8/29 - Chicago

Michigan Avenue looking north

Michigan Avenue looking south

Giordano's restaurant where pizza is a major meal

The "Bean" in Millennium Park -Art?

Today we played tourists, and walked along Michigan Avenue and Grant Park, through the fairly new Millennium Park with its many large works of art, including "The Bean", gardens, etc. We also had lunch at "Giordanos'", a restaurant famous for its stuffed pizza. Pat ordered a small thin-crust pizza, but it turned out to be thicker than any pizza we ever had in New Jersey. George ordered a small stuffed pizza, and was glad he didn't order a larger one. We took Pat's left-overs back to the boat for later.

"Reflection" turned out to be one of the major tourist attractions along the wall here that is adjacent to the Lake's walk-way. Many people have stopped and taken their picture next to the boat, and made wonderful comments about how nice she looks. There is a lot of activity here today, because tomorrow the Chicago Triathlon will be held right here and we will have a ring-side seat! 9,500 people will swim, bike, and then run the course. Many have been out here running and biking today. They will start bringing their bikes to the staging area near us between 4:10 a.m. and 5:45 a.m. It should be a great experience to see!

8/28 - Chicago

Chicago skyline as we approach Monroe Harbor

Navy Pier

We left the dock at Crescent Shores Marina at 6:50 a.m. for an 85 mile trip across Lake Michigan to the "Windy City". The forecast was for heavy rain of 1 - 2 inches, and northeast winds of 10 - 13mph with wave heights of 1-2 feet. This was not the greatest forecast, but the ones for the next few days were worse, calling for heavy winds and seas.

Captain George "put the pedal to the metal" as soon as we left the inlet and we headed out directly on a course for Chicago. Everything was great for the first two hours, but as we approached the center of the Lake, the sea heights increased and the wind was now coming on our port beam instead of behind us. Our deal was that he would operate the boat at 15 knots from the fly-bridge to get us across as quickly as possible, but if it started to rain, because of visibility he would come below and operate at the inside station at 10 knots. Well, he stayed up on top for the entire trip despite the rocky conditions, because it never rained! First-mate Pat, on the other hand, hung out (on) below monitoring moving furniture, glasses clanging, etc. Thankfully, conditions calmed down the closer we got to Chicago and we looked forward to reaching our destination.

We originally had planned to visit some other ports before arriving here on Monday and meeting Charlie and Helen, but in view of the weather report, we wanted to be sure that we would be here on time. Thus, we had to make last minute arrangements for the week-end. We headed for Monroe Harbor, which has a 1000 boat mooring field. As we rode around calling the marina office, a boat approached us, the employee took our lines, and attached them to a mooring ball. Unfortunately, this area was very exposed, and the rocking made us feel like we were in a washing machine.

George took the tender service in to see the dockmaster, and she agreed to move us to an inside wall right on Lakeshore Drive in the heart of the city and alongside the Chicago Yacht Club. We were so relieved to be here and tired from the day's activities, we decided to have a quiet dinner aboard with a movie, and we even remembered to change our watches and clocks back an hour to Central Standard Time.

8/26 and 8/27 - Holland, Michigan

The most important accomplishment of these two days was the final installation of the NEW ICEMAKER. The sound of ice cubes being made and dropped into the bin was like music to the captain's ears! In addition, we also did a MAJOR food shopping trip to stock up the boat for the next few weeks, washed the outside and cleaned the inside, did laundry, and all the usual mechanical trip preparations.

Now we have another development! We have learned that a major problem has developed for "Loopers" like us who will be traversing the Calumet River and the Sanitary and Ship Canal beyond Chicago. Because Asian Carp have been discovered within 10 miles of the electrical water barrier built to keep these fish out of the Great Lakes, the Army Corps of Engineers has decided to "up" the current load from 1 to 2 volts of current per inch.

While they are in this testing and protocol phase, only large diesel-powered vessels with metal hulls are allowed to cross this area. Despite the fact that the usual 30 day notice for an action like this was not given to mariners in advance, and no decision date for when future crossings has been given, the Coast Guard is holding fast on keeping this area closed. Needless to say, this has caused a HUGE problem for all recreational boaters in the Chicago area, and especially for those of us doing the "Great Loop"!

There are literally close to 100 boats in our group alone waiting in marinas all over Michigan, who are being prohibited from heading south because of this barrier voltage change. Marinas are getting filled up because boats are stacking up in areas close to Chicago. We have been deemed by the press as the "Carp Captives", and are lobbying our congressmen and other government entities to get a plan and a schedule together so that we may proceed down the Illinois River. This is a financial as well as a calendar burden for many people who have plans for guests, boat haul-outs, jobs to get back to, etc.

Our friends, Charlie and Helen Dambroski, have purchased airline tickets in order to meet us on 8/31 in Chicago, plan to spend 10 days with us aboard, and will then fly back to Newark on 9/10 from St. Louis. We certainly don't want to alter that plan. Right now there is a lot of scuttlebutt on the internet about a possible solution to this situation, and, if it turns out to be a possibility, we will make a decision tomorrow about what we might do.

8/25 - Holland, Michigan

Our 12 day trip hiatus back to New Jersey allowed us to check on Pat's mother (who is doing very well), enjoy our home (which needed some outdoor weed maintenance), celebrate George's birthday, and to catch up with family and friends (dinners, visits, and phone calls). We, however, were anxious to return to our "second home" and happy to find "Reflection" waiting safely for us at the dock. We had a 13 hour drive to Michigan and the rental car was almost completely filled to capacity with items we brought back for the next leg of our Great Loop journey. Though tired after the drive, unloading the car, and doing some unpacking, we enjoyed a fun dinner at the New Holland Brewing Company, a restaurant that makes its own beer, wine, and spirits on premises.

8/11 - Holland, MI

The view from our dock (the bulk hauler "Manitowac")

Today was a great day! In the midst of our preparations to make the boat ready for our departure in two days, George contacted the company who makes the replacement ice-maker that we have on order to see when it would be delivered here to the marina. After checking on it, the representative said that it would be delivered here by noon TODAY! Sure enough, when George went up to the marina office, THERE IT WAS! He had already removed the old unit yesterday in preparation for installation of the new one upon our return, but he was able to do most of the work now instead of later. Since the Captain loves his ice, he was truly a happy man!

Then when he thought things couldn't get much better, we got a personal delivery to the boat of 11 gallons of Rotella oil from the local NAPA store here in Holland by Clark Laarman, the owner, and the uncle of our niece, Angela. Clark visited with us aboard for a short while and we were very grateful for his kindness in bringing the order himself literally here to our door-step. Later on, while we were having dinner on our back deck, we looked up to see a huge ship, the "Manitowac", going right past our bow. This was a sight we were surprised to see on this scenic lake filled with beautiful homes. The ship headed past the Heinz Company's modern plant farther up the lake to a power plant at the end.

Tomorrow we will complete our final packing, load up our rental car, and make ready to leave at 4 a.m. on 8/14 for what we hope will be a 12 hour trip to New Jersey. At that point we will have been aboard on this segment of the "Loop" for 70 days and have gone almost 1400 miles since we left Seawood Harbor on 6/6. We are looking forward to getting back on board on 8/25 as our wonderful adventure continues!

8/11 - Holland, MI

Entrance to Holland Harbor

We said "good bye" to Hank and hope that we will be able to travel with "Maya Lisa" down the Illinois River.

Today we finally had a beautiful 20 mile trip south to our boat's temporary 2 week home at Crescent Shores Marina on Lake Macatawa in Holland. We were met by Eric, the owner/dockmaster, who helped tie us up and assured us that he will take good care of "our baby", "Reflection", while we return home to New Jersey for 10 days to check on things there.

We arrived here several days in advance so that we could accomplish a number of things that we want to do aboard before we leave on 8/14. These are in preparation for the next stage of our trip (8/25 to 10/14) from here to Chicago, then down the Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers to Alabama.

8/10 - Grand Haven

Grand Haven Municipal Marina

Despite heavily overcast skies, we departed Ludington harbor at 7:30 a.m. for our 57 mile trip to Grand Haven where we had a reservation at the Municipal Marina. Though it was somewhat choppy on our way south, the skies finally cleared and conditions improved during the last few hours of our trip.

We were docked by 1:00 p.m., and "Maya Lisa", who expected guests to come aboard for a few days, was 3 slips away from us. Unfortunately there was much rocking of the boats at this marina which was only a block from the town. We're really not sure what caused this turbulence, but novice boaters could get seasick right in the slip! Fortunately we did not come here yesterday. A storm with 60 mile per hour winds came through the area, causing damage to several boats at the marina, and power outages across the river.

Grand Haven was a great place to shop with many eateries in its attractive downtown area. We had a wonderful dinner at "Porto Bello" restaurant, followed by ice cream cones at a shop on the harbor walkway. For the finale of our "grand" evening in Grand Haven, we got to view right across the river from our own back deck the town's famous "Musical Fountain" performance. This was an impressive synchronized program with water, music, and multi-colored lights held each evening during the summer with a different show every night. It was truly spectacular, and well worth the visit!

8/9 - Ludington, MI

The "Grand" hotel

The "Grand" hotel in Ludington is similar in many ways to the "Grand" hotel on Mackinac Island. For example, they are both called the "Grand", they both serve good food (although a slightly different cuisine), and they both serve cocktails (although the decor of the bar is a little dissimilar). Did I say they were both called the "Grand"?

Luckily, last night's storm passed north of us, but true to form, not only did the wind and seas not back down today, they increased! Again we decided to stay in port. The small boat along side us yesterday never returned to the slip last night, so we could only hope that they found shelter elsewhere. "Maya Lisa" is still here at the marina, and we had an email from "Houlegan" today saying that they were still stuck in Manistee.

We took a tour of the town, had ice cream at "Kilwin's", and had an early dinner at "The Grand Hotel" which is somewhat different than "The Grand Hotel" on Mackinac Island. The food was good, and it reminded us of bar/restaurants from the 50s with knotty-pine walls, and Formica and chrome tables and chairs. Upon our return we enjoyed one of our William Powell/Myrna Loy DVDs.

8/8 - Ludington, MI

The "Badger" a floating dinosaur

After a night of heavy rain, today dawned dark and dreary, and with prospects of more showers later in the day with strong winds out of the southwest, we decided to stay another day at the marina. "Maya Lisa" also opted to remain here today. George found a great grocery/butcher store in town and an interesting pub/restaurant where he stopped for refreshment in the afternoon.

From our slip we also had several opportunities to see the "S.S. Badger", the last coal-burning passenger carferry on Lake Michigan as she came into and out of Ludington on her way to and from Manitowoc, Wisconsin. This steamship is an imposing 410' long vessel and carries 620 passengers and 180 vehicles of all types including RVs, buses, cars, and motorcycles on a 4 hour crossing of the Lake.

After a delicious Italian dinner on our boat, we were invited aboard "Maya Lisa" for a dessert of cherry pie with whipped cream topping along with great conversation and fascinating stories about the many places this delightful couple has lived abroad. Before we went to bed the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for our area with possible winds of 60 miles an hour and we saw many small fishing boats scrambling back into the harbor in the dark. George put additional lines on the boat, and with the lightening and thunder nearby we became concerned about a small boat which was briefly docked next to us today who went out about 5:30 p.m. There were 5 men aboard who had apparently paid a long visit to a local saloon before boarding and had stocked the boat with lots of additional beer and potato chips. They said that they would be back, and so far they had not returned.

8/7 - Ludington

Early morning heading down the Manistee River

Ore carrier heading up the Manistee River

Heading out Manistee Inlet

We had company in the Manistee River as we made our way out. The ship was an ore carrier and was stopped in the middle of the river apparently waiting for bridge tenders to arrive to open the bridges it would have to pass through into the lake beyond the town. In this small, tight river it was an imposing sight!

After we left the inlet we hugged the shore on our trip south along the Lake. Today the wind was out of the east, thus coming off the shore, so we were able to avoid the higher waves farther out. As the winds came up, we increased the boat's speed, and we were tied up at the Municipal Marina by 10 a.m. Within an hour we were joined by "Maya Lisa" with Hank and Ceci aboard.

Since we had so many stories to share about our mutual adventures since we had last seen each other, we invited them for cocktails on our boat, and we went out for dinner at PM Steamers restaurant afterward. Despite the fact that the weather deteriorated with wind and rain as the evening wore on, we had a delightful time catching up with them.

8/6 - Manistee

Our niece, Angela, great nephew, Charlie, great nieces, Allie and Anna

(and yes that is actually blue sky behind them)

Our trip this morning to Manistee was a short one of 23 miles. We came into the inlet and eventually made our way up the narrow Manistee River which runs through the town. We had to pass under several bridges including one at 22' in height. To do this we had to take down our antennas - something we haven't had to do since the Trent Severn Waterway. Many eyes were watching as we went under the bridge and cleared it successfully. We docked at Seng's Marina on the lake, and made ready for our visitors: Angela, the children, and Angela's mother, Linda. After snack-time aboard, we were invited to have dinner at Linda and Joe Dahm's lovely "carriage house" on their 14 acre property over-looking Lake Michigan. We couldn't believe that they built the house themselves, and the décor is perfect. Since their family continues to expand, we suspect that more buildings might be built on the property - a wonderful location for a family compound! They are warm and gracious hosts, the dinner was delicious, and we really enjoyed the time we were able to spend with all of them!

8/5 - Frankfort

Another warm summer day on Lake Michigan

Sand dunes rising 480 feet above Lake Michigan

Entrance to Frankfort harbor

Yes, at 6:40 a.m. we finally left the dock in Petoskey! Conditions still were not the best as we took waves and wind first across the bow, and then on our starboard quarter as we turned to go south into Lake Michigan.

George operated the boat from up in the fly-bridge, and Pat stayed down in the salon monitoring things at the lower station until things calmed down after several hours. The scenery along the way was beautiful with enormous sand dunes along the shore.

Dan called us on the boat radio to see how we were doing, and a little later we heard "Maya Lisa", a boat we haven't seen since Parry Sound on 7/13 and who we thought was long gone from the area, calling a nearby marina., We were delighted to hear that she was nearby, but she didn't answer our radio call. Next we heard from "Houlegan" who we hadn't seen since St. Ignace on 7/27. She was headed also to Frankfort, but not to the same marina. We arrived safely at Jacobson's Marina at 2:15 p.m. after a 77 mile journey.

After a great steak dinner on our barbecue, Pat made phone calls to some of our boating friends, but was only able to reach Ray and Caryl Houle, who were also going to Manistee tomorrow and then on to Ludington where we might see them on Friday.

8/4 - Petoskey (Day 5!)

We couldn't believe it, but the wind and waves would still not cooperate, necessitating our staying here another day. In our whole boating life of some 36 years, we don't remember having ever stayed in one port for so long!

The captain has come down with a sever case of "channel fever" an affliction brought on by staying in one port too long, the only cure is to get the ailing person back to sea. Captain George issued a directive to the First Mate that we were definitely leaving tomorrow morning. We decided that we would make a major jump of 77 miles to Frankfort in order to get to Manistee the next day.

Today's activities included making phone calls, cleaning, doing laundry, and planning where we will keep the boat in Florida from December until May. Calusa Cove Yacht Club and Marina in Goodland, Florida (on the West coast near Naples and Marco Island) right now appears to be our likely location. Not only do we have many friends who will be in that area, but we would be close to Fort Myers Airport, and we could easily travel to the Florida Keys and the Dry Tortugas, Sanibel, etc. as cruising destinations.

We had dinner in town at the Mitchell Street Pub and afterwards went to a Men's Softball League game at the park adjacent to the marina. On our way back, we stopped by "Dauntless", Dan and Mary Jo's beautiful Island Packet 38' sailboat, enjoyed some of her wonderful home-made chocolate chip cookies, and said "Bon Voyage" once again. They are a lovely couple who have been so gracious in sharing their local knowledge of the area. We greatly enjoyed spending time with them here and in Drummond and we definitely hope to keep in touch with them in the future.

8/3 - Petoskey

The wind continued to blow out of the west today on Little Traverse Bay with waves on Lake Michigan predicted to be in the 3 - 5 foot range. George had hoped that we would have a window of opportunity to leave for Northport between 11a.m. and 1p.m., but that break didn't happen. However, we still held out hope that we could leave tomorrow for Leland, a port farther down the coast, as we want to get to Manistee on Thursday to meet with our nephew Chris' wife, Angela, their children, Charlie, Allie, and Anna, and Angela's parents, Joe and Linda Dahm, who have a vacation home and property there. Unfortunately Chris had to return to work in Richmond, so we will miss seeing him.

In order to not only make this visit, but also to make it to Holland next week so that we can return home from there, it seems that we will have to skip some of the places we had planned to visit before this weather cycle interfered. To cheer ourselves up, we entertained our new Michigan friends, Dan and Mary Jo, aboard our boat tonight with a "Bon Voyage Party". They, too, are hoping to leave here tomorrow.

8/2 - Petoskey

Petoskey Falls (reminded me of Niagara just slightly smaller)

That's right, we stayed in port again, and it looks like we won't leave here before Tuesday, if the weather predictions hold. The marina had a lot of early morning activity again with boaters getting antsy and anxiously walking up and down the docks, but the winds were howling, and the boats were continuing to rock in the slips, despite the fact that it was a clear, sunny day. We walked into town in the early afternoon for lunch, some shopping, and ice cream, and even watched a girls' softball game at the park. Upon our return to the boat, we continued to monitor the marine weather internet sites, made phone calls, and spent a quiet evening watching DVDs.

8/1 - Petoskey

The wind forecasts for Lake Michigan continued to deteriorate, and there were lots of discussions on the dock about what to do. George and Dan traded internet sites for wind and wave predictions, and Dan, who is from the area, even had a phone site to call for buoy reports on the Lake. Both captains agreed that we should stay put another day. We than made use of the day by doing laundry, some advance planning on our Chicago, Illinois River, and Mississippi river legs of our journey, and even emailed some of our "Great Loop" friends who had already traveled those areas for advice and suggestions. Mary Jo and Dan invited us over for dessert in the evening, and we enjoyed great conversation along with an apple pie baked on board!

7/31 - Petoskey, Michigan

Summer finally arrived! We had a lovely 32 mile trip across the Lake this morning with the wind at our stern (for a change) and calm seas with mild temperatures. What a difference a day makes! (Sounds like a song!) The scenery as we headed into Little Traverse Bay was reminiscent of Chesapeake Bay with many small sailboats out on the water.

Petoskey Marina is a fairly new marina with nice facilities behind a stone breakwater. The town is a close walk with many up-scale stores and fun restaurants, and the marina adjoins a lovely museum and park. We had a great dinner at "Papa Joe's", and upon our return to the dock, we were delighted to see that "Dauntless" with Dan and Mary Jo Flory aboard had also come into this port from St. Ignace. All of us were watching the weather as the winds are supposed to pick up from the southwest tomorrow, so we will make our decision about staying for another day in the morning.

7/30 - St. James Harbor, Beaver Island

Mackinac Bridge spanning the Straits

After filling up at St. Ignace Marina with 288 gallons of diesel fuel, we headed out at 9 a.m. for a 42 mile journey to Beaver Island, which is the largest island in Lake Michigan. Conditions in the Straits of Mackinac as we traveled under the Bridge were quite nice, but as we made our turn into the Lake, the wind and waves picked up on our nose, and when the spray started to hit us in the fly-bridge, we went down into the lower station in the main salon to operate the boat.

We were certainly safe and thankful that we were in our fairly large vessel, but truthfully, the conditions were not that great - sort of like riding a bucking bronco! The wind and waves calmed as we approached the island, but then it started to rain! The Beaver Island Marina personnel were welcoming and friendly, and we were glad to be tied up by 1:45 p.m.

We kept watching for a sailboat we saw in the Straits which we knew was supposed to be coming to Beaver Island Marina also, but they never arrived, (another boat "gone missing" never to be seen again) and the crews of those boats that did come in arrived looking wet and tired.

George walked into town and purchased some groceries, and then found a great fried chicken take-out restaurant which provided us with a tasty dinner while we watched Cable TV for the first time since we left home on 6/6. After an hour of viewing we decided that we hadn't missed a thing!