08-21-09 Chicago, IL III

[Rick] As we had purchased a 3-day ticket on the tour bus, we decided to take the neighborhood tour or Chicago’s South Side. The South Side is predominately African-American. It is very affluent, including the homes of President Barack Obama, Louis Farrakhan, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, and many others. The South side was the site of the 1893 Columbian Exposition, and only one building from that Exposition remains. That building currently houses the Museum of Science and Industry. We decided to jump off the bus and went into the museum. It is huge, including a three car train, the Zephyr, which set a speed record from Denver to Chicago in 1934. The basement houses a captured German U-boat. Tours are given on the U-boat and the Zephyr. There is huge room filled with model trains, running around a fantastic model of the City of Chicago. Betsy spent about an hour watching a baby chick pecking itself out of its shell.

For supper, we returned to the Navy Pier. We visited more exhibits that we had missed yesterday. All in all, the Navy Pier is a wonderful destination. We noticed an abundance of foreign speaking tourists. Not sure why so many. Also, since we had no pictures of the Navy pier last night, here are some from today.

Since this is a short blog, permit me to make an observation from Chicago. There is no recession in Chicago. The tour buses are full. The line at the museum was about 300 people to purchase tickets, 2 hours after the museum opened. The Navy Pier is shoulder to shoulder. The wait at The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company for dinner was over one and one-half hours. The marinas are full, and there are over 8,000 slips and mooring balls. We saw a dinner cruise loading at the pier, the boat was full and the price was $98 PER PERSON. Every cruise boat was full.

08-20-09 Chicago, IL II

[Rick] Our second day in Chicago started as so many before, raining like crazy. We waited until lunch to even venture out to catch a hop-on-and-off tour bus. We decided on the three day package that allows us to ride, hop on and off, and take the three neighborhood tours further out in Chicago. Unfortunately, we were on a double decker bus and it began to rain very hard. We did complete the whole loop trip, 2.5 hours worth and plan to go back tomorrow and get off at some places, like the Shedd Aquarium and the Fields Museum. We will probably take a neighborhood trip to the Chicago Zoo and Wrigley Field, home of da Cubs.

For supper, we rode our bikes to the Navy Pier. This restored pier is a hub of activity with all types of food and entertainment. Harbor cruise boats leave from this pier and take cruises of the lake. At Harry Carey’s Tavern, we ate a very good pizza. The prices were very reasonable. After the pizza, we strolled to the end of the pier. Reading the historical information signs, we learn that the pier was built in the early 1900s for 4.5 million. In 1995-1998, the renovation and upgrade costs over 200 million. During the war, this pier served as a training station for fighter pilots. President Bush 41 trained here. Over 200 airplanes are in the water just off the end of the pier.

The Navy Pier has a huge Ferris wheel. The current one is one-fourth the size of the original built by Mr. Ferris for the 1892 Colombian World Exposition. Each car on the original held 60 people and took one and one-half hours to complete one revolution.

On our way back down the pier, we saw a sign about a stained glass exhibit. We entered, and to our surprise, found a permanent exhibit dedicated to stained glass still open at 10PM! Chicago is famous for its stained glass, in tradition of Frank Lloyd Wright. This exhibit had a special section for Louis Comfort Tiffany, who was prolific in glass production from 1870-1920. The exhibit was made possible by the Smith family, collectors of stained glass. The exhibit is world class, is free, and open to the public to just walk in and enjoy.

We biked back to the boat about 2230, just in time to miss another downpour.

Chicago at dusk and at night:

08-19-09 Chicago

Betsy speaks: We’ve seen many beautiful sunsets, but we don’t see many sunrises. We wanted to get an early start this morning to take advantage of what was going to be our only chance to get to Chicago this week. So we got up about 5:30 and were ready to go by 6 o’clock. But we had to delay our start until 6:30 because we didn’t want to leave in total darkness. It was a beautiful sunrise over Muskegon, our final port in Michigan.

Forecast called for seas one foot or less, but upon leaving Muskegon harbor we quickly discovered the forecast was a little optimistic. Seas were easily two feet, so we debated whether to go the 110 miles to Chicago or hug the shore and pull in at another Michigan safe haven if necessary. After going about ten miles we decided to make a run for it, and we’re glad we did. By twenty miles out seas had calmed down and it was a beautifully sunny day. We put Beamy the autopilot to work at about the five mile mark and didn’t alter our course or touch the steering wheel for nearly 100 miles. In the middle of Lake Michigan seas were flat and glassy for at least 40 miles.

Many loopers go farther south on the east side of the lake and then make a crossing of about 30 miles. We decided to go ahead across today because the forecast for tomorrow is seas 4 to 6 feet, and Friday is even worse. It was also time for the 600 mile service on the motors, and Rick has arranged to have that done early next week in nearby East Chicago, Indiana. A hundred miles is easy for a boat our speed if the weather cooperates.


After quite some time with no land in sight, we were able to see the faint Chicago skyline from 40 miles away. As we neared the city, seas picked up again. The last five miles or so were a little rough, so we were glad to pull into our slip at DuSable Marina at about 12:45, but now we are in the Central Time zone so we backed our watches up to 11:45.

After a quick lunch on board we walked into town to see about taking the Architectural Boat Tour, something we were told not to miss. On our way, we passed Millenium Park where the locals were cooling down by playing in the fountain. Looked like fun!

We were able to get on a 3:45 boat and thoroughly enjoyed the one hour tour along the Chicago River. This is the best vantage point for viewing Chicago’s many skyscrapers. Their styles are varied, and many of them are really beautiful buildings. Neither of us had been to Chicago before (except for a harmonica jam camp I came to here several years ago, but I didn’t do any sightseeing then).


By the end of the boat tour the skies had clouded over and rain threatened. We decided to grab a quick bite of supper before going back to the boat. It started raining as we ate, and by the time we got back to the boat it was pouring. The deluge continued for an hour or so. Then the skies cleared and we enjoyed Chicago’s weekly Wednesday night fireworks over the harbor. This was our third fireworks display in as many weeks, but we never tire of them. My new camera has a special fireworks setting, so I took a number of pictures.

Tomorrow we plan to take one of the hop on/hop off bus tours, and the Shedd Aquarium is also on our list of things to do while here.

08-18-09 Muskegon, MI

[Rick] Today marks exactly 3 months since we left Sneads Ferry. In that time, we have traveled 2195 miles, passed through 74 locks, and purchased $5097.54 in gasoline. It has been a great ride……

Today, after 5 days in Lovely Ludington, and a lovely sunset, we felt that we just had to get some miles behind us. The weather, mostly wind related, has been terrible for the past week. Today, the waves were to be 1-2 feet, so we left at 0745 for Muskegon, 60 miles away. We made the trip in 4 hours. The last hour, the waves built up and we were in 2-3 footers for a while, but they were at a favorable angle for the most part.

Along the way, we had to bypass the town of Pentwater, MI. This small town had been recommended to us by Margaret Croft, but we just could not stop. We had to push on.

We did something today we have never done. We tied up at a marina, won’t mention the name, and before we checked in, we decided to move on. The dock was wobbly and there was a lot of rolling wake. We called another marina, got a slip, left the first place, and moved on. The new place, Harbor Towne Marina, is quite nice, steady docks, no wake, restaurant nearby, cable TV, etc. I think we made the right decision. We are in a permanent slip, and this one is named, Paradise Ain’t Cheap.

Tomorrow, the waves are supposed to be less than one foot, according to NOAA. If this is the case, we will take off across the lake to the Windy City, Chicago. The distance to Chicago is 100 miles. Tune in tomorrow to see what happens.

08-16-09 Ludington, MI

Betsy speaks: OK, OK, Rick says we’ve gone several days without updating the blog. Well, we’ve been in the same place for 3 nights, Ludington, Michigan. We decided it was time for a break from daily moving, and also, the weather has turned lousy again. Not lousy really, just windy, and waves today were reported by the fishermen that came back early as being three feet and building. Forecast calls for four feet before the day is out.

However, what a great place this is to be “stuck”. This is the nicest marina we’ve ever been in! Yet the rates are very reasonable…less than $1.20/foot including all amenities. There is a pool, hot tub, exercize room, library, lounge with plenty of sofas, two fireplaces, TV, beautiful landscaping, nice floating docks with matching dock boxes at each slip.

One of the most memorable aspects of doing the loop is the people you meet. Docked next to us here in Ludington is a wonderful man named Sid. Sid really lives in Kansas City, but spends his summers here in Ludington, along with his lovely wife Carol, at a cabin/cottage nearby that his parents had purchased many, many years ago (sound familiar?). He keeps his beautiful Tiara Yacht here at the marina, and comes here nearly every day to just polish the boat and sit and enjoy the marina and the friendly people here. Sid is an active member of the US Power Squadrons, involved in several of the same things Rick is: teaching, boat inspections, etc. I haven’t been to a Wal-Mart since leaving home nearly 3 months ago, so needless to say we took Sid up on his offer to lend us his truck for a trip to Wal-Mart. One new computer*, new digital camera and a load of groceries returned to the boat with us…Thank You Sid!!! You will be remembered!

There are lots of fishing boats here, all with scads of fishing poles sticking up. The Cabo next to us has no less than 20 rod holders, most with rods in them. And boy do they catch fish! Every time they go out they come back with coolers full of King Salmon or Steelhead Trout. HUGE fish! TONS of fish! Unbelievable!!

The marina has a state of the art fish cleaning station, complete with macerator for the bones, innards and skin. It is in use most of the day, and these folks walk away with enough fish for a year after only a couple of days of fishing.

For those that want to eat the fresh catch while it is fresh, the marina provides gas grills already hooked up and ready to use.

Like all the other towns along the Lake Michigan coastline, there are beautiful flowers everywhere and lots of parks nearby.

The Ludington park has several beautiful bronze statues. Ludington is also famous for the murals on several buildings, 12 in all. Most murals have a “hidden object” for the viewer to find. The one pictured here is a three dimensional mural that seems to move as you walk by.

Another Ludington highlight is the ferry boat that carries cars and pedestrians across Lake Michigan to the Wisconsin side. The trip takes four hours, and the cost is $77 per vehicle PLUS $74 per person one way…not a cheap way to travel, but I guess it beats driving all the way around the lake. Ludington is about halfway down the lake. The history of the ferries is interesting. It started in 1897 as the world’s first steel hulled railroad car ferry. By the 1940s this was the world’s busiest car ferry port, with several of the huge boats operating 365 days a year.

By 1980 the ferries were not being used enough to stay in business, so the ferries were sold to a couple of Ludington businessmen who tried to keep them going. However, their venture failed and the ferries seemed destined for the scrap yard. In 1992, another Ludington entrepreneur purchased the three remaining ferries, invested his own money to refurbish and improve the boats and began a new car ferry service across the lake. Proving that the ferry service still had a bright future for cars, commercial trucks, and leisure passengers, he sold the business in 1994 to three more Ludington businessmen, and today it is a very successful endeavor, running two round trips a day.

We enjoy seeing the different names on boats, especially when they are different or unique. Rest assured if your boat name has the word “sea” in it, it is not unique…we’ve seen numerous boats with names like Sea-la-vie, X-ta-Sea, Seas the Day, Sea-esta, Fanta-sea, etc. We could write a book about trite boat names. But we do see some that we get a chuckle out of. Here’s one we hadn’t seen before.

Looking at the weather report yesterday, we thought we would be here until Tuesday, and we weren’t complaining because this is such a nice place. But we do have reservations in Chicago starting next Thursday so we do need to get underway ASAP. We had extremely high winds here this afternoon, with waves breaking over the breakwater and splashing up high on the light houses. But late afternoon forecasts seem to indicate maybe the high winds this afternoon have helped push out the weather that was forecast, and now it looks like we may make it out of here tomorrow (Monday). Every looper we know has been marina-locked since last Thursday or Friday. So wish us luck!

*Now for a word about the new computer we purchased at Wal-Mart. We had not forked out the big bucks for GPS chips to cover Canada, but relied on paper charts and an inexpensive computer program for which we had the Canadian Hydrographic Service charts, similar to NOAA Charts. It worked perfectly, and we were able to have my little 8.9” computer on the dashboard along with a USB GPS receiver so we knew where we were and where we were going at all times. Our last hour in Canadian waters was our roughest part of the trip, fighting 3 to 4 foot waves coming from all directions, like a mixing bowl. About 5 minutes before we crossed into the USA, where our GPS units with US charts would have kicked back in, we took a big wave and a big bounce, and the 8.9” “cutie pie computer” bounced off the dashboard and onto the deck, ruining the LCD screen.

Fortunately these “netbooks” are very inexpensive…even with purchasing a new one we come out way cheaper than we would have if we had purchased Garmin or Lowrance chips for the Canadian waters. Also fortunately I brought all of my navigation software with me just in case something like this happened. We really don’t need the computer for charting anymore, but it is nice for each of us to have our own computer on rainy days!

08-13-09 Ludington, MI

[Rick] We had another pretty easy day. We left Frankfort bound for Ludington, MI, another small town 53 miles to the south. The waves were 1-2 feet, but lay down as we progressed. It only took 2.5 hours as we were able to average 18.5 mph. Along the way, we passed the Point Sable Lighthouse. It really looks like a North Carolina Lighthouse.

Ludington is another of the small, friendly, not-touristy towns along the Lake Michigan shore. As usual, they have an abundance of flowers, green grass, and very nice parks for recreation. There are several marinas here, and we chose Harbor View. It has everything you could ask for and all of it is well thought out and of first quality. They have a spectacular complex of restrooms, showers, lounge, laundry, library, ships store. They have floating docks that include cable TV. The wi-fi is 5 bars and very fast. So, all is good in Ludington.

We have decided to stay here at least 2 days, and kind of rest up after a week of traveling every day. Betsy will have more on Ludington tomorrow, so come back then.

08-12-09 Frankfort, MI

Betsy speaks: I have to back up a day and mention something that happened yesterday that we tried our best to forget about. Those of you who have been reading the blog since day one know that shortly after we left home there was a problem with our Florida heat pump at home that caused water to leak all over the ground level of our townhouse. The carpet in our home office was completely saturated. Our wonderful neighbors Tom and Billie Hayden, who are looking after things for us while we are gone, saw to it that the water was extracted from the carpet, the carpet was deodorized and dried with fans and dehumidifiers. The heat pump, barely a year old, was completely replumbed. There seemed to be no lasting aftereffects, and all was well.

Early yesterday morning Tom called to tell us one of the plumbing joints had come undone and this time it was not a small, slow leak like before, but a real flood of probably hundreds (or thousands?) of gallons of water. The carpet was completely saturated again!!! So we had to go through the same process again. Fortunately, all the books on two large bookcases that had to be moved the first time had not been put back, so maybe it was a little easier this time (look on the bright side). Rick has told the heating and air people, who did the plumbing as well, that he expects them to pay for the carpet and for the labor to move the furniture this time, as well as for fixing the problem.

When Rick first spoke to Tom about checking on things while we were gone, it was really meant to be just bringing in the mail. Who ever dreamed so much could go wrong!!! We couldn’t continue on this trip without a little help from our friends. Thanks Tom and Billie! We love you!

Now back to the trip. We left Charlevoix this morning and headed back into Lake Michigan. On the way out of Charlevoix we passed by the mushroom houses that Rick mentioned in his blog yesterday. Yesterday there was a picture of one of those houses from the street side. Here is that same house from the water…very exclusive!

The sun was shining and Lake Michigan was glassy smooth. Our intended destination was Leland, just over 30 miles south. Three of the other four boats we’ve been sort of hanging with had left several hours before us (they are slow, we’re fast). As we approached the turn into Leland, we decided it was such a gorgeous day we would continue on to Frankfort, another 42 miles farther along. I had charted both courses so the decision was easy. We radioed one of the other boats that was within earshot and told them to pass the word that we were continuing on and would see them in a few days. Rick was at the helm, but Beamy the autopilot did most of the driving today.

Last night I received an e-mail from a friend in South Carolina asking if we would be seeing the Sleeping Bear dunes. I didn’t know what he was talking about, so I looked them up in one of the cruising guides. I had heard of the high sand dunes we would encounter on Lake Michigan’s shore, and these are in the Sleeping Bear State Park. Sure enough, we passed them today. Thanks to Jerry’s head’s up we hugged the coastline so we could see them up close, and they are spectacular. Here’s a picture showing people climbing up and down them…they are so high the people look like ants from where we were. Rick said maybe the Topsail Beach Shoreline Protection committee should take a lesson on how these sand dunes are made!

Just past the magnificent sand dunes we came to Point Betsie Light, described as being the most photographed lighthouse on Lake Michigan. Too bad they didn’t spell “Betsy” right! I was riding on the bow as we passed, and again was amazed by how incredibly clear the water is here. In 20 feet of water I could clearly see the bottom. It’s sort of scary, because at home if you can see the bottom you are probably getting ready to hit it!

We love the protected harbors of Lake Michigan. They are well marked and so easy to navigate. Being used to treacherous inlets in North Carolina, I couldn’t picture how Lake Michigan would have such easy access to harbors. It is so nice to be in a huge body of water, and then simply come through a jettied passage into a protected, safe harbor.

Once we arrived in Frankfort I walked just a couple of blocks back to the “seashore” we had passed on the way in. Looking out over the white sand, it was really just like standing at the ocean. Many people were swimming and sunning on the beach. I stepped into the water about calf deep and it was very comfortable. I can see why people would want to summer here. It is really beautiful, and there are no sharks or crabs! And you don’t have sticky salt water on you when you come in from a swim!

Later this afternoon our friends on Pookie II arrived here in Frankfort. They had pulled into Leland and docked, then reconsidered and decided to come farther just like us on this beautiful day. They are in a slightly smaller, much slower boat, so they need to make as much progress as possible on beautiful days like this.

After dinner with Pookie, Rick and I walked back to the beach, walked out on the “pier” to the Frankfort jetty light, then sat on a bench on the beach and watched a beautiful sunset over the water. It has been quite some time since they’ve had a nice sunset apparently, because once the big red ball slipped beyond the horizon people started clapping!

Tomorrow we plan to head out again, probably to Ludington. We had thought we might stay here for two nights, but weather reports are starting to get a little bleak so we want to make progress when we can.