If you ask most boaters if they have a sewing machine on board the answer is NO.  But here on Last Call I have my sewing machine and it is getting used a lot.  This is not for creating beautiful things like quilts, but for making and repairing things on board.  I am not what you call a seamstress, but I can put together simple things.

So far I have created chair covers, grill cover, Propane tank cover and gas tank cover for the dingy.    I’ve made a skirt that goes around the bottom section of our upper deck, repaired screens and sewed Velcro on any number of things.

I looked like Mary Poppins one day carrying my quilted covered machine down the dock to help a friend put all new Velcro on her blinds.

It is amazing how many times I have dug it out of the storage under the quarter birth. Plus we’re too cheap to pay someone to do something we can do ourselves.   I guess it will go on the 6000 mile trip with us.

Off to Bear Lake Tavern for dinner.  Our big boats won’t fit under the bridge to get there so off we go in our dinghies across Muskegon Lake, through the channel and to the restaurant. We all had the perch dinner which was superb. We cruised Bear lake and back home to watch the sunset.  Great evening, with great friends!

I am new to this whole blogging thing.  For the life of me I can’t figure out why my comment button doesn’t work.  I have,  what I think are the right buttons selected.  Don’t give up on me.  I’ll let you know when I get a revelation on how to fix it.

Computer illiterate Karen

If you want to see God Laugh just tell him your plans.

Plan A:  Leave in June or July and spend a month on the upper Ohio River before we head south on the Tennessee River. We went to a seminar and the presenters told us how many quaint town there are and how inexpensive it is because most of the towns have free docking because they want boaters to stop by.

Results of Plan A: Karen got Appendix cancer and wasn’t well enough to leave that early but the trip is still on. (I’m cancer free and doing well)

Plan B:  Leave Mid August go north, cut across to Wisconsin spend some time in Door County. Meet up with Karen’s parents, Scott’s Mom and sister.  Then head south and meed up with Niece Lauren and  Lee and baby Audie and Karen’s sister Terrie and Barry. Then onto Chicago to start our trip.

Results of Plan B

Scott ruptured a disc in his back and had surgery on Aug, 5.  Luckily the basic recovery is 4 weeks and we should be able to leave at the normal time people usually leave from Michigan which is early September.

Plan C

Leave as soon as we have a weather window to cross Lake Michigan immediately after Labor Day.

The great thing about the later departure is we won’t miss the Shrimp Boil or the President’s Dinner that our Marina puts on.

Two great opportunities to put on some winter fat so we will survive this adventure 😉

Flexibility is the name of the game.