got grueling (although Boo “tossed her cookies“! With almost no “side roll”, stuff was still flying all around the cabin. We were thinking about tying down the sundeck furniture-but it never got to that point. The swells lowered back to 3-4’s with a sloppy chop. We docked at Northport, on a wall (they were out of slips) and sat down to breakfast (1:30 pm). John went into town and we stayed and settled in. When he got back he said most of the town is shut down because of a funeral service…some guy named Lowell. There were a couple of stores open (I guess they didn’t care for Lowell). We decided to walk through the town and take a look. Cute town. Ended up at the school/community center. Really nice. Something was going on inside (like an exhibit) and people were a little dressed up….so we went in to take a look. When we went in, people were starting to leave, but we looked around the exhibit and guess what…it was a service to Lowell. There were beautiful displays of all his accomplishments and writings from people who knew him …it was a beautiful tribute (seemed like a really decent guy). He was heavily involved in school theatre and interestingly enough, their auditorium was as nice as some of our better movie theaters. Unbelievable! Anyway, as we finish touring the town we see a house that has decided to “spruce up” their appearance by hanging bicycles in the trees!? Not one or two….about a dozen or so. All over their property. At the entrance/driveway there is a guard house (with a uniformed dummy guard inside) and American flags lining the driveway. The sign on the guard house says, “Pointless security”. Only in America- it’s good to be home! Back at the dock, we heard that there was potential for some bad weather with 60 mph winds. We watched the clouds and lightening from a distance roll in while we had a BBQ on the dock/park followed by a first class marshmallow roast. It started to rain (although we never got the really severe weather-luckily) and we all headed in. Bicycles in the tree Guard House