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!