Lake Erie
August 16, 2004
We are now on day three of crossing Lake Erie, and it
has been a delight. After all the scary stories of 6 to 8 foot seas, we
didn't expect to enjoy this part of the trip. However, in God’s perfect timing,
the seas calmed, the sun came out, and we started out on Saturday
morning. We were impressed by how clean the water seems, and the color is
a lovely blue green. The waves are about what you'd find on Highland Lake on an average summer day, 2 feet or less and very
pleasant cruising. I'm actually writing this newsletter on the laptop as we
cruise into Cleveland!
We spent the first night in Erie, PA at a state park on Presque Isle. We were
greeted by friendly boaters who were very interested in our travels and anxious
to help us out with whatever we needed. They told us about a great bike trail,
which we took and had some beautiful views of the lake. We were surprised
that the sandy beaches and dunes look just like what you'd find at the ocean.
Our second night on the lake was spent in Geneva, OH, where we tied up at a
state marina and then rode our bikes into the funky little waterfront resort
town of Geneva-on-the-Lake. It was like walking back into the 50’s, with soft serve ice cream, junky gift shops, mini
golf, and hamburger stands. At one point I caught a whiff from a burger
joint and that smell took me right back to when I was 10. Hamburgers just
don’t smell that way anymore; I think our present day burgers just don’t have
enough grease! There was a cute little amusement park with a train that
went along the waterfront, kiddie roller coaster, and little car and boat rides
for toddlers. We wondered if some of the rides were made by the Herschel
Factory we saw in Tonawanda (see 8/11 entry) They
certainly looked like they could be 100 years old!
We were drawn by the music to the Old Firehouse Restaurant and Winery, where
they had a blues band playing outside by the lake. It was great to sit at a
picnic table and listen while watching the boats going by on the lake. (see web site for the view we had.)
We will be docking in Cleveland soon, so I need to go help the captain. I’m
becoming a reasonable first mate; I can now tie a bowline, clove hitch, half
hitch, and I’m usually helpful in docking. Galley mate is definitely more
my calling, however, and it’s especially easy to cook a great meal when we eat
outdoors in the fresh air. Anything tastes great!
We are so happy we decided to do this trip. It’s such a wonderful
adventure, and each day brings new surprises. I am so blessed that I married
someone who is so skilled in everything it takes to operate a boat (which is a
lot of skills!). Because of Bob, I have all the creature comforts I need
onboard and also the peace of mind that he will be able to solve whatever
challenges come our way.
Love to all. We miss you!
Cleveland: Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame and Nice People
August 16, 2004
Today was certainly a memorable one! We pulled into Cleveland and found out that we could dock the boat right in
front of the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, a magnificent contemporary structure by
I.M. Pei literally sitting in the water in Cleveland Harbor. We pulled Grace up to the dock right in front
of the museum, which gave us a perfect view of this magnificent building that
rises out of the water and brilliantly reflects the sunlight. After
ascertaining that the barge tied up next to us wasn’t about to drift into our
pretty new boat, we set out for an afternoon learning about the roots and
history of rock ‘n roll through video, displays, and interactive
exhibits. Being a Beatles fan since the age of thirteen, I especially
loved the exhibit on the Liverpool scene and saw John Lennon’s report cards from grade
school (he was not much of a student!), Mick Jaeger’s costumes, and everything
from Beatles lunch boxes to trading cards. A special exhibit on the
Supremes was really fun; the sequined, fur trimmed, gem studded gowns were
amazing! Just the building itself was worth the trip, with all kinds of
crazy angles and wonderful light everywhere. Periodically we would check
out one of the many windows to check on Grace, looking very important in the
harbor below. We feel that Grace is enjoying this trip as much as we are!
When we checked into our marina, we asked a fellow at the marina restaurant for
directions into town so we could find a place to have dinner. We got
talking and soon concluded that the best option was to stay where we were and
join him and his wife and four kids for dinner there. Pat and Ruth, along
with their kids Patrick, Colin, Molly, and Owen, were having a farewell dinner
for Patrick, who goes back to Notre Dame for his sophomore year tomorrow.
A really great family, we enjoyed getting to know them very much. Four of
them are on our web site; Owen and Patrick got distracted by the video games
when the rest of us went out to see Grace. Good luck Patrick, at college,
and Molly, Colin, and Owen with the start of school. It was a pleasure
meeting all of you!
Puttin’ in to Put-in-Bay
August 18, 2004
After spending last night at a pretty little town called Vermilion, with many
canals and cute shops, we continued west on Lake Erie to an island called Put-in-Bay. It’s a very popular tourist destination, with
ferries bringing in people who rent bikes or golf carts to explore this
charming island. It’s about 3 miles by 1 ½ miles, and we had a good time
exploring it on our bikes. This was the site of a decisive battle in the War of
1812, where the Americans gained control of Lake Erie, thanks to the valiant efforts of Commodore Perry. There is a
350 foot high monument here in honor of Commodore Perry. Both the
American and British leaders who died in this battle were buried under the
monument, and it’s meant to be an international symbol of peace, and
specifically of peace between the Americans and the Canadians. Canada, by the way, is visible from the tower. The
view from the top was really beautiful, and the cool breeze up there felt
great!
Our bicycle exploration of the island reminded us that people are the same
everywhere, and that a beach town is a beach town, whether the water is salty
or fresh. T-shirt shops, fudge shops, restaurants, ice cream places, mini golf,
beaches, bikes, scooters, and golf carts – all of this could have been at Block Island or Cape
Cod or any number of places.
It was interesting to note that the vegetation on the island is very different
than what we find at the beach, however. Full sized deciduous trees line
the streets and undeveloped areas instead of scruffy and wind- stunted pines.
We have just cooked dinner on board and hope to get to bed early. We are
headed for Detroit tomorrow, and with afternoon thunderstorms in the
forecast, we want to get an early start. The evening’s entertainment will be
watching the sun set over Lake
Erie, which is starting to
look pretty nice!
Detroit and the 2005 Fords
August 19, 2004
We arrived in Detroit this afternoon, after a rough ride on Lake Erie under cloudy skies and some rain. The seas were about 4 feet, and I
had to use all the tricks in the book to keep from getting seasick: looking at
the horizon, taking Bonine, wearing wristbands, chewing gum, and finally taking
a nap until it calmed down. Anyhow, my efforts were successful, and as we saw
the Detroit skyline in the distance, not only did I feel great,
but the sun was shining.
We are docked on Belle Isle, a huge island and park in the middle of the Detroit River and a great place for a bike ride. As we were
riding through the park, we heard a PA system and saw a tent set up and lots of
people congregated, so we rode over to see what was going on. It was kind
of a carnival atmosphere, with food vendors and music. We soon discovered that
the event was put on by Ford (Dearborn, MI), and they were showing their 2005 SUV, sedan, and
Mustang. People were lined up to take a turn test driving the cars around
a track. I guess that’s what you do when you live in Detroit. Kind of like the way we all line up in Hartford’s Bushnell Park to read the new insurance policies put out by
Travelers, right?
Grace is Happy!
August
22, 2004
Saturday afternoon, Grace was happier than she's been in a long, long time. She
had lots of passengers on board, everyone was having a wonderful time, and it
was a beautiful summer afternoon. You could practically see her
smile as she carried us along the St. Clair River in Algonac, Michigan.
A month or so before we left on our trip, we had
been in touch with Bob's sister Nancy. She and her husband Marc and the
two kids planned to be on the St. Clair River August 19th through the 21st, and
they wondered if it might work out for us to meet up with them. They were
planning to be there for a few days to meet up with Marc's family, who has a
cottage there on the river. At that point, we hadn't the foggiest idea
where we'd be on that date, although we certainly expected to be well beyond
the St. Clair River. Nevertheless, we told Nancy not to count on it, but
we would do the best we could to meet up with them.
Amazingly, as we drew closer to the date, it turned out that
we would arrive at a marina just about 5 miles from the cottage on the
afternoon of the 20th. There was no way we could have made this happen if we'd
tried, but clearly God, who controls the weather and everything else, had
decided that the visit was a good idea. When we got to Algonac, we were invited
to the home of Donna and Al, who served us a wonderful dinner, let us do our
laundry, and provided us with a wonderful evening of conversation, games, and
laughter. We met many wonderful people and were made to feel most welcome, as
we shared our scrapbook and stories of our trip.
The following day, we took a group of about 10 family
members on a cruise up the river to the cottage, where the rest of the family
was on shore waving and taking pictures. It was wonderful fun for all of
us. When we bought Grace, we hoped that she would make days like that possible,
where people enjoy one another, the sun, the breeze, and the water.
Fellow Loopers
August 25, 2004
We just met some fellow cruisers on
the Great Loop. A family from Florida, on a Sea Ray called “Hydro Therapy” left Florida in mid May, came up the ICW, and is now on the same
schedule we are, hoping to get home to Florida by Thanksgiving.
Kathy, Bob, and sons Jason and Michael (grades 8 and 6) are having a
fabulous trip. The boys are keeping
journals and writing reports on places of interest that they’ve seen. They will
be doing home school for the fall term, and I’m sure the education they will
get on this trip will be amazing!
All Alone on Lake Huron
August 26, 2004
Yesterday it really felt like we were a LONG way from home,
as we crossed the Saginaw Bay on Lake
Huron. The nearest shore was 17 miles away, and no
land was visible in any direction. We
arrived in Harrisville, MI, with a summer population of 550, after about 7 hours
of cruising on fairly rough seas (up to 5 foot waves). I was doped up on Bonine, so I felt OK, just
very sleepy. We’ve been without cell
phone service for a couple of days now, which feels very strange. I haven’t been writing much about the sights
we’ve seen, as it’s been pretty much just lots and lots of water, big waves,
and tiny towns. I miss civilization and
a house that doesn’t roll!!!
Freighters and Limestone in Rogers City
August 26, 2004
Today was a gorgeous day on Lake Huron, with nice calm seas and temperatures in the 80’s. We arrived in Rogers City in the early afternoon, in time to do some exploring
by bike of this intriguing town. The two
highlights were the Great Lakes Merchant Marine Museum and the limestone
quarries. Until today, the huge
freighters we’ve been seeing on the lakes didn’t interest me much, but the
museum helped me see the human side of these enormous (up to 1000 feet)
ships. The lady who ran the museum had
lost her father, at aged 35, in a wreck of one of these huge freighters. There have been many wrecks in this
particular area, and the men who served on the ships are local heroes. You’ve probably heard the Gordon Lightfoot
song, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” which happened on Lake Superior in 1975. That
was one of many wrecks that had devastating effects on the people who live on
the Great Lakes. People around
here learn to recognize all these freighters and enjoy keeping track of
sightings.
One of the products that’s
shipped in the freighters is limestone, and the largest limestone quarry in the
world is here in Rogers City. We rode our
bikes to the quarry tonight and were amazed at how enormous it was. Check out the website to see the huge scoop
that’s used to move the stone.
My entry about Rogers City would not
be complete without mentioning the world’s best lemonade which we had after our
bike ride (frozen lemonade slush), and the Mackinaw fudge ice cream, which was
out of this world! We are headed to Mackinaw Island this weekend, which is famous for their fudge; I
think our waistlines are in trouble!!!
Yah!
Kinda’ Funny Up North
August 29, 2004
We’ve been the last couple of days in Mackinaw City, MI, where Lakes Huron and Michigan come together and the northernmost point on our
trip. It was fun arriving in this busy tourist
town, after our travels up the remote and quiet shores of Lake Huron. Our weary eyes were dazzled by
at least a dozen fudge shops and an equal number of ice cream shops, dotted
amongst hundreds of gift shops, none of which sell anything more useful than a
“welcome to our neck of the woods” door knocker.
We attended a craft fair where we discovered hundreds of
new and creative uses for deer antlers and pine cones, and we ate the most
decadent of ice creams: Mackinaw Island Fudge – vanilla ice cream with hunks of
rich chocolate fudge throughout. Last
night, we decided to “get a little culture,” and went to the local summer
theater, where we saw “Men on Ice,” a musical comedy about ice fishing. A couple of hardy Norwegians in their ice
shanty in a sub zero Wisconsin winter share a couple of cases of Linenkugels
beer (they really drink that up here), poke fun at the Swedes, tell corny jokes
and fish stories, sing very funny songs, and in the end solve the deepest
issues of their hearts. It was a fun,
feel-good bit of Up North entertainment, you betcha!
Company!!!
August 31, 2004
Our good friends Jeanne and Terry drove 10 hours from Minneapolis on Sunday to meet us at the boat in Mackinaw City. Our first
full day with them on Monday was one of the greatest days we’ve had so
far. We took the ferry over to Mackinac Island, which is a lovely little island that does not allow
motorized vehicles of any kind. The
modes of transportation are bikes and horses, and horse drawn carriages and
wagons are used for everything from taxis to carrying freight. We rode our bikes around the 8 mile perimeter
of the island and enjoyed marvelous views everywhere we went. The downtown area has the combined aroma of
horse manure and fudge, as there are fudge shops on every block. After a delicious lunch at a cute spot
overlooking the harbor, we had the delightful experience of visiting the
Butterfly House, which was a greenhouse FULL of the prettiest, most colorful
butterflies you could imagine. They had classical waltz music playing, and the
butterflies had no fear of people. You could put your face right up next to
them, and they even sometimes landed on us (see photo gallery).
Today we cruised about 50 miles to Charlevoix, which is
pretty little town on Lake Michigan. We were happy
to discover an internet café here, so we can post our website. We’ve been out
of range for our cell phone for a while now, so we have no internet access and
have to pay 69 cent per minute roaming charges on our long distance. That’s no good!
The captain and crew are all napping now; the seas were a
bit rough today and we need some recovery time. Hopefully they will all be
energized by tonight so we can play some games and I can do my card tricks!!!