As the name implies, everything about Grand Haven is rather over-the-top. We first began to notice this once we settled into our marina slip about noon. Off our stern was a never-ending promenade of boats... 5 abreast in each direction. The rumble of eager engines alone was head-turning. The Grand River flows from Grand Rapids, 25 miles away, exiting into Lake Michigan here in Grand Haven. You can just imagine the sheer number of boats of all sizes and shapes and speeds that are available along this waterway to keep this parade going for hours. But by dusk, at 9:30 pm, the Musical Fountain Extravaganza was underway, and the last of the boats had disappeared into the sunset. A legacy of Grand Haven for more than 50 years, the Musical Fountain gathers crowds every night during the summer. It is an attraction like none we have ever seen...fireworks with a wet twist! A spectators’ grandstand provides seating for the crowds that overflow onto the nearby grassy knolls. We municipal marina patrons had front row seats for the spectacle. Try as we might, our attempts at capturing the throngs of boats and the delightful Musical Fountain failed miserably. This time your imagination will have to suffice!!
Monday, August 29, 2016
Aug. 26-27, 2016 Muskegon, MI Reunions with good friends, long-time and quite new
When we were making our way along the Erie Canal, we chanced to meet the folks on a boat with a gaelic name...Feath. Pronounced (fee-a), it means Tranquil. Lenny and Nancy had just bought a Jefferson 37 Motor Yacht on the East Coast and with friends on board they were making their way back to the Muskegon, Michigan area. They fit in with all of the Loopers just fine and we enjoyed visiting along the lock walls at the day’s end. As we approached their homeport here on the Michigan shore, we emailed them to see if we could re-connect. They invited us to their home in Grand Haven for a delicious cook-out and chat time on the night we arrived. We got a much-needed “fur-fix” with their dog Charlie, also known as Chuck. What a sweet couple!
Meanwhile, another couple we came to know about 10 years ago at the Saguaro Co-op RV Park in Benson, Arizona, live about one hour away from Muskhegon in the summer. Bob and Cheri had been following our progress through Facebook and agreed to drive over for a lunchtime visit on our second day. They got to see “Summertime” up close and personal and then we opted for a neighborhood pub meal. We had a lot of catching up to do since we haven’t seen each other in four years. These kind of reunions make this life of ours even more special.
Created by Darcy O Campbell
Aug. 25, 2016 Ludington, MI and The S.S. Badger... an historic car ferry
My blog post on Tues.-Wed. Aug. 16 & 17 included a piece on Trailer Sailers. It was recently highlighted on the AGLCA website as a blog entry worthy of note. What a nice surprise to find that it attracted that kind of response!
We have been hearing about a great car/passenger ferry based out of Ludington, Michigan. Entering service in 1953, The S.S. Badger is the only coal-fired cross-lake ship remaining on any of The Great Lakes today. She can carry 620 passengers and 180 cars. She cruises at 18mph, but can go as fast as 24 mph. In “the day”, a fleet of 13 ferries called Ludington their home port!
The S.S. Badger has gained even more notoriety for her unorthodox docking style. Imagine a 410-foot ship approaching her dock at a healthy clip. Suddenly her starboard anchor is deployed and she begins to spin in a clock-wise direction. By the time The S.S. Badger’s stern is where her bow used to be, she is being secured to the dock and is ready for passengers and vehicles to off-load. Amazing! We were treated to this display of ingenuity at 6:30 Thursday night and again at 6:30 Friday morning. (From our slip in the Luddington Municipal Marina, we could look out on her dock.) In the 12 hours that had past, she had crossed to Manitowac, Wisconsin and back again. What a grand old lady!
Created by Darcy O Campbell
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Aug. 22-24, 2016 Frankfort, MI... a resort community and another Harbor of Refuge on Lake Michigan
It’s not easy to make progress down Lake Michigan. We have been in U.S. waters for 14 days and we are only 224.5 miles along out of the 530 miles to Chicago. There is a rule of thumb that we Loopers are all trying to follow... be out of Lake Michigan by Labor Day Weekend, September 5. That is only another 12 days away! The temperament of the lake becomes more blustery/wintery by then. Temperatures drop, the winds become more disagreeable as September approaches. Today six Looper boats are hunkered down here in Frankfort Harbor while a Mid-west storm passes through the region. Tomorrow looks promising for passage early in the day, so we will all be ready for a daybreak departure. One boat plans to make the 50-mile crossing to Sturgeon Bay, WI and then into Green Bay, Wisconsin through the ship canal on Lake Michigan’s western shore. The rest of us hope to push along 50 miles south on the eastern shore. In the meantime, we are enjoying each other’s company. Yesterday we gathered at 5pm in the park adjacent to the marina slips and shared munchies and stories. Wally and I have enjoyed strolling through the various neighborhoods. The Victorian homes here have such remarkable details of craftsmanship and fabulous gardens. We don’t miss “the joys of homeownership”, but we do take particular delight in all the efforts other people go through to make their property eye-catching. Frankfort’s sugar-fine sand beach with its pounding waves attracts young families, retired folks, sun bathers, kite surfers and surf boarders alike, so its not surprising to find that many of the fancy homes are available for weekly rentals. Michigan’s shoreline surely is a magnet for vacationers!
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| Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park |
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| At last! A black squirrel captured in a photo |
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It's 5:00 somewhere!                |
Aug. 18-21, 2016 Leland, MI / Historic Fish Town/Sleeping Bear Dunes Nat’l Lakeshore
You can tell that Leland’s tie to the fishing industry has been well-established over the years. The restored fish tug and the shanties that line the Historic Fish Town Dock provide an authentic backdrop for several long-time eateries. We had already sampled and enjoyed perch, pickeral and whitefish along the way. At the suggestion of Michigan friends, we each chose the smelt plate off the Bluebird Restaurant’s Tavern Menu. The ample portion of tiny smelts were crunchy and delicious! Lake Michigan continues to offer livelihood opportunities for Lelanders. Numerous fishing charter boats leave at daybreak to ply the waters with hopeful vacationers. Two ferries carrying the adventurous... backpackers, hikers, overnight campers... leave from Leland two or three times a day. Their destination is the North and South Manitou Islands, part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park. M22 is the highway that runs the Lake Michigan's eastern shoreline. Residents and visitors to the area often put an M22 sticker on their car. When they are away from Michigan, the question is, "Are you a local or did you fall in love with it as you passed through?" These lakeside towns are so sweet, it's no wonder so many visitors return year after year. Leland is also a “Harbor of Refuge”. Lake Michigan tends to kick up without much warning, so boaters can find a safe haven every 30 to 50 miles from Petoskey, MI to Chicago, IL. We “stayed put” at the Leland Municipal Marina inside the Leland seawall for four days while two red flags (small-craft warnings... seas 5 ft. or greater; gale-force winds...32-38mph) were prominently dispayed next to Old Glory at the marina. This is the first time that we have felt the urgency to keep moving, but the prudent mariner understands the need to wait for the rough sea-like conditions to calm down.
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| Gale Force Wind flags flying |
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| restored historic Fish Tug |
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| Surfers gather eager for a thrill |
Created by Darcy O Campbell
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