August 24, 2009

We did spend Tuesday in Manistee---it was a walking, shopping, ride the 'Dial-a-Ride' bus, enjoy visiting with the other boaters kind of day. When you start to move about at 11 it doesn't take long for the day to go by. We finished Tuesday off with dinner for 4 on YA's fantail and enjoyed dessert and a beautiful sunset on CAROLYN ANN's flybridge. Wednesday we were underway at 7:30. That is A.M.! Doesn't happen often but we set out to cross Lake Michigan, and wanted to take advantage of the morning calm. The first part of the 60 mile trip to Manitowoc, WI was a sort of roller coaster ride—a very TAME roller coaster, but up and down enough that the floor rises to meet your step. After noon, however things calmed down, and the biggest excitement was when we passed (and paused to rescue) a bag of 12 balloons. Four of them were already broken, and they added color and fun to our swim platform until we were able to trash them in Manitowoc. As we approached the harbor, the BADGER, one of the last car ferries powered by coal, was departing for Ludington, MI. We learned that this is the last year of it's environmental reprieve, and soon it will stop leaving the big black cloud of smoke we saw. Stormy weather was predicted (we saw only 5-10 minutes of rain just as we were walking to town) and we planned to spend the day sightseeing. The nearby Wisconsin Maritime Museum turned out to be a delightful place. Fred, the tour guide, took us through the USS COBIA, a WWII submarine. Our Fred augmented his narrative. We spent awhile playing in the excellent Children's corner where we were sorry the kid's bibs didn't fit us as there was a great assortment of water toys! Ice cream seemed like a good idea post museum, and just up the street was a cute little 1950's ice cream and candy store. They also served sandwiches so we stuffed ourselves, and headed back to the boats. A nice day. On Friday we headed south. Lake Michigan is interesting. We've decided that when the forecast says 1-2 foot waves, they really mean 3-4---at least. We pounded into the waves at 7.5 knots for a couple of hours before slowing to 6.5 for a bit smoother ride. As we turned the corner into Port Washington we were surprised to see HEMISPHERE DANCER, the first Great Harbour trawler built by Mirage. So very shortly there were three Mirage boats in a row, and we enjoyed an evening of visiting with Joe, Punk, Karen and Jim. Saturday morning Fred and I checked out the Farmer's Market in downtown Port Washington—beautiful produce just a couple of blocks from the dock. Nice. Then we were off. Again the weather reports were a tad off. 4-6 foot waves in the morning, dropping to 1-2 in the afternoon. We found just the opposite as we motored along---the morning ride was calm and lovely—albeit cold. 54 degrees in the morning, and by afternoon, after we'd passed Milwaukee and turned into the Racine harbor, it'd warmed up to 58! Karen and Jim from HEMISPHERE DANCER generously loaned us their slip for overnight. The Root River runs into town and we were at it's mouth, just before the drawbridge. Sunday morning I found a Unitarian Universalist Church within walking distance—The Olympia Brown UU, named for the first female minister in the US. Ms Brown served this parish for many years in the 1800's. Upon my return, we dawdled at the dock a bit, chatting with other boaters before getting underway for the 27 mile run that took us across the state line to Waukegan, IL. And Waukegan is where we are, and will be all week. We're telling ourselves that we can see the skyline of Chicago off in the distance, and will be heading in for some city time soon. For now, the worker bees are doing the service that YA so richly deserves. Her engines have run beautifully for over 1000 hours and need some TLC. Larsen Marine is the gi-normous yard we're calling home. It is HUGE! Oh, so many machines at play---remote controlled travellifts, a swarm of golf carts—every one with the name of it's driver stenciled on the front—and more activity than you can shake a stick at. So we send greetings from slip 16 in Lot 17 at Larsen's. Keep smiling, and enjoy the summer, which seems to finally have arrived! Fred and Linda