We left Chicago and headed south on the Illinois river. The weather was gloomy, and the area was very industrial. Tug boats were busy moving barges along the river. We crossed an electric fish barrier (no swimming!), set up to block Asian Carp (an invasive species). Not the most beautiful part of the voyage, but interesting to see. We went through large locks in the … Continue reading Illinois River
“We’re 106 miles to Chicago. We’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses…Hit it.” What a beautiful city. The approach from Lake Michigan was stunning. “Come on, oh baby, don’t you wanna go? Come on, oh baby, don’t you wanna go?” The sun went down and the city lit up. We hadn’t seen Rita & … Continue reading Chicago!
Our first day heading south on Lake Michigan was lovely. The weather was clear and the water was calm. Our first stop was Charlevoix, and we entered the Pine River and cruised through the blue bridge that led to Round Lake and our pretty, protected marina for the night. We cut through the downtown area and into the neighborhood behind it to find the Mushroom … Continue reading Lake Michigan
We headed north from Detroit and crossed a busy Lake St. Claire. Then we continued up the St. Claire River, again traveling the line between USA and Canada, until we reached Port Huron. We walked the waterfront to see the sights and found lunch at a brew pub by the water. A rainbow greeted us the next morning as we entered Lake Huron. Our first … Continue reading Lake Huron
We made a few stops along Lake Erie as we headed southwest toward Cleveland. “The lake was angry that day, my friends.” When the water is rough, we try to secure things on the boat. If we don’t, they find their way to the floor during the trip. By the end of the day we had four broken wine glasses, and a new seatbelt for … Continue reading Lake Erie
“The Plan” is constantly changing and as the Erie Canal reopened, we decided to skip Canada for this trip, as we were getting late into the season for warm weather boating. Instead, we continued west on the canal. Our first step was to lower our boat height, as there were now some low bridges in our path. Kenton took down the radar and satellite dish, … Continue reading Western Erie Canal
Very early in our Great Loop adventure, other boaters shared with us the definition of Cruising: Cruising: [krooz-ing] verb – fixing your boat in exotic locations Just like any home, boats need maintenance and sometimes repairs. In most cases we do the maintenance and repairs ourselves (and by “ourselves” I mean Kenton fixes things and I hand him some tools or get him a cold … Continue reading Definitions
We stayed on both east and west sides of Lake Oneida, which the locals call the “Forgotten Finger Lake.” This reminded us that we were near wine country! We rented a car and went to explore. It was a pretty drive to Watkins Glen, at the bottom of Seneca Lake. We went to the state park and followed a trail that led uphill and down … Continue reading Finger Lakes
At Mohawk Harbor, we had the good fortune to run into (figuratively!) other boats we’d met earlier, including Tiama, a beautiful Selene and her friendly captain and crew. So for this post, I actually have photos taken of our boat as we traveled, courtesy of the Tiama crew! While each boat traveled at its own speed, we met up when stopping at the locks along … Continue reading Lockin’ and Rollin’
The Erie Canal opened, so we continued north on the Hudson River. The weather was cool and cloudy, but the water was calm as we traveled past Renssalaer, Albany and Menands. And made our way through the lock at Troy. Decision time! (How lucky do we feel?) Decision made, we veered to port (went left) and headed to “the wall” in Waterford. “The wall” is … Continue reading Our adventure continues
