Sunday morning was delightful after several days of rain and storms so we prepared to leave. Three of the boats on the wall in Joliet were underway about the time we got up at 7:00 am. We left about 8:30 am along with the other boat on the wall. Just a couple of miles below the wall in Joliet was our first lock of the day. We locked through with the other boat Lydia E and for the first time we were in the lock with a commercial tow pushing 5 barges.
We left the lock and headed downstream for the next lock which was about 15 miles away. When we were within about 5 miles of the lock I called them to see what time we would be able to lock through. I was told that they were filling the lock in about 20 minutes for downbound pleasure boaters, so if I was there by them we could lock through at the same time. When we reached the lock about 10 minutes later we found the three boats who had left the Joliet wall early waiting on this lock. We all locked through together.
After leaving that lock we began to notice that the water level in the river was high and the banks were flooded. In addition, the water was full of logs and branches due to the high water. We also started hearing a Coast Guard broadcast on the VHF radio strongly advising pleasure boaters to not transit the Marseilles, IL lock and dam area due to the high water and strong current flow above the dam. Of course, this was the next lock in our journey downstream so we decided to go to a marina before the lock and dam and wait for the dangerous conditions to subside. We found out later that this dam had been the site of a commercial tow accident just three years earlier when the tow was unable to maneuver against the high current at the dam during flood conditions and was swept into the dam.
That night we had dinner at the restaurant and were very pleasantly surprised. Sharon took a chance the Maryland Crabcakes which turned out to be quite good and they were indeed Maryland style crabcakes! This is very unusual outside of Maryland as many places think they can "improve" on the crabcakes, but we all know there is no improvement possible on a true Maryland crabcake. I had a ribeye steak sandwich with sauteed onions and mushrooms which was also quite good and contained a sizeable piece of ribeye. We also found a very good beer, I have to say one of the best and most balanced IPAs I have every tasted.
The next day the Coast Guard was still broadcasting the warning about transiting the area so we elected to stay put. We borrowed the marina's courtesy car and went into the small town of Seneca, IL. Sharon went to the laundromat while I bought some boat supplies at the hardware and a few provisions at the grocery.
Back at the boat Sharon prepared and froze several meals so we could have them quickly later. I caught up on some boat projects, changing the generator impeller, replacing the pressure switches on the fuel transfer pump and tightening some connectors.
For the third day, the Coast Guard was still broadcasting the warning even though the water had gone down a foot. I called the lock and the Lockmaster advised me that most of the commercial tows were waiting and that the conditions above the dam were dangerous so he also recommended against coming through. We took his advice and stayed another day.
We left Chicago on Thursday after much debate. We had wakened to a terrible thunderstorm and it rained until mid-morning. Although our plans had been to leave that morning, the weather held us up. Finally, around noon it looked as though we had a weather window for our planned 40-mile trip, so we left. We entered our first lock since leaving the Trent-Severn Waterway in Canada right at the mouth of the Chicago River. We decided to take the shorter scenic route since we could get our boat under the low bridges along this route. I lowered our radar mast so our boat height would be just under 16 feet. The lowest bridges we would encounter along this route were 17 feet, The Chicago River winds right through the heart of downtown Chicago. It was quite a sight!
Soon we left downtown Chicago and the waterway became much more industrial in nature and we began to have our first encounters with "tows". Tows are tug boats pushing a series of barges and must be given a wide berth since they are not very maneuverable and take up a good portion of the width of the waterway. Fortunately, the captains are very helpful when they are contacted on the VHF radio by giving safe passing instructions.
We went through a section of the waterway that has been electrified in an attempt to prevent the Asian Grass Carp from getting into the Great Lakes.
We went through our second lock of the day and then finally arrived at Joliet, IL where the town provides a free dock including electricity to encourage boaters to stop in town.
We were hardly there an hour before Jake had a run-in with the Joliet police, but pretty soon Elwood, his buddy from another boat, bailed him out and they went on a mission from Dog.
We were planning to leave Friday but it was raining with more predicted, so we stayed. Later that evening all of the people we had met there, some we had seen before and some new friends threw us a dock party.
Saturday was predicted to be stormy all day, so we elected to stay then as well. We took an Uber to a local grocery store and restocked the boat with groceries and booze. Later we took an Uber to Mass at a local church, St. Patricks.
We just stayed for a quick overnight in Racine but did not look around much because we wanted to get to Chicago the next day. Below are a couple of pictures of the harbor entrance and the marina, which was huge.
We began to see the Chicago skyline from the lake when we were still 30 miles away. It was quite a sight as we pulled into the harbor and found our way to our slip at DuSable Harbor Marina. Below are the daytime and nighttime views from our slip.
We spent a couple of days in Chicago so we could see some of the sights. One day we went to the Field Museum where among other things we saw the display of the Terra Cota. Warriors that were buried with the first Emperor of China over 2000 years ago.
One day we went to the Nay Pier which was within walking distance of the marina. We didn't realize that the Navy Pier is basically a shopping mall. We did have our Chicago pizza here for lunch. For supper that night we also had another Chicago delicacy for dinner, a Chicago-style hot dog. Let me give you a hint: Don't eat Chicago pizza and Chicago hot dogs on the same day!
While we were on the Navy Pier they must have overheard us talking about leaving the next day because that night they threw us a farewell fireworks show over the harbor right in front of our boat!
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August 11 through 13, 2016 Day 333 to Day 335 We arrived in Manitowoc, WI after a long day crossing Lake Michigan. The next two days were projected to be windy, so we settled in for a couple of more days waiting for the wind to die down. Saturday looked like a good travel day by the forecast so we planned to go to Milwaukee on Saturday, and then on to Chicago on Sunday. Every day the 410-foot coal-fired ferry "SS Badger" came into port. The SS Badger is a passenger and vehicle ferry that has been in service on Lake Michigan since 1953. Currently, the ship shuttles between Ludington, Michigan, and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, connecting U.S. Highway 10 between those two cities. It is the last coal-fired passenger vessel operating on the Great Lakes and was designated a National Historic Landmark on January 20, 2016. It was quite a sight belching smoke as it came in and went out again.
We walked into town and found a very nice pub called Ryan's on York that served food that was not typical pub fare. I had a bulgogi steak sandwich (Korean BBQ) and Sharon had Korean tacos. Each dish came with one pickled green bean that was so delicious we asked the chef to make up a plate of them as an appetizer for us. We also had a side order if Jamaican Jerk french fries. Interestingly, the portion sizes were smaller than those typically served in a pub, and the prices were smaller as well. Very different! We woke up Saturday morning expecting to travel to Milwaukee only to find that we were fogged in and it was raining, contrary to the forecast. We decided to wait and see if the weather cleared, but by the time it did it was afternoon and we did not want to start out that late, so we decided to stay another night. That evening we walked up to a local Catholic church for Mass to find that it was an outdoor Mass being held just before their annual church picnic. They called it a "polka" Mass and the music was provided by a polka band. I must say this is the first polka Mass we have ever attended. Here is a short video that will give you the flavor:
After Mass, we attended the church picnic for supper. All of the food and drinks were being sold at the picnic so we didn't feel like we were crashing the party. On Sunday the weather was calm so we fueled up, pumped out, and got on the way to Milwaukee. After we were on the lake and the boat was set on autopilot, I began checking my phone for email, news, etc. I found that Saturday night (the night we were supposed to be in Milwaukee) police had shot and killed a young criminal and riots had broken out in the city not too far from where we were planning to spend the night. We decided after reading about this racial tension in the city to not stop at Milwaukee and push on another 25 miles to Racine, WI. This is as close as we got to seeing Milwaukee:
July 17, 2016, through August 10, 2016
Day 307 to Day 332
We have been running and busy trying to get back to the USA during the period of time covered by this post. Consequently, I had not kept up with the blog, so hopefully this post will get us up to date.
7/17/16 - Little Current, ON
From Killarney, we went to Little Current as our next stop. We spent two days here since the wind was blowing quite hard from the west. While we were there Mike and Paige Cauldwell on Golden (another PDQ 34) came into port to pick up the new house batteries they had ordered from a marina in Little Current. We traded some stories with them and then they headed back to Killarney for the PDQ meet up scheduled for that Wednesday. We had already decided not to wait around for a couple of days for this meetup since we wanted to get back into the USA before our next grandchild was due to be born. We used the next couple of days to restock groceries and other essentials. I bought some locally smoked fish and made a tasty smoked fish dip with it. The picture below is the grotto we saw as we were leaving Killarney.
This is a lighthouse we saw as we approached Little Current. The lighthouses were built like this to house the lightkeeper's family.
Below is the swing bridge at Little Current that only opens on the hour, so if you don't arrive during the 10-15 minute window that it is open you wind up having to wait until the next hour.
7/19/16 - Meldrum Bay, ON
Once the wind subsided at Little Current we made the run to Meldrum Bay. On the way, we saw another PDQ 34 going in the opposite direction. We hailed them and it turned out to be Bob and Lynn Allison on Moxie. They pulled alongside and we talked for a few minutes. They were on their way back to Killarney for the meet up of PDQs scheduled for the next day. We told them we had decided against attending and said our farewells.
When we arrived in Meldrum Bay the water there in the marina was the clearest that we had seen during our trip. At our dock, we were in 12 feet of water and could count every pebble on the bottom. I finished stripping the dogs of their winter coats and then they went for a swim on the nearby boat ramp. They love chasing and retrieving sticks from the water. That evening after supper we walked a couple of blocks to the only restaurant in town and had a dessert. Later that night we had a beautiful full moon over Meldrum Bay.
7/20/16 - Drummond Island Customs and DeTour, MI
From Meldrum Bay, ON we went back into the USA to the Drummond Island Yacht Club which is the only USA customs reporting station in the area. We pulled up to the dock there and were met by two customs agents. They looked at our passports and boat papers, asked a few questions, then we were done! They did not board the boat and after they gave us a report number to record we went on to the municipal marina in DeTour, MI just a few miles further along. Later that evening Rafe Williams on Cat Daddy (another PDQ 34) pulled into the slip next to us. He came over for docktails and then left us with some of his oversupply of butter tarts from Canada. We wound up staying for a couple of days at DeTour waiting for calm weather.
7/23/16 - Petoskey, MI
We finally got a good weather window to leave DeTour, MI on Saturday. The plan had been to stop overnight at Mackinac Island where we had a reservation. While we were in DeTour we learned that our daughter-in-law had been scheduled to have a C-section the following Friday since the baby was in a breech position and the doctors had not been able to turn her during the preceding couple of weeks. After we examined the weather forecast it was evident that the only good travel day we would have in the next few days was Saturday, so we decided to skip Mackinac Island and push on to Petoskey, MI where we could leave the boat while we drove back to Charlottesville for the birth. We rode past Mackinac Island on the way to Petoskey and saw some of the grand hotels from the water. While going past the island and through the Straights of Mackinaw we were continually waked by the many, many ferries traveling back and forth to the island from mainland ports all around the island. It was a miserable 5-6 miles until we were through the straits and back into calmer water.
We spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday in Petoskey since the car rental places were closed and did not reopen until Monday morning. We took the opportunity to walk around the quaint town of Petoskey and to attend Saturday evening Mass at a very nice Catholic church in town. The Mass was said by a visiting Bishop and we enjoyed hearing him. Many of the churches we attend are very small and many of them do not even have their own priest. This church was different in that it was large and very active.
7/26/16 to 8/4/16 - Trip to Charlottesville, VA
On Monday morning we rented a car from Enterprise and started out on our two-day drive to Virginia. Our son Patrick and his wife Kara live in Charlottesville, VA, and the baby Olivia would be born at the UVA hospital there. Our son Michael and his family live in Culpeper, VA which is about an hour drive from Charlottesville. Michael and his wife Maureen graciously allowed us to stay at their house while awaiting the birth of Olivia. On Friday Olivia was born and Sharon and I got to see and hold her. Below you see us holding the baby and the proud parents Kara and Patrick also holding her. Photo credit to Patrick for the pictures.
The Saturday after Olivia's birth our granddaughter Rebecca played the flute for Mass that evening so we got to see her in action.
The next day our granddaughter Elaine showed her horse in a local horse show. She bought "Oakley" a year ago after he was not doing really well on the thoroughbred racing circuit and retired from racing. She has been training him as a jumper and this was only his second show. Elaine and Oakley won Reserve Champion for his group!
8/5/16 - Mackinaw City, MI
After an enjoyable and eventful family visit, we left Virginia and headed back to Michigan. On the way, we stopped in Pittsburg to visit our niece Kathleen who is living there. We made the return trip in three days instead of two, setting a more leisurely pace. At the last minute, we decided to bypass Petoskey and go to Mackinaw City for a relaxing night in a hotel. We had a beautiful view from our beachfront room of Mackinac Island and Lake Huron.
We explored the city and had dinner at a local restaurant where Sharon wrote Olivia's birth date on the wall.
8/6/16 - Return to Petoskey, MI
After our relaxing night in the hotel, we returned to Petoskey to find Duane and Diane Ising on Diva Di (another PDQ 34) on the same dock as we were. We had docktails with them on our boat that evening and caught up on each other's adventures since we had seen them last in Midland. Since they were staying the next night as well we had docktails on their boat the next night. Diva Di left Sunday, and we waited until Monday so we could go to Mass on Sunday and return the rental car Monday morning. When the town fathers heard that we were leaving on Monday they brought out a live band and threw us a farewell party in the park by the marina.
8/8/16 - Fairfort, MI
We traveled from Petoskey to Fairfort, MI on a very calm day on Lake Michigan. along the way we saw Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakefront where some of the sand dunes approach 500 feet high.
We stayed two days in Fairfort, eating in a local brewpub for two meals. On our last night there we ran into Jim and Christine on Crash (NOT another PDQ 34) who we had originally met in Belhaven, NC and had last seen in Norfolk, VA in early May. They had taken a slightly different route that we had, and we swapped war stories with them about our travels.
8/10/16 - Crossing Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, WI.
After two days in Fairfort, the weather looked like we could get across the lake to Manitowoc, Wisconson, a distance of about 78 miles, without too much difficulty. I wanted to make the remaining trip to Chicago along the western shore since the lake is less affected by the prevailing westerly winds on that side than on the eastern side. The ride began a little rougher than expected and we discussed turning back. Since the forecast called for the winds to subside throughout the day we decided to tough it out a little longer, and finally, the winds and waves subsided enough for us to make the rest of the trip in relative comfort. While on this crossing we went many miles without seeing another boat, without seeing any land, with no cell phone coverage, and in water over 800 feet deep.
