Of Land and Sea?

Been a while...yes...lazy this time...no!  Days have been full of fun and some work.  Since last post we have spent days with Meg, Corey and Dominic.  It's hard to say how proud we are of Meg & Corey...they are the parents we wish we were!!  We've had lots of time with the "Dominator"!!!  He is such a happy kid (takes after me!).

Corey finagled me a ticket to a Cubs game.  They played the Colorado Rockies.  Both are in competition for the last place.  They lost a little ground with a WIN!!  (Since the Rockies have beaten the Cubbies twice.)  It was great sitting in Row 1 in Wrigley Field!!

After more Dominic time...

...we took the boat down the Calumet to take the mast down at Skyway Marine.  Spent the next day (today) taking the mast and boom apart, packed and readying for shipment to Mobile, AL.  Ugh...I'm so tired but excited now we are (in my mind) really on the loop.

Well...maybe.  Tomorrow we are heading up to 31st Street Marina to get a bigger bite of the Chicago's Lake Shore Drive and a little closer to Navy Pier and Lock 1.  Plan is to celebrate Labor Day (and my birthday!!) with Corey, Meg, Dom and the Burgers.  Then start down the river September 9th.  But that's getting a little ahead of ourselves.  There is still more "Dom time" to be had!!!

Where are you?

Been a while since I've blogged (sorry) but in my defense...oh hell with it...I've been lazy!  Let me catch you up.

Per last post we left St Joseph on Sunday bound for New Buffalo.  Well...we got to NB to find none of the slips there were wide enough to take our boat!  How did we determine this?  Not from talking to the ditzzy harbor attendant that told us should not be a problem.  But when we gave it a go and could only fit about a third of the way in before getting stuck between post and dock.  Ugh!!  So given it was a nice day we decided to cross the lake and headed to Hammond, IN.

Hammond is about a mile below the Calumet River...about three miles south of East Chicago.  Plan is to stay here 10 days and prep for the Inland river stage of our trip.  This includes de-masting, erecting a small wooden mast for antennas and seeing lots of Dominic (oh, Meg and Corey too.  As a side note...as a parent we've experienced many stages of our child's lives (and enjoyed all of them).  I hadn't recognized that now they are in the "grandchild delivery" stage!)

Since we're so early to Hammond we rented a car and Tuesday sped (I haven't traveled so fast in a month!) back to Midland for a surprise visit.  Turns out we timed it perfectly to crash Val and Mike Holden's 60th birthday party!! (Happy b-day again!!!)  What a great opportunity to catch up with neighbors and friends.  We also spent time with Cindy and Steve Gould and had a great dinner with my parents and sister.  Not to mention the washing of clothes, the taking of showers without spiders, picking up stuff we forgot...and most of all...sleeping in my bed!  OMG how I've missed you bed!!!  I told Steve he needs to be designing a way to put that king size water bed on the boat!

Ok, we are minutes from "on the road" time back to Hammond.  Trust you all are having as much fun as we are.

Take Care,

CaptnBill

Goodbye St. Joe

We've been in St. Joseph at the West Basin Marina for four wonderful days.  With Cindy and Tom we walked the town, biked, ate out, ate in and just had a great time!  Our stay reached a climax yesterday as we actually got to go sailing...yes, SAILING!!  Stacey joined us and we went out the afternoon and stretch out the spinnaker.  It was glorious!!  What was really cool I met a guy at the dock this morning that had taken our picture.  The only downside was we said goodbye to the Burgers who rejoin the "Land Lovers."  We will miss you!!

We are currently underway to New Buffalo.

Enjoy the pics:

Thank you - THANK YOU!!!!

I suppose at sometime in every adventure you stop and reflect on all the help and support you got to get you here.  Well for me that time was tonight.  So let me acknowledge a limited number of people (sorry if you don't make the list...don't be offended...know that I appreciate your help and support but had to reduce the list from hundreds...yes, I know I'm needy!) that got me here.

Always at the top of my list are my parents.  Mom and Dad have been a positive force in my life at all stages.  In their retirement stage they continue to mentor and shape my expectations.  After raising four brats they followed the sun many years in an RV finally settling in AZ for the winter months.  They taught me there is life after kids (sorry Jessie & Corey) and work.  They have always been my inspiration to live life to its fullest!!

My partner in life and boating, Admiral Chris, is responsible for all that is good in my adult life on and off the water.  We would not be on the Loop without her insistence, hard work and "get it done and dog gone it Bill lets go!!!" attitude.  Love you the most dear!!!

Without a doubt Sally & Greg Whitaker have been our boating mentors and have helped chart our path on the big blue.  Sally, the cushions you helped Chris make are great and I've already put the fender you leant me to good use!!!  Greg, your inspiration and joy of boating is infectious...thanks for the guidance and support!!!!

 I wouldn't be anywhere on land or sea without the love and support of my best friend and his wife Steve and Cindy Gould.  Tooooo many boat projects to list.  It still floats and we are comfortable in large part because of you!!

We just said goodbye to our life long friends, parenting partners, North Channel mates and all around good souls Cindy & Tom Burger.  They were on board the last week doing what they do best...being life long friends!!

I need to put a plug in here for Pleasurecraft Outfitters.  Randy and his team have done a great job on hardtop, enclosure, seat and many other projects.  Randy has the vision and talent to take your needs and translate them into reality.  His whole team are all-around good people.  Randy, still remember the "brother by another mother" comment...back at you!!

Ok, from here it explodes...family, SSYC friends, neighbors, friends, and on and on!  Without all of your support, tolerance, and laughter I would probably be reduce to worrying about the amount of crab grass in my lawn.  By the way Bob & Mike, howzit looking??

Fair winds to all and know you are in my thoughts.

An Almost Perfect Day for a Sailboat

Yesterday we walked around South Haven in the morning. There were a lot of touristy shops and eating places to visit but we were hoping to find a grocery store. Instead we happened upon a farmers market and bought fruits and vegetables.

We left South Haven around noontime. Next stop St Joseph about a four trip. On the way out of the harbor we passed a tall ship.

The weather was almost perfect. Sunny and 80 degrees with light winds and waves less than a foot. We spent a lot of time relaxing on the fore deck and even went swimming in Lake Michigan before looking for a place to dock for the night.

Found a marina, the West Basin Marina, with a nice gas dock to tie up to for the night with a lot of friendly boaters around us. Expecting rain all day tomorrow.

By guest blogger Tom Burger