Crossing Our Wake

Homeward bound, Friday, October 19th. Leaving the Tampa area after refueling, we decided that even Sarasota was not a sufficient attraction versus getting to Ft. Myers by going outside (in the Gulf) while the weather was tolerable. So, we returned again to the Gulf of Mexico and pointed the boat south. Because of shoaling around the entrance of both Tampa Bay and our destination Boca Grande, we were forced to go slightly offshore again into 4 ft plus rollers and the wind. By late afternoon, we rounded the marks and headed into Charlotte Harbor and past the old lighthouse at Boca Grande. (Picture). Inside and back in familiar waters we passed Captiva and Sanibel islands, down the “miserable mile” to Shell Point and finally up the river a few miles to marker 73 and the entrance to Gulf Harbour Marina. Passing our condo building and into a very quiet marina about 5:30 pm. We had returned and crossed our wake. As we turned to back into our slip, a group of friends greeted us with signs, cheers and liquid cheers. What a great surprise. It was good to get back and see old friends again.

Ned

P.S. Even though we’re not sure of the exact mileage, (it’s about 5,600 miles.), we did count 103 locks. I’ve told Judy not to total up the gallons of fuel because that would only give me a terrible headache……. But what a trip! We saw a lot of country and good friends along the way. And special thanks to Judy, who in spite of almost losing a toe in northern Michigan, had a positive attitude and was a great supporter. She was the one who went out on deck in wind, rain and rolling seas while I sat inside, high and dry. Thank you dear. We had the trip of a lifetime, …together.

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The Land of Shallow Water

Pardon the delay in updating this blog. It’s been several days without Internet connections and no pictures. (How do you take pictures of shallow water?) . We left Carrabelle on Wednesday morning after spending three days in that port, waiting for the weather (and waves) to calm down out in the Gulf of Mexico. Because the trip out into the Gulf is long, about a 160 plus miles to Clearwater, weather is quite a factor. If the weather were bad or your boat had trouble making a long jump like that, there was an alternate site about 80 miles away, called Steinhatchee, Florida. We headed out after being warned by the marina folks that it was not a good idea and that we’d probably return. Well they were right and it was lousy out there. Instead of returning to Carrabelle, we turned and plowed our way to Steinhatchee, running right into a strong easterly wind and waves. Terrible trip, but we made it only to arrive in the shallow water town of Steinhatchee at low tide. The marina where we intended to get fuel told us not to approach their dock, since the water level was too low, and instead directed us to a competitor where there was slightly more water. We did bump bottom but made it to their dock and got our fuel topped off for the long run the following day. Opting to stay at their fuel dock for the night (without any electric or water connection), they offered us the “loaner” truck and some instructions to “Roy’s”, the local fish house where the fresh grouper was delicious. Thursday morning we were underway after daybreak and headed out of Steinhatchee and out the five miles through “Deadman’s Bay” to slightly deeper waters, intending to run south to Clearwater. Because we were now on the eastern side of the Gulf and protected slightly by the Florida land mass, we hopped for a smoother ride. The only problem was that overnight, the wind had shifted to the southeast and again we ran into the wind and waves. It was a long run and because of the seas, we were forced to go slower, however we did arrive off Clearwater around 3:30 pm and felt that AWEIGH could go further toward Tampa Bay. Our original destination was The Vinoy Hotel and Marina, in St. Petersburg, but we found out that they were not reopening until November, so we ducked into Tierra Verde Marina near Bradenton. Bad choice, since their dock master told us he was going home at 5:00 pm and couldn’t help us dock and further, that the only slip available was only 16 feet wide. Now our boat has a beam (width) of 15 foot, 8 inches. That left all of 2 inches on each side. That’s a challenge, but we made it only in, only to find that there was no water available anywhere near our slip. To add additional insult, the following morning as we filled our fuel tanks, we discovered that their fuel was perhaps the most expensive price per gallon on the entire trip. As you can imagine, the decision was made to head for home and Gulf Harbour rather than spend more time in the Tampa area where we’ve been several times before. As Judy said, “We’re outa here” 

Ned

Yacht Sinking

Sunday evening in Carrabelle was exciting to say the least. After a quiet day in port waiting for the seas to calm down, we thought nothing much happens on Sunday. Wrong!
We had walked to the grocery store for a few things and stopped on our way back and started hearing the news on the waterfront. Two fishermen in a very small boat (19 ft.) had gone to sea on Saturday and apparently their boat had capsized in the heavy seas and they spent the night clinging to their overturned boat before being rescued Sunday afternoon. They were local men and one had seven children at home.
Later in the evening, as we were watching the 10 pm news on television, there was a thud and something hit the dock, causing our boat to rock. Rushing up on deck, we saw a large yacht, sinking by the stern and being tied up to the dock directly behind us. The boat, a 67 ft. Skipperkey yacht being moved to Ft. Lauderdale from Wisconsin, had taken on water in the engine room, while about 60 miles out at sea. The flooding caused the boat to lose all power and required that they issue a Mayday call to the Coast Guard, who responded with a spotter plane and a helicopter which dropped pumps. Of course all of this was in the middle of the night and in fairly rough seas. This was not weather related, but probably a mechanical problem. A nearby fishing boat was able to secure a tow line and all day Sunday was spent towing the vessel toward Carrabelle. When they arrived behind us, only the stern was flooded as can be seen in the first picture. The second picture shows the Coast Guard personnel talking to the delivery captains about 1am, which is when Judy and I went back to our boat and to bed.
Apparently during the night, in the course of trying to salvage the boat, several compartments were opened, which allowed additional flooding. The boat sank at the pier as shown in the third and fourth pictures and now will require extensive work to refloat. What a mess. The boat was a brand new $1.5 million dollar luxury yacht and will cost a small fortune to repair. We had intended to head out this morning, but hearing stories and seeing a boat sink, made us decide to stay in port at least another day and wait for things to calm down.

Ned Remember you can double click pictures to enlarge

House on a Boat!

After almost six thousand miles of travel, I thought we had seen just about everything until yesterday afternoon. After rounding the bend in a narrow stretch of water, near an area called the Marsh Swamp, we came upon a house on a boat! It was a frame cabin home built on a barge. There were six or seven guys on board having a great time as they traveled along. They waved and saluted us with cans of beer as we cruised by them.

The other sighting that thrilled the first mate was that of dolphins jumping right beside our boat! I tried to get a picture, but my trigger finger wasn’t fast enough! It is good to be back with the dolphins!

When we last blogged a few days ago, we were headed for Panama City, we thought, on an outside run. That did not happen because when we got out it was rather bumpy, so we “turned tail” and headed back to the Intra-Coastal to proceed on our way. Dockage, in Panama City was at a very nice marina, Bay Point. It is part of a Marriott Resort complex.

Yesterday we arrived in tiny Carabelle, FL and although it is sunny and pretty, we may be here for a few days waiting for the wind to shift direction or at least die down some before making our 170 mile crossing in the Gulf to Clearwater. Looking forward to getting down to central Florida where we may stop in St. Pete or area for a few days before finishing our journey.

Judy

A Visit with the Munroes

On Thursday morning, we got underway very early, about 6:30 am, and headed for the last lock, on our trip, number 103. Whew! No more locks. It was a good run of more than 100 miles before we entered salt water again. We cruised past Mobile, Alabama and into the long Mobile Bay. Half way down the bay, AWEIGH turned into a shallow channel leading to the Dog River Marina. It was more of a shipyard than a marina, but they had a loaner car which we borrowed to drive back into Mobile where we found a seafood restaurant next to the permanently moored battleship, USS Alabama.

The next morning, we arose later than usual, then headed down Mobile Bay to the Intercoastal Waterway and east toward Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama to visit with Hugh and Maria Munroe. We docked in a new marina and shopping complex called Marina at the Wharf. It was quite an impressive facility. We enjoyed visiting with the Munroes and seeing their lovely home and the surrounding area. This whole area is really growing fast.
Today, Thursday,Oct. 11th, we traveled a short distance to Pensacola and after docking, headed off to visit the Naval Air Museum. It was most interesting and four hours passed before we knew it.
Tomorrow, its off to Panama City. The weather forecast is very good so we plan to run outside. We are getting rather anxious to get back to Fort Myers!

Bobby’s Fish Camp

Today we covered 98 miles from Demopolis to Bobby’s Fish Camp. We moved right along and even got through the Demopolis Lock right away. We had to stop here at Bobby’s to insure we had enough fuel to run hard and cover the next 118 miles to Mobile. Yeah---civilization at last and ONLY one more lock---the last of the 103 locks on this Loop adventure. This part of the trip is what our grand daughter , Megan, would call boooring!
There is nothing to tell about Bobby’s Fish camp except it is a bunch of trailers and a fuel dock—it is kind of the armpit of Alabama. In fact, the picture almost makes it inviting, but you can’t see the old house trailers and the trash surrounding them. You dock yourself, walk up the hill and ask them to turn on the fuel. Then you fuel and walk back up and pay. Talk about slow fuel. There is no pump, it’s gravity fed. We’re tied up here for the night—no electric service and no water yet they charge for dockage. Thank goodness for the generator and our sufficient water tanks.
AWEIGH will leave here at dawn’s early light!
Judy

Big Blue in ‘BAMA’

Today, Sunday afternoon October 7th , finds us in Demopolis, Alabama at the Demopolis Yacht Basin and boy is it a stretch to call it a Yacht Basin We are here because it’s the only marina period. After fueling ourselves and docking ourselves, we took the loaner car to see the thriving metropolis of Demopolis. Enter Big Blue which was a navy Lincoln Continental Town Car. It doesn’t look so bad from the outside but the inside was dirty and trashed. All knobs were missing. The windshield wipers kept cutting on, the air conditioning was broken and the windows on my side (of course the first mate’s side) did not go down. And it was hot. (90 degrees plus). We laughed all the way to Walmart where we went to buy groceries and a newspaper. We asked the checkout girl for six quarters in change for the newspaper machine for the Sunday paper and that totally threw her. She said, “I didn’t know the paper cost $1.75” !!

Travel today was rather routine with trees etc along the river bank, until we came to one area where the shoreline was lined with white limestone in an area called The Cliffs of Epps. Quite interest and different.
I figured out today that so far, we have traveled 693 miles in two weeks, but of course, five of those days we did not travel at all for various reasons.
Tomorrow, it’s off to Bobby’s Fish Camp, the only place to stop before reaching Mobile
Bay. Bobby’s is a run of 98 miles and then Mobile Bay is another 100 miles from there.
Stay tuned!
The first mate



Car
Cliff of Epps

The Tenn-Tom

After leaving Aqua Yacht Harbor on Thursday, we headed south on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway which runs south to Mobile Bay. It is known as the Tenn-Tom and has 12 locks each of which is 600 feet long and 110 feet wide. The first lock, Whitten Lock, is the fourth highest in the United States and we went down 84 feet. The picture shows the nine story high lock doors opening. Late that afternoon, we docked at Midway Marina near Fulton, Mississippi—kind of the middle of nowhere. That evening we had a good fried catfish dinner at a small restaurant adjacent to the marina. It was all town folk there as we were the only transient boat in the marina. Friday dawned another hot sunny, day. We covered only 54 miles but transited four locks before arriving at the Columbus, Mississippi Marina . We borrowed the Loaner car and drove around a little to see this quaint southern town which has some old historic homes and the Mississippi University for Women. The first public college for women in America. After the Civil War, a group of Columbus women decorated graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers buried in Freindship Cemetery. This event started out as Decoration Day and was later adopted as National Memorial Day.

A new restaurant, Woody’s, was adjacent to the marina so we had dinner there. It was quite a nice place with white tablecloths and much more of a gourmet menu that one would expect at a marina restaurant. Today, Sat., it was again, hot and sunny. I don’t think I’ll be wearing the jeans and long sleeve shirts I brought expecting at least cool mornings and evenings somewhere along the way. I think we are to far south for that now.

We almost had an extra passenger when we left the Columbus Marina. The cat shown in the picture hopped up onto our bridge this morning and settled in for a time. Ned coaxed him off but he was quite a jumper and a few minutes later he was back. He had a cute personality, but no tail! Today we traveled 65 miles, and did two locks. Another slow day with fishermen out on the weekend. Tonight we are at an anchorage about 54 miles north of Demopolis, Alabama. The first mate thinks this river stuff is getting old and she is ready to get to Mobile Bay in a few days. First Mate

AWEIGH on the “hard”

Quick Note: We've had terrible problems getting Internet connections in small towns and remote anchorage locations. So, it's been almost a week since we were able to post. Sorry.
That’s a boaters description of taking a boat out of the water for storage or repairs. At noon on Tuesday, (October 2nd), we brought the boat to the boat yard and she was hauled out for inspection of the propellers. Interestingly, there was a large mass of 3/8” line wrapped around one shaft and the other prop was knocked slightly out of alignment. It’s critical that all three blades of a propeller be in perfect alignment. If one blade is out only a quarter of an inch, that will cause vibration, which can result in even worse problems. Fortunately, we carried a spare set of props that had been aligned, so they were installed. It still is a rather difficult job to break seventy pound propellers off their shafts, but the yard crew did a great job. After power washing the bottom of the boat and cleaning off the growth that starts on all boats, even in fresh water, they launched the boat and we returned to our transient slip. The attached picture shows the yard area where AWEIGH had the work done. Unfortunately, I left my camera on board and there was no way to get it off, so the picture does not show our boat “on the hard”. Later that afternoon, a man arrived to start working on our master stateroom head (toilet) which had failed shortly after we left Alton. Despite all my efforts, I could not solve the problem of the system’s failure to generate a vacuum. The vacuum pump is located under and behind an area that can only be accessed by crawling through a tiny hole. It required a small, thin man with the strength to work with one hand while supporting himself with the other and this yard had just the man. He worked for quite a while before the problem was isolated. It was not in the vacuum system, but in the line which ran under the floor. Over the years, the line had drooped down until it rubbed on the starboard drive shaft. It took years to wear through, but eventually a small hole was made which caused the problem. They somehow were able to change that section of piping and we were back in business again. Life is good now that the mater bathroom works even though we do have a second head forward on the boat. Enough of the technical stuff. Wednesday morning, Judy and I took one of the loaner cars and drove to nearby Shiloh National Park to visit the battlefield and visitors center. Shiloh was the site of a fierce Civil War battle involving 65,000 Union and 44,000 Confederate troops. Nearly 24,000 men were killed or wounded there in two days of fighting. It was very moving to walk through the National Cemetery and see so many unidentified graves.

Pickwick Lake

Leaving the anchorage, AWEIGH continued up the Tennessee River ( heading South) until we finally arrived at the Pickwick dam ( 65 feet up). The method of securing the boat in these big locks is interesting and sometimes challenging. We have to loop one end of a line around a floating bollard, that’s built into the lock wall. The other end gets attached to a cleat. Judy’s job is to lasso the bollard as we come alongside. Actually she’s getting pretty good. The picture was taken looking up the side of the lock in the slot where the floating bollard rises. It is like a six story building.

Pickwick Lake is a large man made lake (55 miles long) created by damming the Tennessee River. Although the river continues on for several hundred miles, we left the Tennessee and began the Tombigbee Waterway which runs four hundred miles down to Mobile Bay. Because of our boat problems, we elected to stay at a good service facility, known as Aqua Yacht Harbor. It is located right in the corner of Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. We found this 600 slip marina and boat yard to be a first class marina with very capable, professional repair people.
After two nights at anchor, it was nice to hook up to power and water again. In order to get the work done, we needed two days there. The first evening at Aqua Yacht, we took one of their loaner cars and went to dinner with a couple from Indianapolis who are also doing the Loop.

Life on the Tennessee River

Sunday was another slow day on the Tennessee River with many recreational boaters and “good ole boys” out fishing. The captain made a decision to run the boat at a slow speed (8 knots) because of vibration problems at higher speeds. He thought our props might have snagged a floating line or maybe a prop was bent because we had hit a log on two different occasions. Once was on the Mississippi and the other on the Ohio River. These floating logs, called “dead heads,” are generally below the surface and so are difficult to detect. The plan was to get to Pickwick Lake where there were marine facilities to haul the boat.
Many times on the river we passed cottages built along the banks that reminded us of the places we stayed years ago at Ocean Isle beach in North Carolina. The one pictured here must have been built for the next 100 year flood because it was so high above the ground. At one point, we rounded a bend and saw cows coming down to the river for a drink. This was definitely a rural setting.

Again late in the afternoon, we found a peaceful anchorage behind an island called Swallows Bluff. Some young people were parasailing on the river nearby, ….. an unusual sight in the middle of nowhere. Along the way that afternoon, we discovered that our Direct TV antenna could still get local St. Louis stations so we took turns going below to watch the Rams go down to yet another defeat! That evening, we watched the Ken Burns PBS special called “The War”. Right in the middle of it, we lost the satellite signal so we played some cards the rest of the evening. Life isn’t very exciting these days but it is surprising how tired we are each night!

Green Turtle

When we last blogged, we were at Green Turtle Bay Marina and Resort
That Friday (September 28th), we stayed to have some minor plumbing work done, but because they did not have the parts needed, the repair didn’t happen. It was a beautiful day so we rented a golf cart from the resort and went to the little town of Grand Rivers, Kentucky, for an ice cream float and to pick up a few items at the local IGA store. Because we had the cart, we returned that evening with some boater friends to have dinner at Patti’s 1880 Settlement restaurant which features good country style cooking with huge portions. It was a challenge to drive the couple of miles down rural roads after dark to return to the marina.
Saturday dawned clear and warm. After fueling, we were underway about 9:30. We headed down Barkley Lake to the Barkley Canal cut which took us into Kentucky Lake. Since it was a weekend with beautiful weather, there were lots of fishermen and houseboats out on the Lake. We needed to proceed at a slower pace. The scenery was lovely and I could only imagine the beauty we would see along the tree lined shores, if the trees had started to turn color, but they had not. Kentucky Lake became the Tennessee River as we headed South, and even though we were heading South, we had to report our location to the few passing tows we encountered as “upbound”. The Tennessee River is one of a very few rivers in the United States that runs north.
Late that afternoon, we found a peaceful, secluded anchorage aptly called Birdsong Creek because it was near a rookery! An evening at anchor in a secluded spot, safe from the towboat traffic, was very relaxing and enjoyable!

LONG DAY ON THE RIVERS

The rain NEVER materialized until Wednesday evening when we were anchored just off the I-57 Bridge on the Mississippi, about four miles north of the Ohio. There are no marinas from Hoppies for the next 257 miles so you must anchor out. Of course, the swift current of the river (four to five knots) plus the continue barge traffic all night makes it a real challenge. Craig and Mary Lou Anderson, we joined you in the ‘bad anchoring experience club” with the Captain and first mate exchanging unfriendly words! We had to move four times before the anchor would hold in the muddy bottom –even with almost 150 feet of chain out. The long anticipated rain came that evening along with exciting lighting. Thursday was a looooong day on the Ohio and Cumberland rivers with a gazillion tows and barges. It was capped by a three hour wait at one lock. Try holding a boat in one place for three hours in a swiftly moving river. Finally, we arrived at Green Turtle Marina, a very nice marina on Barkley Lake, part of the Kentucky Lakes. It was after dark when we came in and Ned did a masterful job of getting us into a strange marina. Another boat was following us and after docking, we all quickly changed and went to the Yacht Club for a drink (or two) and dinner. Today, Friday, we remained at Green Turtle to have a minor plumbing repair but they did not have the needed part, so forget the repair for now. We will leave in the morning, continuing South. This Gulf Turtle Marina is filled with Loopers who are all heading south to the Looper Rendezvous in northern Alabama…… Don’t plan to attend. We are not sure what kind of cell phone service we will have down through Tennessee and Alabama but we will blog when we can. Keep those e-mails coming so we know what is going on in the real world.
Posted by the First Mate, Cook , Launderer and all around utility person! HEY, someone has to blow my Horn!





Captain's Note...
Just had to add the adjacent picture of queer little boat that stayed a night or two at Hoppie's. It's a homemade "boat" about fifteen feet long with a 10' x 10' box with roll down canvas sides and a very small outboard motor. A young couple left Minneapolis and planned to go all the way to New Orleans. The sides were down when I took the picture because it was starting to rain. They were brave souls !

ON THE WATERWAYS AGAIN!

Like ole Willie Nelson, we’re on the road again…….. ……….
We pulled the boat out from under it’s shady resting spot in the Alton marina and into the Mississippi River on Sunday morning September 23rd. After traveling through the two St. Louis locks (Mel Price and Chain of Rocks), under Eads Bridge, past the Arch, and down river for forty two miles, we reached our destination, Hoppies Marina (marina is stretching it) in Kimswick where we sat for the next two days. It seems that our first week underway is always exciting, but this first week wasn’t as bad as the first week last spring. Upon arrival Sunday afternoon, we received a phone call from our neighbor’s daughter saying there was a leak in her Mothers unit that was coming from above, which was our condo. SO, on Monday we got a rental car and drove back to check things out. There was nothing we could find to indicate it came from our place and we made arrangements that would reassure our elderly neighbor that things were O.K. Back to Hoppies! By then the weather forecast wasn’t sounding at all promising, with strong winds and rain expected, so we delayed our departure until Wednesday morning. Because all cruisers talk about their stay at Kimswick and the friendly folks that run the marina, we were most anxious to meet them in person. Fern and Hoppie are a couple who have been greeting and helping cruisers on the Mississippi for many years. Hoppie was injured a few years ago in an accident at the marina, and Fern has almost single-handedly been running the whole operation. She holds briefing sessions about the river and various potential anchoring points. Since their marina is one of the very last spots for fuel and shelter before Kentucky Lakes, her information is important. By the way, Hoppie is the last surviving river man who lit lamps as a young man, for night navigation, as did his father before him. They are an amazing couple. The pictures are of their marina which consists of three old barges near Kimswick, and that’s Fern.

Grandchildren

O.K. …. Like all grandparents, we had to show you pictures of the grandkids and why we wanted to spend plenty of time in St. Louis.
Megan started kindergarten on August 22nd and Mimi was very glad to be home for that big day. Little brother Evan even wore a backpack to help send Megan off on her first day. They are pictured with their parents Todd and Julie.
Grandsons Trevor and Austin came to the boat one afternoon. Trevor thought it would be “cool” to drive AWEIGH. Their parents, Jeff and Kristen are not pictured here.

Kirkwood Coffee Group checks out AWEIGH

Twenty one members of the historic Kirkwood Coffee Club today, made a special trip to Alton, Illinois to inspect and verify that AWEIGH was still afloat and able to continue it's journey South.

Although the primary reason for the visit may have been the anticipated lunch at the famous or infamous, Fast Eddie's Bon Air in nearby downtown Alton. After driving the thirty miles from Kirkwood and visiting the boat, they pronounced AWEIGH seaworthy and able to proceed.

The boat visit went better than the trip to Fast Eddie's when it was discovered that they didn't open until after 1 pm, which was almost an hour away. This group was too hungry to wait and so returned to the safe confines of Kirkwood and a group lunch at Graham's Grill. The time mixup can be blamed on the author who has only been to Eddie's on Fridays when they open at 11 am.

The Kirkwood Coffee Club is group of almost fifty business and retired members who have met daily for conversation, fellowship, golf and other activities for over sixty plus years.

Remember you can double click the picture to enlarge it.

Home at Last!

Leaving our anchorage, we slowly continued downstream about thirty miles to the juncture of the Illinois River with the Mississippi River. Because long day of running at higher speeds the day before and my failure to want to buy too much extra fuel at Peoria, we needed to conserve fuel and run at a low speed to make it to Alton. Unfortunately, the temperature in the Midwest was in the high ninety’s and it was miserable creeping along down the Illinois and then the last eleven miles down the Mississippi.
What a change in scenery as we left the flat land surrounding the Illinois River to the huge river bluffs of the Mississippi valley. Imagine our pleasure as we rounding a bend in the Mississippi and were able to spot the familiar outline of the Clark Bridge which spans the river at Alton, Illinois.
About two in the afternoon, AWEIGH backed into a covered slip adjacent to the Clark Bridge in Alton Marina and the engines were turned off. We had arrived in St. Louis. After some clean up and quick packing, we were picked up early that evening by Todd and Julie along with grandchildren, Megan and Evan. Boy, were we glad to see them and be home for a while.
AWEIGH is so happy to be in the shade of a covered shed on these hot, dog days of August, that she wants to stay for a while, so we won’t be doing this blog for about a month. After that, it’s off again to Florida.

Goodbye for now

Ned and Judy

Peoria and Beyond

Sunday, August 5th and we left our snug anchorage behind Willow Island and headed south along the Illinois River. Actually anchoring out is very comfortable and relaxing, …….. if you have the right spot with plenty of room to swing about, if you have set the anchor properly and don’t drag anchor during the night, and if you are anchored out of the channel and a towboat doesn’t get you, otherwise, it’s fine.
Sunday was hot and by mid afternoon the heat was getting to us when we reached Peoria. The Illinois Valley Yacht Club ( IVY as it’s known), was a nice club with a very nice clubhouse and pool. The only negative was their very slow fuel pump and very high priced diesel fuel. It took over an hour to pump two hundred gallons and I thought we owned part of the club after paying the bill. After docking and showers, we headed for the club house for their Sunday night buffet featuring the best real fried chicken, with mashed potatoes, and wonderful gravy and all other fixings. We pigged out, but it was real “comfort” food and we loved it.
Because we were looking forward to getting to St. Louis and stretching our legs ashore, the decision was made to really push hard and try and cover some distance. So, Monday morning we were underway by 7am and heading down the river amid all the towboats and barges. Within an hour we arrived at the Peoria lock only to be told that the lock was under construction. They were opening and closing the lock doors using small tug boats to push the doors open and closed. Also, because of the size of some of the tows, they had to break the tows in half and lock through side by side, then make up the tow again. We waited almost an hour and a half to get through going south. If we had been north bound, it could have been five or six hours, since there were over five towboats waiting to lock through and pleasure boats have to wait on all commercial vessels.
As the day wore on and the heat increased, we reached more open river areas and made better time. Also, since it was a weekday and there were very few locals fishing, we did not have to keep slowing down. Our boat throws a terrible wake and we must be careful of our speed. Once past Peoria, there are almost no towns with any docking facilities, so we kept going until almost 7pm when we finally settled on an anchorage just out of the channel. Between the heat of the day and the 135 miles we covered, sleeping that night was not a problem. We do have air-conditioning below decks and a faithful generator that keeps on ticking.

Heading South!

Wednesday morning dawned pretty and hot. As we left Ludington, we followed the
S. S.Badger out of port. It was smooth on Lake Michigan as we headed for Muskegon where AWEIGH docked about three o’clock. A little later Ed and Nancy Weise, Pam and Mike Foster picked us up at the marina and took us to the Foster’s lovely home on a nearby lake. We had a good visit and even got in a quick game of Shanghai before going to dinner. The Fosters have come to Ft. Myers the past two winters and it is always a pleasure to see them. The Weises summer travel in their motor home has crossed paths with us several times, but now we are off in different directions so we won’t see them until Nov. when we both return to Gulf Harbour.

Thursday morning was again pretty and calm and although we originally planned to stop at South Haven, we changed our minds and went directly to Michigan City, Indiana which was a little over 100 miles. We docked about two o’clock because we were back in the central time zone. The Michigan City Marina was huge---518 slips!

The Captain said “we will be on our way early Friday” and that we did. By nine o’clock we could see the Chicago skyline as we entered the Calumet River. From that point on the day was long, tedious and HOT but also interesting, as we plowed through the heavily industrial area of the Cal-Sag Canal. We went through 44 bridges (however, we only required 4 bridge openings) and at the end of the day, a lock which required forty five minutes of waiting before we could enter. We arrived at Joliet, Illinois where we planned to stop only to encounter another bridge for which we had to request an opening. It was closed for rush hour traffic from 4:15 to 5:15 and we arrived at 4:16, so again we waited and finally docked at Centennial Park about six. Shortly after that a gentleman came along and talked to Ned and told him that a few weeks earlier a barge had broken loose from its tow and slammed into a pleasure boat docked right where we were docked. At that point, we went inside and poured ourselves glass of wine! That evening there were some good fireworks—don’t know what the occasion was—but we enjoyed them from our boat.
oday, Saturday August 4th is our 45th anniversary! We left Joliet early, only to sit and wait first for a bridge opening and then for a lock entry. It was a very slow day and not much mileage was covered. Late this afternoon, it was raining and we weren’t near any marinas of size so we are anchored in a nice private and protected cove off the Illinois river..
At the speed we are able to travel here on the Illinois River, we probably won’t get to St. Louis until mid week even though it is only about two hundred forty miles. We definitely have a “heading for the barn” mentality.
Judy

Ludington and the Travis Family

AWEIGH left Frankfort Sunday on a beautiful clear day. The ride south to Ludington was smooth and enjoyable and on our approach to Ludington, we were able to cruise close enough to the shoreline that our friends the Travis’ could see me waving to them at their cottage, the Summer White House.

Harborview Marina, where we docked, is one of the nicest facilities we have stayed in during our entire trip. There are many amenities including a pool, workout room, separate library room and a nice large clubhouse.

Sunday evening Ed and Irene came for happy hour on the boat, followed by dinner at a popular local restaurant, Steamers. We had lots of catching up to do with the Travis’.

Monday was spent at Epworth at the Summer White House. It is tournament week so we watched Lynn Kavanaugh (Travis’ daughter) play her first match which she won. The picture is Lynn and her Dad. By the way, Lynn and our daughter-in-law Julie are best of friends. Ed, the master “barbecuer”, prepared wonderful chops for dinner and we were joined by Tracy Cain the daughter- in-law of our good friends Ann and Dan Cain.

Today (Tuesday), we were up early to see the S. S. Badger pull out of port and take it’s picture. The designation S.S. is for steam ship and it’s the only large ferry still operating in all the Great Lakes that is coal fired with original steam engines. It has been designated as a historic site and is truly a sight to see as see sails back and forth from Ludington to Manitowoc, Wisconsin twice daily. Badger at 410 feet long was and still is, the largest ferry to ever sail the lakes and was designed and built to handle railroad freight cars, but now only automobiles and passengers.

After breakfast, we called for public transportation—what a deal—they arrived in ten minutes and for one dollar each (senior citizen rate), took us to the clinic where I had my stitches removed in very little waiting time. The doctor thought my foot looked very good and it is much more comfortable without those eight stitches. Irene was going to take us there but we wanted to try the public transportation system and it is slick! I say this about every town, but Ludington is another charming, clean, friendly Michigan town. Later this afternoon we’ll get together with Ed and Irene, to have dinner together.

Today, Tuesday, is our grandson, EVAN’S third birthday! We’ll call him later today.

Wednesday morning we head further south to Musegeon. It has been quite hot here the last few days and I think the warm weather is preparing us for our return to St. Louis.

Judy

After leaving Grand Travis Bay, AWEIGH cruised leisurely down the coast of Michigan to the town of Frankfort. We passed the white cliffs of Sleeping Bear Park, which because of the partial fog and rain, we were unable to see and enjoy. Frankfort is a harbor of refuge which means that the entrance and inner harbor are protected from the storms on the lake. The light house marking the entrance is a 72 foot tall light and must have been a welcome sight to mariners of years ago.

The town of Frankfort is a charming small town with the ‘downtown” located just a short walk from our Jacobson Marina. We had dinner at a local restaurant last night and returned again this morning to wander the street sale which had the whole downtown area blocked off. (The picture of the street sale is interesting if you double click on the picture. That corner building was built in 1868). Of course, we had to visit the town bakery for coffee and a special local pastry…good. Further down the street by the municipal marina, there were about three dozen tents set up for an old time “Trapper Rendezvous” which was interesting to visit and view some of the rustic crafts available. Local musicians entertained the large crowds wandering the town.

Judy headed back to the boat to take advantage of the clean laundry in the marina and catch up on some laundry chores. (It’s hard to do sheets in our tiny washing machine), I stopped in the local drug store and who should I run into, but our neighbor and condominium president, from Country Club Terrace, Jack Taylor. The Taylors have been coming to this area for years and enjoying the cool summer weather and charming town of Frankfort.

We plan to stay again tonight and then head toward Ludington tomorrow morning.

Ned

Visiting Friends

Friday, July 27th –

This week has been a lot of fun traveling from one charming Michigan town to the next and visiting friends along the way.

Monday we were in Boyne City where we hooked up with our Florida neighbors, Ed and Nancy Weise who were in the area in their Motor home. They were kind to race up to Boyne City from Traverse City and take me back to Petoskey to see the orthopedic doctor about my foot. Ned had tried to get a rental car but none were available in the small town of Boyne City. After sitting in the doctor’s office for two plus hours, we enjoyed lunch and toured Petoskey before returning to the boat.
The next morning, after breakfast together we went to Charlevoix with Ed and Nancy and enjoyed shopping and seeing the unusual stone mushroom houses. Of course, we forgot the camera and so did not get any pictures of these unusual homes.

That afternoon, Jim Johanson picked us up in Charlevoix and took us to visit their lovely new home on Torch Lake. Jim and Katie are old friends, in fact, he was best man in our wedding almost forty five years ago! Jim is a long time competitive sailor and had to take Ned out on his new E boat. But with no wind, they quickly returned and we all took a ride up Torch Lake in Katie’s old (but completely rebuilt) “woody” power boat. After a great dinner together, they drove us back to our boat. Unfortunately, we had not taken our camera to Charlevoix and so did not have it with the Johansons, so we don’t have their picture to post.

Dale and Kathy Frost, longtime Kirkwood friends, also entertained us at their wonderful cottage on Elk lake. AWEIGH had pulled into the town of Elk Rapids and they came by and picked us up. We had a wonderful dinner there at their cabin, with steaks and fresh corn on the cob, followed by Kathy’s special blue berry pie for desert. Dale is quite a wine expert, with a wonderful cellar of outstanding wines, and provided special wines for the evening.. Dales’ sister Jeanette was visiting them and she was most enjoyable company for the evening. Their Michigan home is decorated by Kathy and reflects her many artistic talents.

We also had a nice visit with Jerry and Sandy Bedacht and their grandson Bradley who have a cabin at Suttons Bay. Jerry and Sandy are Gulf Harbour friends and it was fun to enjoy cocktails and watch the sun set as we looked out over the lake from their house. The five of us enjoyed a great dinner in Leland at the “Bird”as the popular Bluebird Restaurant is called. Jerry and Sandy wanted to be sure we didn’t lack for fresh fruit so they supplied us with wonderful Michigan cherries, blueberries apricots and red raspberries. Ned has “pigged out” on all the fresh fruit!

After this week, I can certainly see why people head for Michigan in the summer---ideal temperatures, beautiful lakes and small charming communities. Does it get any better?
My foot is healing nicely and I should get the stitches out early next week. AWEIGH is now in Frankfort, Michigan. This part of our trip is winding down and I am anxious to get home to St. Louis to see our grandchildren and to go to Coldwater. We should be there by mid-August.
Judy