7-16-18 Pictured Rocks and The Disappearing Tour Boat
Today was a day we were looking forward to…. Taking our own boat by Pictured Rocks National Park. One of the Geological wonders of the world. There are 43 miles of the coast considered Pictured Rocks National Park. 15 miles are the sandstone cliff that make this area a true wonder. We were so fortunate to take our own boat along the entire 43 miles. We took our time along the 15 miles. I might have take a few too many pictures. We left earlier in the day than we wanted to due to anticipated winds kicking up later in the day. It is best to see the cliffs in the afternoon when the sun is hitting them directly. We got to see plenty, but the photos are not as spectacular as they could have been later in the day.
One of the first sites we came upon was Spray Falls.
We started to see a few boats in the area, then we saw the kayaks near the arch areas which is very popular.
Kayakers at Lover’s leap. One of the most popular places.
We saw our first tour boat. These are pretty good size boats. Two decks high and certain much bigger than us. We watched the first one come around the point and shortly after that it was gone. We were watching our charts and were quite sure where it went. A few minutes later we saw it backing out from behind a rock.
When we got closer we saw realize there was a rather large cut in the rocks. Love my Captain. He’s always very cautious, but also adventurous. He knew if that big boat could go in there, so could we. It was amazing! Sheer cliff strait up on 3 sides of us. Beautifully colored and shaped rock. Very cool moment!
This is the rock the tour boat disappeared behind.Last Call heading into into Chapel Cove ( we’ve also seen it called Chapel Cave)Straight ahead were small caves.This gives you a idea of how small the space was. There was no wind or waves so we were comfortable.Looking up as we entered.
Wish I had studied more about the named formations, so I could label then all for you. In my defense I didn’t realize they had named so many points.
This is photo depicts why they are called Painted rocks. Our God is an amazing artist. Here is where the different colors come from: Red/Orange–Iron Blue/Green–Copper Brown/Black–Manganese White–LimoniteNeat white streaksHuge slabs of sand stone have fallen from erosion in the summer and freezing thawing in the winter.Indian DrumMiner’s Castle. Amazing how much it looks like it has doors and windows.Lower Level of Miner’s CastleStalactites and StalagmitesLovers leap is an arch that goes all the way through. Not a great photo of it.Battle Ship Rock. Bow view.Chapel Rock. Seems like a wilderness sculpture.
Our plans were to anchor in Murray Bay off Grand Island about 3 miles north of Munising. Because of that we didn’t cut in toward the town and headed right for the island. Once again, we saw a tour boat duck into a cave on the Island. So, when in Rome…… We slowly pulled our boat into this much smaller cave. It was like a half circle inside.
Here is the cave we are heading into. Check out the color of the water. It’s like the Bahamas.Inside the Cave , Water was dripping from the ceiling.Roof of the cave. So many stripes of colors.
Pretty stripes in the rock and water was dripping from the ceiling. This was one of those things that was never on either of our bucket list and we got to do it twice in a short amount of time. What a great way to end the most spectacular view of all our boating.
7-13-18 – 7-15-18 Soo Locks, Lake Superior and Whitefish Bay
We had planned to stay another night and see more of the town, but we felt like we pretty much hit the highlights and it was going to be a dreary wet day, so instead of slogging around in the wet, we took off in our boat headed toward White Fish Point. First stop was the Soo Locks. We were both excited but afterwards realized it was no different than the 115 other locks we had been through. We used the Canadian side which is smaller and designated for pleasure craft. We did not have to pay anything nor did not have to check in with customs as long as we were just locking through. We pulled into the lock and easily picked up the lock cables. The lock master complimented us on how well we did that. Scott said “We’ve done 115 lock, I guess we should have it down pretty well” He also teased that we will probably crash and burn on our next one. There is a lot of room for error in a lock. We have seen many people struggle terribly to grab the cables or come off the wall etc. Not pretty.
Soo Lock door opening for us.Scott manning the stern in the Soo Lock. We were all alone in the lock.This Soo Lock building is made from stone that they mined out of the lock.International BridgeOld wall as we got out of the lock.
Off we went on our first transit of Lake Superior, yes on Friday the 13th. Good thing we are not superstitious. It was calm, warm but half way there we ran into fog. Luckily, we were in the middle of Whitefish Bay which is huge. We had the radar, AIS and fog horn on to make sure nothing snuck up on us. As we approached White Point, the fog lifted. Phew. Never like entering a port when you can’t see.
We had one near tragedy on the trip over. I like to do a cleaning project on the long travel days. After being in the lock, I decided all the fenders were in need of a good cleaning. I loaded all 8 of them on the cockpit floor, got the hose, the soap, the UV protectant and the…….wait where is the Magic Eraser? I started rifling through all the spots where they could be stored. I was in near hysteria with no Magic Eraser. (Ok I might be exaggerating 😉) I found one used one. All was well with the world. That is the first item on my next shopping list. We cannot live on a white boat and not have Magic Erasers.
With Magic eraser, without magic eraser. Night and day. Now do you see why my near hysteria.
We pulled into Whitefish Point. We didn’t hug close enough to the wall and stirred up some mud but didn’t go a ground. There is a large shoal right in the middle of the entrance. Good thing we read a lot about every harbor before we enter.
Our view as we entered the harbor.
Shortly after tying up, Kelso the Canadian Coast Guard boat docked next to us. Yes, I said Canadian. We thought it was odd too, but they are a research vessel. There was a rather chatty guy who talked to us while . He saw my GRFD emblem on my sweatshirt. He trades shirts and sweatshirts with others. Scott went down and found a clean and fairly new GRFD shirt and in return “I” got a new Canadian Coast Guard Sweatshirt (it was too small for Scott.) What a cool thing to do. Wish we had more GRFD wear on board.
I bet not many people have a Canadian Coast Guard Sweatshirt.Last Call and the Canadian Coast Guard Boat tied up together. We were the high rent district on the dock.“Kelso” The Canadian Coast Guard boat makes us look tiny.Notice there are no railings on this boat. How do these guys not fall overboard into the freezing water.“Eat More Fish” is her name. Isn’t she the epitome of a fishing boat.This is her inner workings. pretty simple.Old Fishing Boat. Not sure she will ever see another day at sea, but I bet she has many stories to tell.I thought the metal V shaped thing was some sort of makeshift anchor. I later found out that is an anchor all right but it is for keeping fish nets on the bottom. The things we learn. Some useful, some not so much but interesting nonetheless.
The next day we walked the mile or so along the beach all the way to the tip of White Fish Point.
We at at the very tip of Whitefish Point.
We were on the hunt for agates. We googled what they looked like and weren’t sure we were actually finding any. My sister, Sharon said that is impossible, they are everywhere on that point. We apparently don’t know what we are looking for. The beach was mounded with small stones. We were pretty loaded down with pretty stones by the end of the day. Now I just need to finds someone to polish them for me. Scott thought it was bad when I collected shells. Hee hee he didn’t even think about rocks.
So many rocks. So little time.
We continued around the point to the White Fish Bay complex where the light house and many buildings have been restored and turned into historical exhibits. The light house that was originally there couldn’t stand up to the Lake Superior wind and weather and blew down. During the Civil War a new steel light house was erected. They apparently did it right because it is still there today and looks great.
This old Lighthouse at Whitefish point looks pretty good for her age.Another view of the lighthouse.Huge old rudder from an old ship.Brass items used at the LighthouseThis is a pretty great museum.Life saving Boat/Pod thingy.Exact replica of a life saving boat. The bottom is filled with cork and there are holes in the side for the water to run out so it will never sink.Scott wants one of these. I think we need a bigger boat.
The Edmund Fitzgerald sank off the coast of Whitefish Bay. In the Shipwreck Museum, they had the original bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald. They made an exact replica with all the mens names who died, inscribed on it. It was placed back down on the ship.
Bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald. Beautiful!A magnificently displayed Fresnel lens. Just stunning to look at.Another amazing lens on display.Hard Hat used for diving.Not only are there lead weights on the waist, but the big thing in the middle of the chest is a giant lead weight. Talk about trusting those above manning the lines.
The most surprising fact we learned was that most shipwrecks happened because of collisions with other ships. We understand how this could happen after spending two days here. The fog rolls in quickly and is very thick. Ships didn’t have radar back in the day. It rolled in and out several times in our short stay.
We got back to the boat and were relaxing while contemplating what to have for dinner, when a fishing boat came in. I am out of my chair like a rocket while Scott is rolling his eyes at me. I went to ask if they had a fish I could buy. These guys are a bit “salty” (even though it’s fresh water.) The owner said “Naw I only have three dayers.” Huh? What the heck does that mean? Of course, I had to ask. He told me for fresh eating you want “one dayers.” They are fish that are caught and harvested the same day. Three dayers means they were in the nets for 3 days and they are mushy for eating. I wish I would have asked what they do with them, but I didn’t feel it was the right thing to do. We went back to our discussion on what to do with the chicken until…..another boat came in. I was so happy they had ”one dayers!” We ate a wonderful Whitefish dinner on Whitefish Point. Great way to end the day.
Whitefish. Bought.-Not Caught. Guess who got to clean it.
We left the Les Cheneaux knowing we would be back. We headed up the St. Mary’s River. It is miles wide at some points yet has narrower dredged spots at other points. There is a lot of freighter traffic on the river. Some are a thousand feet long, they make us feel like a little water bug when they go by us.
Here is a freighter right next to us. Pictures don’t do it justice. It’s huge when you are in the water next to it.
We stopped at Lime Island. It is a historical island which we were a bit disappointed in. The hosts were not there and there were no signs explaining anything. Nonetheless it had interesting things to look at. There was supposed to be a fee, but the only guy we met said no fee unless we spend the night. We hiked to the north end on the island to the historic ruins of the kilns they used in processing the Limestone, but nothing explained why, but we suspect it made it into a cement type ingredient as there was a huge pile of what looked like white cement by the kilns.
Karen in front of the Lime Island signOld mining equipment decorated the front lawn.Last Call on the Lime Island Wall with a freighter passing by.Scott by a steel boat. I know he was secretly restoring it in his brain.Clever!School house being renovated. Some people told us it was in desperate need and they were glad to see it being worked on and not let fall down.One of the ruins of the kilns used in processing Lime StoneWe were told there are bears on the island, but this is all we saw. Cutie.This tripod is over a brass survey steak that is imbedded in the mound of what looks and feels like cement. This is outside the kiln. Must be spillage or spoils from the kilns. Note: we have seen these tripod in various other places. Hmmm.There were two huge oil tanks on the island. We found out they held 1, 750,000 gallons of fuel. This one had what appeared to be stairs to climb to the top. Yikes no thanks.There is a foam insulation on the outside of these oil tanks. People have been throwing rocks to see if they can get them to stick in the foam insulation. Many were successful and many not so much.
The island is a nesting ground for the Common Tern. At one time there were 6000 mating pairs on the island. The numbers dropped drastically but are now on the rise with 1500 pairs on the island.
We were tied up on the wall and could have stayed the night, but it was hot noisy and had great potential of having a stinky bird poop covered boat by morning. Plus, they want $22 for a crumbling wall with nothing else. Off to anchor we went. The water was cool and fresh after our hot sticky hike. Not to mention we love the peace and quiet of being at anchor.
We had a peaceful night and no bird poop, but we did wake up to this. Hello May Flies didn’t you know it is July. At least they don’t poop on our decks and wash off easily. I’ll take them to bird poop any day.
The next morning, we headed for George Kemp Marina in Sault St. Marie, USA. We went through the museum and learned a lot about the history of the locks. One thing I never knew, was that an antsy ship captain hit the lock doors and broke them in 1909. Wowsa, that had to have been a mess to fix. The water was pouring through like a waterfall in the photos.
Story about the 1909 Accident.How do you stop the this water after the lock door breaks.
The US side of Soo Locks has upgraded the locks many times to accommodate for the ever-enlarging ships. There are 4 locks on the US side but only two are in use. We watched as 1000’ freighters were locked through.
This is one of freighters we watched lock through. It is just leaving the lock.
We were able to go to the top of the History Tower to over look the locks and the whole town. Interesting fact is that the Catholic Church next door funded the $600,000 to build it. The church couldn’t come up with all the funds, so a priest traveled to fund raise for it. It was then given to the city after it was built.
The Catholic Church that is right next to the Tower o History that they are responsible for building it. This lovely church was slated to be torn down and built in a more modern style. Glad they left it as is. Its is beautiful!The Tower of History.Fun FactsIndian Artifacts in the Tower.This rattle made from a turtle looks like it is straight out of the Flintstones.Your typical child’s moccasin and your not so typical.Elk Hoof Shoes. Looks like I would trip a lot wearing these.This Edison power plant is 1/2 mile long. Neat building.The Soo Canal Park is guarded. They search purses and backpacks and ask about guns and knives.Soo Park building. Grounds were well kept.Ship coming out of the lock. Impressive.
It was a good day with a few scattered showers and we learned more history about our country. When it rains, we pour. We ducked into a winery/brewery for an hour and waited it out.
The perfect place for a beer drinker and a wine drinker. 1668 was the year Sault St. Marie was founded. Thus the name.
We had dinner at a quaint little place where we could watch the locks from our seats. They made Pasties the way we do with the meat and veggies chopped into chunks not shredded, like so many are. They were served with an onion mushroom gravy, which was delicious. The wine and beer they served were only their own, and the food was mostly local when they can get it. Love that kind of restaurant. Surprisingly we really liked one of the wines. Most of the Michigan wines we have had are too sweet. Need to try more and keep an open mind.
We left the Marina close to noon and planned to only travel up Lake Charlevoix to find an anchorage. That lake is huge. It took us about an hour and a half to travel from one end to the other. We had a long travel day the next day, so we anchored on Oyster Bay close to Lake Michigan.
Dave Wolfe told us there are two shipwrecks in this bay. You can see them on Google Earth. Once we dropped anchor out came the snorkel gear and off we went ship hunting. We found them quite easily. There were mostly wood planks etc. but was still interesting nonetheless. The one near the nature preserve had more to see. We saw lots of small panfish taking refuge within the wreck. One thing that surprised me, was the moderately sized pike sitting stock still in the weeds. We swam right over him a couple times and he never moved. I never envisioned a Pike hiding out like that. We found out that there are 6 ships buried there. It was the graveyard for old ships. They were brought there and sunk on purpose. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.
Here I am struggling to get into the dinghy from the water. I have some strengthening to do before we get to the Bahamas. I did it so easily then.What a snorkel face.
The next day we had about a 10-hour day to get to Hessel, MI in the Les Cheneaux Island area. We crossed under the Mackinaw bridge, which is always a thrill. And of course, we threw a penny in the water while under the bridge to assure safe travels. In case the copper mines dry up in the UP they can start dredging under the bridge for all the pennies that have been thrown.😊
Our destination was Hessel in the Les Chenaux Islands. We watched the wind patterns and picked our anchorage, but once again the winds shifted and were not favorable for that side of the land. Not to mention it was predicted to be 10 knots but, we were recording nearly 30 knots of winds. To add to it there was a forest fire up wind of us. So the potential of a rough night at anchor and smelling heavy smoke all night drove us on. We drove another hour into a more protected anchorage with no smoke and had a lovely night along with several sailboats seeking the same refuge. The next day we didn’t really feel like back tracking back to Hessel especially knowing we can come back this way and possibly spend more time there. Onward to Sault St. Marie.
Thanks for reading,
Karen and Scott
m/v Last Call
Unique Random Photo of The Day:
If you steal your mother’s phone and take dufus pictures of yourself, you will find yourself as the “Unique Random Photo of The Day” Just saying.
We pulled into Harborage Marina in Boyne City to be close to the Reunion Festivities. Cindy did an amazing job setting this whole thing up. Of course, Dave and the rest of her family pulled their weight too.
For those of you who are not familiar with our situation with the DeVries family, here’s a quick explanation. We are not blood relatives but for 40 years we have been accepted into this family and have been made part of the family. We feel so blessed that they included us in on the Family Reunion.
Friday night was a loose cocktails and dinner at the Forty Acres Tavern at the base of Boyne Mountain. It was our first time seeing many of the family in years. Just outside the Tavern, they have smores for anyone who wants to come. They even would toast your marshmallow for you. What a nice little thing to do for guests.
Saturday was a big day. We started off with beach day at Whiting Park. It was a perfect beach day! Cindy threw it out there to bring any beach/water toys games to share with everyone. They brought their Kayaks. We have our paddle boards, but didn’t really want to deflate and re-inflate them, so in our true quirky fashion… We strapped them together and towed them behind the dinghy as we made our several-mile trek to the park. We no sooner got going when the boards got caught in our wake and flipped over. Of course, this happens when there is a boat close by watching our every move. We wrangled them to the side of the dinghy and got them flipped back over, laughing the whole time. The other boater was laughing at us too. Can’t blame him. We got a lot of stares from other boaters, but we succeeded in our trek. We were so glad we did because someone was on the boards almost all day. Even 81 year-old Grandma Abby sat on the front while Nikki paddled her around. Lots of swimming, playing games and water sports. Dave and kids set up tents for a shaded food area and brought grills coolers etc. I don’t think there was even a hotdog left at the end of the day.
Here we are, the Hillbillies of the lake, towing our Paddle Boards behind the dinghy.Swimming paddle boarding, hanging out. Beautiful day.
Saturday evening, we all cleaned up and put on nice clothes and met at the bottom of the Boyne Mountain ski hill. They had drinks and appetizers and a buffet dinner. All was nicely done and delicious. Cindy made bags for us all. In it was family tradition things, like Cigars (Grandpa DeVries sold them), Meringue Cookies, Chocolate Letters, Recipe for the Cranberry pudding with hard sauce. Well done Cindy! The boys had a cigar table and were being quite silly. It was a wonderful evening of food and family.
The set up at the bottom of the ski hill. Beautiful evening.The first generation.Cindy, Abby and David. Like brother and sisters to us.The cousins recreating a photo that was take years ago.The next generation of cousins.Cigar BoysAllen and his Dad. Yes I was the DD that night.Is there a little bromance going on here?
Just when you think it’s over, Cindy provided breakfast for anyone who wanted to come. Everyone brought something to add to the egg dishes she made. We saved Abby Whiteford by bringing an urn of strong Starbucks coffee. Everyone started to head home. Scott went back to the boat to do some cleaning and I stayed for several hours and did laundry and blogged. It was such a treat to have fast internet!
We pumped out, filled with water, did a grocery run and were ready to leave the next morning.
We said our good byes to the Whitefords and Wolfes.
What a fun well planned weekend! Thank you all for making us feel welcome and a part of the family. We truly treasure our relationship with all of you.
We anchored out at Cat Head Bay on the Leelanau Peninsula. It was a glorious sunny warm calm day. There was a nice sand and rock beach that we took the paddle boards to. We walked along and immediately started finding Petoskey Stones. For those that are not familiar with them they are fossilized six-sided coral. It is found primarily in the north western portion of Michigan’s lower peninsula. When they are dry they look like regular granite, but when they are wet or polished the distinct pattern show up.
View from the back of our boat at Cat Head BayOur take of rocks.Look how calm that lake is.. Ahhh,, a boaters dreamSo pretty…Black flies were biting us but this little guy landed on my leg and the flies avoided at least that area.
I didn’t do so well paddle boarding that day. The swells coming from the big lake just took me out a few times. I’m still learning. Scott did great, which is a good thing because he had all the stones in his pocket. He said if he fell in he would just sink and run to the boat. Such a comedian. We swam and floated around on the paddle boards. It was a lovely afternoon.
We got up early on the 4th of July to get to our anchorage early anticipating them to be full for the holiday. We made it into the south arm of Lake Charlevoix, which is where we anchored. Allen, our son, came up to join us for the weekend. He left his car at a Landings restaurant. We swam, paddle boarded, dinghied and had a lovely couple of days. We were not in direct line to watch a big fireworks program, but we had fireworks displays going off in four different directions around us. Some private and some bigger shows that we could still see. No crowds. It worked out well.
Seeing we used abused the right to park both a car and our dinghy at Landings Restaurant we felt we needed to give them some business.The owner of the Restaurant is a Rum enthusiast. They had around 60 different rums on the shelf. Here is a list of most of them. Wow what a collectionThis was my favorite. Notice Ernest Hemingway’s name on it. He grew up in this area and many of his writings about fishing were about his summers in this area.
The houses on the lake were stunning. So many big houses with expensive boats parked out front! Fun looking at them all!
Man look at the stone work in front of this monster home. There is even a waterfall near the top.This picture doesn’t do the log home justice. It was just off our stern in our anchorage.Clever! The lake side of the deck is made to look like the stern of the boat . It says “Shaken Knot Stern”One of our favorites is this boat house. Note in the center is a garage type door that has an old wood boat in it.One of the many wood boats we say on the lake. There were also lots of fancy new boats as well.
As usual, we had a fun filled couple days at anchor.
My Uncle Bud and Aunt Audrey live up north tucked away in the wood not far from town. My uncle Bud is what I think of as an animal whisperer. He has a soothing demeanor, a quietness to his voice that just puts everyone including the animals at ease when they are around him. Audrey and Bud are married, but Bud has had a girlfriend on the side for about 4 years. Audrey doesn’t mind a bit because the girlfriend is Gretchen…..Gretchen the Grouse.
This love affair started 5 years ago. Bud would take his ATV through trails out to a wood pile. This sassy little grouse soon became aware of the sound of the ATV and would come to check Bud out. He would talk to her, and she got closer and more comfortable with him. Pretty soon they were Pals. Bud would put a small hand full of cracked corn and sunflower seeds on the ground, which she happily pecked at. Over time, he would sit on a cushion next to “their spot” in the woods. She got to the point that she would sit on his leg. But only if he was wearing blue jeans. She would not sit on him if he had any other type of pants on. We witness one of these feedings. However, she knew we were there and wouldn’t sit on his lap. But she sat next to him happily pecking away as he whispered sweet nothings in her ear. You could see the love in both of their eyes. It was heartwarming to watch them. After a little snack he would walk down the path gently asking her if she wanted to play teeter tauter. I know, I though the same thing…What? There is a pile of branches in a clearing and one of the branches is entwined in the pile but still moves up and down. He told us we could get off the ATV and walk slowly and quietly. Normally she follows along next to him as if they were two friends walking the trail. But because we were there, she stayed in the woods. It was comical to watch her follow along hiding behind trees and standing stick still in the leaves. She blended in so well, it was hard to see her unless she moved. Bud kept up his soft banter with her and pretty soon she worked her way around the far side of the woodpile, so Bud was between us and her. He made the “teeter totter” go up and down and encouraged her to play, but because we were they she didn’t quite get up the courage. He told us she usually will jump on the branch and glide up and down with delight. As we headed back down the trail, Bud told us to watch for a deer. Sure enough, there was a deer who knew their routine and while they played teeter totter, she would come in and clean up the rest of the grain on the ground. The deer didn’t move as Bud approached, but when she saw us she stepped softly back into the wood.
Look closely. You will see Gretchen. Her feathers camouflage her so well, she becomes invisible.Bud sitting quietly whispering to Fretchen as she eat her grain.“Come on Gretchen let’s go play Teeter Totter”Bud pushing the loose branch up and down trying to entices Gretchen to join him.
Gretchen has a sense of humor. She is a lovable, quirky, fun bird. One day Bud went out to see her and he couldn’t find her. He became worried, wondering if a fox or other animal got to her. Or she could just be getting old and died. He cut his wood and got back on the ATV with a heavy heart. He then saw something move in the woods. It was Gretchen hiding behind a tree. He acted like he didn’t see her and moved along, the whole time she played hide and seek with him. It was all a game to her. Silly bird.
We got back on the ATV and went back to the house. He no sooner got it parked and “Big MaMa” showed up. This is a doe that also has a love affair with Bud. She is so comfortable with him, that she walked up to the garage telling him she wanted corn. When he went into the garage to get the corn, she went all the way up passed the door looking in to make sure he was getting it. He spoke softly to her, “Big Mama you must have a baby close by” She was bagged up and you could tell she had a fawn tucked away close by, yet she still came to see Bud. Bud asked her for a kiss, which she promptly gave him he then put his hands out with some corn. She ate right out of his hand. Scott and I were standing quietly close by. Big Mama is a special deer who found Bud a special man.
Are you getting my corn?Kisses from Big MamaHe has them eating out of his hand…….literally and figuratively.
Now if that isn’t enough then add Romeo and Juliet to the list. They are a pair of ducks that came out of the woods right up Bud with no prompting or feeding. Juliette got pretty cozy with him but Romeo was more guarded. Bud eventually got some corn and Juliette started eating right out of his hand. Whenever, Bud was outside, they would show up. He fed Juliet regularly, but Romeo was on guard the whole time. Romeo ate out of his hand only a few times but allowed Juliette to feed til her heart’s content. We didn’t get to witness these two but enjoyed the story.
We then went into the house and in his backyard was a beautiful buck showing his horns, with its velvety beauty, proudly on top of his head. When Bud walks out the back door, the woods stand up. There are critters out there just waiting for him.
We were honored to witness Buds love affairs while Audrey sat back watching it all with a grin of pride on her face.
Thanks for reading,
Karen and Scott
m/v Last Call
Unique Random Photo Of The Day:
This is my Grandpa’s tractor seat he took off his tractor when he retired. He was a dairy farmer, so he make this chair out of a milk Can and his tractor seat. He said that it was his favorite seat.
7-3-18 Frankfurt Michigan Storm Clouds Brewing and a bit of history.
We had a lovely cruise up to Frankfurt which is a cool little town. We went into town to get some exercise. The main street ends at the lakefront beach. People were walking down the street with beach bags and blow up toys on their way from their homes. We found the Storm Clouds Brewery. Cute Name. We sat outside in Adirondack chairs and enjoyed the most beautiful weather.
Sitting watching the hops grow at Storm Cloud Brewing.
After cruising around town, we headed across the channel. We were intrigued by a Life Saving Station. There was a wall to tie up our dinghy on, a lovely waterfront. The Life Saving Station has completely been redone. It has been made into a venue with a large deck with lights strung over it. The big doors where the boats came out are beautiful wood that can open if the weather is nice. The door was unlocked, so we went inside. There were historical pictures on the wall. We learned just enough to trigger us to research a little further. Here is what we found out.
1789 The United States Light House Service began.
1790 the Revenue Cutter Service was started. We believe it was to collect tariffs and control smuggling.
1848 US Life Saving Service began (saw 1878 on the sign but google say 1848..take your pick)
1915 The Revenue Cutter Service and the US Life Saving Service were combined to for the United States Coast Guard USCG.
1939 President Roosevelts transferred the Light house Service to the USCG.
There is your history lesson for the day. Hope you enjoyed these fun facts.
Love the style of this buildingInside the Life Saving Station.The deck off the Life Saving Stations. Note the big doors. They are wooden and open onto the deck.History plaque outside. Not sure if you can read it. try zooming in on it.
6-28-18 Off we go into the wild blue yonder…wait that’s flying. Hitting the dusty trail, wait we’ll be on water. Sailing off into the sunset…sounds just about right. We left Muskegon to start a year + of cruising. We are heading north first to see more of the Michigan coast and wander up into Lake Superior. We are excited to see what we can find exploring another Great Lake.
So Long slip 43Last Look at our lovely Marina neighbors before taking off.and…we’re off!
Day one: Getting back on the water in cruising mode made me realize just how different it is than boating alone. As soon as we pulled out, while Scott navigated I went to work. When we are cruising, we can’t leave the hose, lines and power cords at the dock. Everything needs to be stowed away. The boat was filthy from sitting for nearly two weeks while we traveled to see family and friends in Wisconsin. I was blessed with a heavy dew on the boat. That always makes me happy because I can mop the deck while the crud is soft. In no time I had the decks looking ship shape. Now the inside of the boat is another story. Still have stuff to put away. It’s amazing how organized we are by giving everything a place. That is until we have to find it.
We anchored in Ludington for our first several nights. We had beautiful travel weather but are anticipating some big winds the next two days. We chose to not move north because we had a very protected anchorage for the impending winds and storms.
Last Call on the first of many anchorages to come.test picture to see if it comes to you upside down.?? Still battling that monster of sideways pics. I looked into it with a pro and talk to the helpline on this site but no resolve yet. Will keep working on figuring it out.
Our first evening the water was FAC (Flat A** Calm.) Out came my Stand Up Paddle (SUP) Board for the first time. I fell off three times but then got the hang of it. We have been using them every day. Still getting the hang of it. We look a little shaky at times. We used our ankle straps to attach them to the boat rails and we floated around in the water. Refreshing and cool.
Step onestep two.. So far so good.Step three Whoo Hoo look at me!Step four. Get my bubble bust.
Dinghied into town and walked the stores and even took the dinghy to the Maritime Museum. I don’t think they are set up for people to arrive by boat. But we did anyway. Enjoyed learning much about this area and the maritime history.
Port of Ludington Maritime Museum. It was impressive. Stop in sometime.Another Test PhotoVery cool Anchor outside the MuseumOriginal fresnel lenses. So beautiful. Only a few chips in the glass.Capstan winch. There used to be handles to turn it, to winch in the line to get the ship to the dock.Did you know that 20% of the Great Lakes ships burned. Wonder why? Check out my “Unique Random Photo of The Day” below
There is a lovely place called Bier Market in Ludington. It was a very nice market, food looked fresh and they had a great selection. The best part is, you can order a glass of wine or beer at attached bar and take it with you while shopping. All the carts have cup holders.
Our last night in Ludington we encountered quite a swift storm that came in off the lake. The haziness in the photo is from the sand blowing off the beach and over the road into our bay. We were nicely protected, which is why we chose to stay and wait this one out. There was quite a bit of lightning as it came in. If we were to get hit it will fry all our electronics, so what do you do?? You put all your portables, Phones, I pad, Computer, and the handheld VHF radio in the oven. Sounds crazy but the oven walls protect them from the electricity. As the storm died down, we had an island come floating very close to the boat. It was such an odd site to see this thing floating across the water. We half expected pirates to jump out of it.
Island of grass
We enjoyed our stay in Ludington. If was a great place to beat the heat, we stayed cool with a light breeze and lots of swimming. Ludington is a nice town, After 3 nights we were ready to get moving again.
Thanks for reading.
Scott and Karen
M/V Last Call
Unique Random Photo of the day.
Hmmm….cardboard ash trays may explain a few of the ship fires.
