Cruises Interruptis

 July 1, 2024

Good morning!   We are back from our California adventure and moving Carolina to Frankfort, MI - one of our favorite stops.  

     We left Carolina in Ludington and flew to Sacramento to meet family for an impromptu reunion.   We arrive on June 16th and stayed with Bob’s sister.  The following day we drove to Lake Shasta about 3  hours north.  We had rented a “patio boat” for the duration of our stay and picked it up at Bridge Bay Marina.(Do we ever get away from water and boats?)

      The pickup was easy and after loading luggage and food we were on our way….at least we thought we were.   About 30 minutes out of the marina the low oil alarm went off.  We shut her down and luckily still had cell service to call the marina.  They promised to send someone out.  We drifted for a bit then had to start her up or go on the rocky shore.   We put-putted into Silverthorn Marina and tied up there.  Within 3 minutes Jason arrived with a jug of oil and fixed us up.   Off again to the cabin.  

Flexie, (named for the flex seal on the pontoons)

     The cabin at Shasta is very remote.  There are only fire trails into the vicinity and the trip by boat would take us 45 minute in the patio boat.  We had an ice chest full of beer and we’re in no rush to get there, so we had a leisurely cruise.  We expected there to be folks at the cabin but when we arrived it was still shuddered and locked.  Time for another beer while we waited for a key to arrive.

      

     Bob’s niece was the first on the scene.  We had carried our luggage, etc.  up and the porch and once we could get in, began to process of unshuttering the windows.  Each window (7 total) has two shutters then a 2x12 board with 4 carriage bolts across the outside.  Hunters and vandals have broken in in the past so the family has taken precautions. Once the cabin is open the fun can begin!

       Bob’s niece Jenny and family have rented a small house boat to live on and have brought their Ski Nautique Air for water sports.  Next Bob’ brother, Dale arrives in his Sanger.  Another boat for play.  He was followed shortly by his daughter, Lena, and her family on a big houseboat.  They were also towing their Mastercraft ski boat.  The count is now up to 12, with 2 houseboats and three ski/surf boats but we’re not done yet!!

       Dinner that night was with Jenny and Chris on their houseboat.  It was Mexican night and the margaritas were excellent.  We all retired early-ish because the next day more family would be arriving. Ben (our son) and his wife and our two grandkids arrive tomorrow as well as Bob’s sisters Cindy and Nancy and Robbie.  That will bring the count to 19.

      The next day Bob and I took the patio boat into the government dock at Jones Valley to pickup the kids.  It was a perfect rendezvous and we loaded luggage and more food onto the boat and headed back to the cabin.   Later in the day Dale went back to the dock to pickup the 3 sisters.  It was a jolly crew and we were already having a great time swimming and floating  off our beach.

The whole crew

     The next fives days were spent knee boarding, skiing, surfing and riding the hydrofoil surfboard.  Finnegan and Ellie both went kneeboarding.  Finnegan was a bit more successful.  We forgot to tell Ellie to let go when she fell off and in her words,” I went stomach skiing!”. 🤣. We made trips to the headwaters and swam in the coves.  We had camp fires to make s’mores…..some morning ones and some evening ones.  We did lots of star gazing and swam till our fingers were puckered like prunes.  We all left with various shades of Shasta-clay red imbedded in our shoes and shorts and towels.  It was a typical Shasta adventure.  Now we all need a vacation from our vacation.

     Bob and I stay a day beyond everyone else to close up the cabin.  All those shutters and boards had to be put back in place.  The hot water heater was taken down, the water tanks pumped full and everything in the cabin covered n plastic.( the bats still manage to get in).  It was a half- day project and then we were off to turn our boat and head back to Sacrament to fly home.

     Bob decided that we needed to ride the USS Badger back across Lake Michigan from Wisconsin to Ludington, MI.  On weekends they have a sailing at 1:30am from Manitowoc, WI to Ludington.  He booked us and even booked a “stateroom”.  When we landed in Milwaukee we recovered the truck and then drove  89 miles north to Manitowoc to meet the Badger.   We had lots of time to kill so we found the Fat Seagull Bar that was still serving food and ordered a late dinner.  The two young men beside us at the bar asked where we were from and the night was begun.  We chatted with Zack and Doug for a couple of hours.   It was finally time for the ferry so off we went to the loading ramp.

     We walked on while a staff member drove our truck on.  We retrieved the key to our stateroom from the purser and headed there to put our backpacks down before exploring the ship.  There was a movie theater, a museum, coffee shop, and children’s play area.  We headed out on deck to watch our departure.  We had watched the Badger leave numerous times last year while we were docked in Manitowoc.  Now we’d have a new perspective.

      Shortly after our explore, we headed off to bed.  It was a very short sleep.  They crew came by around 5:45 to wake us to prepare for arrival and docking.  We wandered out to the foredeck with coffee in hand to watch as we sailed into Ludington.   

      Being a National Historic Landmark, the USS Badger is a bit less than modern.  She is the last coal-fired passenger vessel operating on the Great Lakes.   She can carry 180 cars and 620 passengers.  She was originally used to transport rail cars between the two sides of the lake all year long.  Now she runs seasonally from mid-June till early October.

       When she comes into port, there are always spectators watching.  If you’re real lucky you’ll be watching on her starboard side and be able to see/hear her anchor drop.  She drops her anchor while underway and “club hauls” around her anchor and slowly backs into her slip.  It’s exciting to watch and even more exciting when you’re standing just above the anchor rode as it deploys.  We could see Carolina from the Badger as we swung around to the dock.  Home again, home again!

      We arrived back around 7:15am and went directly to bed.  It had been a very long trip from California and we were fighting time changes and lack of sleep.   We eventually arose and started a shopping list and gathering dirty laundry.  Now it was time to get back to the business of enjoying our cruising lifestyle.

 Next stop  will be Frankfort for the 4th of July and then onto Beaver Island for a few days.

     I’ll write more soon.  Be safe and stay well until we meet again!