Back to Our Summer Cottage!

 June 5,2024

     We’re back! Bob and I drove from New Bern to Grand Haven, Michigan with a truck full of stuff.  We had 5 crates of non-perishable food and a Yeti cooler full of frozen fish.  Carolina was to go back in the water today, but the weather is not cooperating.  It’s cool and rainy.  We’ve put off the launch until tomorrow.  

     June 6th dawned bright and sunny so we hightailed it down to the. Marina to watch our girl go into the water.  Watching a boat on a travel lift is like watching paint dry - moving from the shed to the launching slip took about 30 minutes but we had no snags.  Bob and I climbed on board while she was hanging and started reattaching all 9 of her batteries.(4 house bank, 1 generator, 2 bow thruster and 2 stern thruster).  Once this was completed we said our prayers to the God of John Deere engines and turned Hercule and Arthur over for the first time this season.   Both started on the first try!!  We love these engines.

Carolina in the Shed

On the move

          We made a quick trip to the other side of the dock and tied up so we could unload the truck.  Bob hauled crates to the boat while I load them to the aft deck and started to put things away.  When most of the stuff was secured, we dropped our dock lines and headed up the Grand River 1 mile to the Grand Haven Municipal Marina.  We had a slip in front of the office and near the facilities.  The evening was fine and we took a short

In the water at last!

walk down the water front.  As we were closing up and getting ready to retire, a booming loud voice started speaking to us from the opposite shore.  He said the show would begin in five minutes.  We’d read about the dancing fountain in Grand Haven us never could local it.  I think it just found us.   We pulled out chairs and sat waiting with anticipation.  We were not disappointed.  Within minutes the music began and the “fountains” began dancing across the river from our slip.  The speakers they use must be 10 feet tall and very loud.  There’s no sleeping till after 10:30 at this marina.  

Dancing Fountains

     The following day the wind came up and, oh my, what a surge we got.  We had been warned that any west wind would bring in a surge and boy did it.  We would have moved but the Michigan DNR does not refund slip fees and we were paid through Tuesday of next week.  We learned to live with it.  We spent as much time as we could off the boat - shopping for perishables, going to the movies, walking around town. By Friday night things had calmed down for a bit and we were looking forward to a restful night - oh wait- no sleeping till after the fountains have danced,🤣   This night they had drones as well as the fountain.  It was spectacular.   We slept well and we’re ready for the Pride Festival on Saturday morning.

Clare at Pride Festival

     We visited the booths and listened to the music from the festival until the rain started then everything shut down and we started boat chores.  Everything inside and out had a layer of dust that needed removing, floors needed cleaning, new sun shade needed snaps applied.  We were busy as beavers getting all kinds of chores done.  It was a very productive day.  We made a trip to the hardware store for a few tools and we’re ready for Sundays fix-it list.

     Sunday dawn bright and sunny with the chance of 80 degree weather.  We got the bikes down and rode out to Harbor Island and the Strawberry Moon Festival.  After much discussion we decided that we’d rather keep riding then stop for the festival.  Maybe some other time.

     We had a nice restful day again accomplishing more fix-it tasks and laundry ( in my new washer!!!).  We also hatched a plan for getting the truck to Ludington the following day.  We would rent a car and drive up in tandem then park the truck and drive back in the rental.

      We slept late Monday(thanks to no surge in the marina) and picked up our rental at 1pm.  It’s an hour and a half drive up the coast road to Ludington.  Really quite pretty and next to no traffic.  We arrived at the marina about 2:20 and parked the truck, unloaded the bikes and found our slip for tomorrow.  Next we went into town and had linner (lunch +dinner) at the Old Hamlin.  We arrived back in Grand Haven around 5pm.  We walked down the river walk almost to the entrance to Lake Michigan then back to the boat in time for the dancing fountains at 10pm.

        We left Grand Haven Tuesday morning at 8:30 and are heading north up the eastern shore to Ludington.  We should arrive around 4:30-5 pm.  We stayed here before and know that there are no dancing fountains just a nice quiet well protected marina.

Keep well and enjoy your summer.  I’ll write again soon.

P.S.  My new washer!!

Major Kerfuffle

 October 4,2023

       After our sortie to the Superior side of the Upper Peninsula it was time to head back to Sault Ste Marie to catch a plane to Boston for our granddaughter’s first birthday.  The airport in The Soo is on the Canadian side of the city so dockage would have to be at Bondar Maria.  Unfortunately they have closed up for the season….or so we thought.   We called the Bellevue Marina just a bit further south and they said we could stay in Bondar but there would be no dockhands or amenities except bathrooms.   It sounded great to us since we were going to leave the boat anyway.

      Bondar is a nice marina, near some shops and restaurants.  We came into a slip which was too close to the public walkway, but another boat left  ahead and we moved over.  Unfortunately when the people go, the gulls and ducks move in.   Our dock was an obstacle course of poop.

      We found a cab to the airport and had no issues with our flights to Boston.  The weather for our stay was not the best but we managed to have great fun with the grands.   The birthday party was perfect and Lily truly enjoyed her first taste of cake and icing.   After about a week we flew back to Carolina to continue our exploration of the Great Lakes.   We planned on heading through the St.Joseph Channel to the north channel then on to Georgian Bay.  We were looking forward to seeing some new sights.  Unfortunately we received a phone call from the boat storage place in Ontario and they informed us - after  7 months of assuring us we had a spot- that we had NO spot in their storage.  This is an unthinkable situation for a boat owner.  We always start calling in January to insure that we have storage for the following winter.  Most places fill up by March.  This put us in a very bad position on a Friday before Labor Day.   We started calling every place that had indoor, heated storage on the Great Lakes.  The answer was no room in more places then I care to mention.  Finally we called North Shore Marina in Grand Haven, Michigan and got a positive response.  YEAH!!  Having to back track to Grand Haven ruined our plans for next year but I’m sure there is a silver lining.  We had been talking about staying longer in the lakes and going back to Superior.  Maybe this was a sign.  Needless to say, we headed back down St. Joseph Channel to De Tour Village to visit our land-based friends there and regroup for a trip back into Lake Michigan.

White fish dinner- yum!

      We, of course, went to the Mainsail to see Desi and we ran into Dave on the docks.  We only stayed one night and began our trek back to Grand Haven.   We decided to try and go to new towns on the way back.   Our first stop would be in Cheboygan, MI.  Last time through they were full and had no slips available.   This time the marina was basically empty. 

Cheboygan, MI lighthouse

     We are working against time now so we only stopped for one night here.   We did ride our bikes into town but their public pathway was tanbark and not appropriate for our bikes.  Unfortunately halfway home, Bob’s bike seat broke off.  We rode the rest of the way with me yelling, “Don’t sit down!” Or “Be upright”.  I don’t know what the people who we passed thought but we made it back to the boat.  A bolt had sheered off and it was an easy fix once we got to Carolina.

     Next stop was Mackinaw City on the southern side of the famous, five mile  long  Mackinac Bridge.

Again, we spent one night but because it was just a ten mile trip from Cheboygan we had lots of time to explore.  We decided to go to the Old Mac Point Lighthouse.  We had a good tour of the light and climbed to the lantern room.  What a view there was of the bridge.  They also set off the fog horn for us to experience how loud it was.  It was another fun and informative day.

Bob and me in the lantern room at Old Mac Point Lighthouse

Bob kicking the Old Mac Point Lighthouse

Big Mac

     Our next stop would be Harbor Springs, a small town in Traverse Bay.  We had tried to stop here on our way north but once again they had no available slips and, as it was in Cheboygan, there were lots of slips  this time.   We’re kinda getting the feeling that the season for boating is over. 

    Harbor Springs is another cutsie town like Charlevoix.    The town has a population of about 1200.  There are some very nice new and old homes along it’s streets.  We did a walkabout to take in some  of the sights.   This town didn’t have a maritime museum or many historical sights but it did have this unusual steam powered steel  pleasure boat. The boat is called “Aha”and was built by E. Shay the maker of train engines used for logging.

The “Aha”

Mr.Shay’s eight-sided home in Harbor Springs

     Our next port of call will be Leland.  Another new town to enjoy.  The population of Leland is about 410.  It sits on the shores of Lake Leelanlau and Lake Michigan..  I’ll tell you more in our next post.

Keweenaw Peninsula on the UP

 September 2,2023

        We left Marquette, after a nice visit, picking up prescriptions, and re-provisioning, and decided we would head for the Portage Canal thought the Keweenaw Peninsula.  They were predicting a day of good weather and this would be a long days ride.   It’s a nine hour cruise if we go all the way to Houghton- the only major town on the river/canal/lake.

     We are always wary of weather changing quickly and leaving us in a bad spot.  There is one harbor of refuge to duck into along this section of Lake Superior.  It’s called Big Bay but it is open to the north and our winds will be from that direction.  We really don’t want to have to stop there.

     On our passage we did pass a few interesting sights,  first we saw McIntyre Island.  My maiden name is McIntyre so this was special to me.   We also passed Lighthouse Island which had the prettiest lighthouse constructed of stone.   On entering the Portage  canal, we spied a lovely old barn, well  cared for and still in use.

Mc Intyre Island

Lighthouse on Lighthouse Island

Beautiful old barn on the Portage Canal

      We left at 7am and had 1ft wave and crisp weather.  We arrived in Houghton at about 4pm.  The facilities there are marginal but brand new.  There is a town wall with power and water that they charge $50/night (based on boat size) to use.   Unfortunately they had put up a cable fence to keep people from falling in but this made it difficult for us to get off our boat.   There were no nearby restrooms to use and no showers at all.Luckily for us, our holding tanks were empty and our water tanks were full.

Carolina on Houghton Town Wall - Michigan Technological University in the background.

     Houghton is a college town.   The Michigan Technological University is here.  The town population is 8,386 and the student body at the school is 7,074.  We happened to be in town the weekend that the students returned.  There were college students and their parents everywhere.  We ran into a man we had seen in Marquette on his sailboat.  He was local and gave us some great suggestions for places to visit.  

Antique wall painting in Houghton

     Houghton was a mining town. The Quincy Copper Mine began operation around 1846 but didn’t begin to pay dividends to investors till 1868.  The mine operated until 1970 in one capacity or another.  The students from the university now use the mine to practice techniques and observe failures.   At one time a university class was held in the mine.

Piece of pure copper extracted from the Quincy Mine

     We visited the mine and took the tour of the underground tunnels.   The ambient temperature in the mine is a constant 43 degrees(brrrr).   The lower levels of the mine have flooded due to lack of use and many springs that tickle into the mine.  We came prepared.  We wore our heaviest coats and our sea boots. We had to take a taxi up to the top of the mountain to get to the mine entrance.  The hills were too steep for us flat-landers to ride up on our bikes.   Everyone was given a hard hat and off we went into the mine.

Haley, our tour guide and a large chunk of pure copper left behind when  the mine closed 

Cold, dark, and wet!  We wore our sea boots and we’re glad we did.

Largest steam hoist in the world!  Used for running the man cars, bailing cars and 

skip cars carrying the copper to the surface.

    After our adventure into the mine, we decided to walk back to the boat.   It was only about 1.5 miles and we needed the exercise.   Google maps is amazing!  It took us right to the staircase we had seen on our way up the hill which lead us right to the Portage Lake Lift Bridge.

     The Portage Lake Lift Bridge is a wonder in its own right.   It is the widest and heaviest lift bridge in the world.   There are four lanes of traffic that cross the upper deck of the  bridge.  It is a double decker bridge and used to have train tracks on the lower level.   That level is now used in the winter for snowmobiles.

Portage Lake Lift Bridge

Portage Lake  Lift Bridge in up position for the passage of boats

       We had now reached a point where we had to decide if we were going to continue on to Isle Royale or turn back and head to the Soo.   We had a hard date in the Soo to fly to Boston for our granddaughters first birthday.  Discussions of shortening days, less predictable weather, shorter weather windows,etc. occurred and we decided that we would enjoy another day or two in Houghton then head back toward the Soo.

       Bob and I visited the “Birth Place of Professional Hockey”.   In 1903-04 the Portage Lake Hockey Club became the first organization to pay its players.  They played at Dee Ice Rink or “The Dee” .  The building looks like it’s about to fall down but it is still in operation.

Dee Hockey Rink

We enjoyed our time in Houghton and plan on coming back here sometime in the future.  Now it was time to make our way back to The Soo and catch a plane to Boston.   We would retrace our steps stopping in Marquette, Munising, Grand Marais, and Whitefish.

      It was early (6:30) when we left Houghton.  We had a beautiful sunrise but when we got to Lake Portage we had thick fog.  We could see about twenty feet in front of  the boat.  Radar and AIS were on and it was still scary!  We spent one night in Marquette then moved on to Munising.  We got in early enough to book our selves on the Pictured Rocks Cruise that afternoon.  I’ll include some pictures but they don’t do it justice.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Look at how clear the water is and such a beautiful color

     The following day we walked to another waterfall in Munising.   We weren’t expecting much but we’re pleasantly surprised.

Horseshoe Falls, Munising, MI

           We  left Munising and continued on to Grand Marais and then Whitefish Point.  Whitefish Point is the home of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.  I must say, I never seen a body of water so proud of their shipwrecks.  Needless to say, we needed to visit.  Luckily for us, we ran into Dwayne in the “marina” parking lot and he handed us to complimentary tickets to the museum - as long as we spent money at his wife’s gift shop.  Not a problem for us.  We rode our bikes down to the museum and were very surprised to see at least 50 cars in the parking lot.  We are in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Population 575 - miles from any kinds of services.  The museum was wonderful.

Bell recovered from the Edmund Fitzgerald

2nd Order Fresnel “Clamshell” Lens

 Newtsuit used to explore deep wrecks

Rudder from an early schooner wreck

Hard Hat drive suit used by early wreck explorers

    I’ll leave you here at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.  Really worth the trip if you’re ever up this way.  We will continue on to Sault Ste Marie tomorrow.  I’ll save that adventure for the next blog.

Till then, safe travels.

P.S.  I almost forgot.  Bob had to take a dip in the lake so he could brag that he’s had a swim in all the Great Lakes.