Second Wind on the Great Loop and Beyond

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 wiped out the entire central business district, destroying more than 17,000 buildings. The city quickly rebounded. Architects and developers then had a blank slate, which they used to build “new” steel skeleton frame skyscrapers. From the graceful, highly ornamented, classic design of late 19^th century buildings to stylized Art Deco designs of the 1920s, then to the sleek, austere, highly engineered buildings in more recent years, Downtown Chicago has it all. We thoroughly enjoyed learning about the skyscrapers we had been passing all week. We will take some of the same river route through the city again tomorrow, but this time from the vantage point of Second Wind.

# posted by Second Wind @ 9:56 PM 2 comments

Chicago: Tuesday thru Friday, August 28-31.
The plan was to leave Chicago early this morning (Friday), but the conclusion from multiple calls to marinas, locks, and Loopers is that we would have no place to stay tonight. Tomorrow promises to be better.

With Mother Nature in charge, we’ve enjoyed this bonus week in Chicago, waiting for the flooded Illinois rivers to recede. The Windy City has been added to our list of favorite places to visit. We’ve seen a lot, thanks to a Blue Line Tour, hoofing it on foot, and regular use of public transportation. The tour took us through Lincoln Park, (we took a quick peek at the Conservatory and the Zoo), then Bus #146 took us to the Field Museum (where we learned perhaps more than we wanted about dinosaurs, cicadas, Darwin, and dirt). True to form, we’ve sampled some of Chicago’s culinary delights too: dinner with Paul’s family at Angelina’s Italian restaurant within walking distance of our marina, and dinner with Loopers Ellen and Woody Sutton at another wonderful Italian restaurant, Erba. Thursday night we walked forever until we found a good Thai restaurant after making a hasty retreat from a not-so-great neighborhood.

Our brief view of urban life has been fascinating: walking seven or eight blocks to the grocery store (then carrying all those bags back!); dodging lightening-fast joggers, walkers, bikers, skaters every time you cross a path on foot; and most important, finding your way around town using public buses. Lots of walking! With all the huge apartments on Lakeshore Drive, people are out and about all day and night. This is such a different way of life for us. What’s with the sign about an Elderly Crossing? You can’t get old with all this exercise!

# posted by Second Wind @ 9:21 AM 0 comments

Thursday thru Saturday August 23-25. After a night of strong wind, we were pleased when the Thursday morning forecast called for a break in the storms. Second Wind and Happy Destiny said a fond farewell to the Lillys and the vibrant city of Holland, and we headed south again. We hoped to make it all the way down to St. Joseph in Benton Harbor, Michigan, but big swells became mighty tiresome after just a few hours. South Haven (only 26 miles from Holland) is considered another excellent “harbor of refuge,” so we happily pulled in.

As it turned out, the South Haven Municipal Marina was our stopping point for three days because a nasty weather front came through, wreaking havoc on Chicago and adding more rain to the already flooded Illinois rivers. While we were exploring the town Thursday afternoon, a shop keeper told us that a super strong thunderstorm was heading our way. We ran back to the boat and started adding additional lines. The first gusts blew off a large seat cushion that was snapped and velcroed to our back bench. Fortunately, it caught on the railing, and Bob retrieved it. From our boat I watched a tree blow down (no damage), and we both watched a canvas bimini blow off from a boat across the river. This storm screamed through with winds in excess of 60 mph. Second Wind handled it well because we were securely tied up.

Unstable weather and high waves continued for the next two days. On Friday we rented a car from a dealership and drove to Saugatuck, MI, described in Skipper Bob’s guidebook as “a small but popular art community that has become a tourist Mecca near the mouth of the Kalamazoo River.” It was colorful, fun, and filled with tourists, even though dark clouds threatened rain. On our way back to South Haven, we stopped at a produce market. Fresh corn and peaches for supper!

We spent a good bit of time Saturday planning our next run. Another break in the weather is forecast for Sunday, but we have two hurdles ahead: crossing Lake Michigan over to Chicago, then dealing with the rivers south of there, which are still above flood stage. As I write this, our plan is to make a long run to Chicago tomorrow (Sunday), staying there a few days until the floodwaters recede. We had a mini-Looper rendezvous at the marina tonight (Saturday), where we caught up with old friends that we haven’t seen in a while and visited with new ones. We all brought food, (including enchiladas and Pronto Pups), then Phil from the 49-foot Gulfstar Wonderland gave us a great “chalk talk” about the rivers south of Chicago. The fellowship was great, the food delicious, and the talk informative!

# posted by Second Wind @ 9:31 PM 0 comments

Lake Michigan is roughly 307 miles long and 118 miles wide and is a wonderful cruising ground with harbors and excellent stops along both its eastern and western shores. It is also a body of water noted for unexpected strong storms, with waves sometimes topping 10-15 feet.

We are fascinated by the concept that since 1947, the state of Michigan has supported a series of safe harbors along the coastline. Every 20 miles or so along the eastern shore, the high Lake Michigan dune line is broken by entrances to harbors that have reasonably priced marinas. Here mariners can seek refuge when the water gets too rough. If slips in the designated "harbors of refuge" are full, the harbor master simply starts rafting boats up. No one is turned away. Through the years the towns around these harbors have become popular tourist destinations. Having these nicely maintained harbors may also explain why there are more registered pleasure craft in Michigan than any other state in the United States. We want to come back!

# posted by Second Wind @ 9:23 PM 0 comments

Tuesday andWednesday, August 21-22. We left Pentwater early Tuesday morning in the cool, cool mist (quite a contrast to 100-plus degree temperatures at home). We started the day rocking and rolling, but by the time we got to our marina, Eldean Shipyard, Lake Michigan was almost flat. We passed by the long line of tall Lake Michigan dunes, broken only by harbors of refuge: White Lake, Muskegon, and Grand Haven; but our destination was Holland. This is the home port of our good friends and boating buddies Barry and Sheryl (Seaquel). Holland is also where our mail had been forwarded. Because we’ve been in Canada and haven’t gotten mail since we were home in early July, a huge box was waiting for us. (I’ll have to admit that I haven’t missed sorting through all those catalogs.)

Eldean Shipyard is a very, very nice marina, and Holland is a lovely resort community. The Lillys served as excellent tour guides, leading us to great restaurants (Boatwerks and Piper) and the delightful downtown area. In the winter, the sidewalks and parking lots are heated, so people come here year-round. Flowers lined the streets, and the Victorian homes and cottages were charming! What a pretty place and what dear friends are the Lillys. We will miss traveling with them, but they have now officially completed the Great Loop. Woohoo and congratulations to Barry and Sheryl!

We woke up early Wednesday morning to a strong thunderstorm, but although more bad weather was predicted during the day, we were treated to several hours of hot, sunny weather. Jane and I took advantage of blue skies to walk over to the beach area beside the Holland Harbor lighthouse, appropriately called “Big Red.” It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed the feeling of sand under my feet and waves actually breaking on my legs – and the first time ever in fresh water as opposed to salt.

As soon as we finished a delightful dinner at the Piper restaurant with the Lillys and Cowhigs, we noticed awful black clouds through the window. Rushing back to the boat, we saw strong winds whipping up the water. Bob added more lines and fenders, we zipped up the boat, and rode out the storm from the safety of Second Wind.

# posted by Second Wind @ 9:12 PM 2 comments

Monday morning brought hard rain and wind, so we decided to stay put. Several Looper couples met for brunch and made plans for exploring later (after laundry duty). This is a really pretty resort town – yet another place to visit again when we can stay longer.

Loopers Jim and Joanie invited the five Looper couples to see their gorgeous Pilgrim trawler Christine late this afternoon. What a lovely boat and what fun people. We all went to dinner at Gull's restaurant -- still eating our way around the Great Loop!

# posted by Second Wind @ 2:51 PM 0 comments

Saturday, August 18. We took advantage of the first good weather in several days and headed out early in the morning. With the cool cloudy weather, wearing down and fleece felt good. It was in the low 60's on the water, but we were happy that Lake Michigan was finally calm. Lake Michigan fascinates me. On our right were huge sand dunes including the famous Sleeping Bear dune, and all we could see on our left was the horizon. The vista could be the Outer Banks of North Carolina but without the salt water. We passed several Lake Michigan lighthouses, including one that was part of a large building.

Most Loopers stopped in Leland, but we pressed on to Frankfort, another really pleasant town. The marinas were technically full, but the municipal marina managed to squeeze both Happy Destiny and Second Wind into one slip – not ideal, but manageable. Two other Loopers were here (Odyssee and Ciderella). As we walked the town, we stopped for fudge at Kilwin's. Dinner consisted of fresh whitefish and Coho salmon at Rhoda’s Wharfside Inn -- really good. I would love to stay here another day, but calm seas have been forecasted so we'll keep moving south.

# posted by Second Wind @ 8:35 PM 0 comments

Monday thru Friday, August 13-17. Who would have thought we would spend five days in Petoskey, Michigan! But if we had to be weathered in somewhere, this was a great place (except for s-l-o-w Internet connection). Even though we haven’t had rain, the winds on Lake Michigan have been ferocious this week. Various boats have tried to leave, but they have come back reporting 6-foot seas. So Second Wind has been safely rocking and rolling at the dock. Meanwhile we have thoroughly enjoyed the town. Petoskey was a lumber and manufacturing city in the late 1800s; now it attracts tourists year round. Fortunately, Petoskey feels like a thriving community of local folks rather than a tourist town. Ernest Hemingway’s family summered near here as he was growing up, and this is where he returned in 1919 to write while recovering from World War 1 injuries and a broken heart.

The Petoskey Municipal Marina is adjacent to the attractive Bayfront Park area. A pedestrian tunnel connects the waterfront with the downtown Gaslight District, where we’ve sampled local restaurants, bakeries, galleries, specialty shops, and a wonderful farmer’s market. A great shuttle service has also taken us to more utilitarian places: the grocery store, West Marine, and Radio Shack - a service much appreciated by boaters.

After doing our part for the local restaurant economy all week, on Thursday night we slaved over dinner (of the crockpot variety) and had the Cowhigs and Braffets over. The picture of remnants of a pretty sunset shows just how fickle Lake Michigan can be. There were huge whitecaps and breaking waves earlier in the afternoon. By 8:45 p.m. (sunsets are later this far north) the water was relatively smooth. But Friday morning brought the highest winds yet – around 40 mph. Every day Bob has added new security features to the boat: additional lines and fenders, chafe guards, and today he added snubbers to try to keep the lines from jerking as the waves rock us. I could write a book titled “Boat Sounds.” Our evening wind lullaby sounded like “eaaakkk, rrraarfff, screeeek, plunnck, eerrch, croarck, eeeeak.”

Today (Friday) was the start of a summer festival weekend, so we put on our fleece and down jackets to go listen to a steel drum band and watch fireworks. We nearly froze. The first wave of winter has come to Lake Michigan. The festival was, well, festive, and reminded us a bit of Huntsville's Panoply, but on a smaller scale. The weather is supposed to improve tomorrow, so we'll be putting in long days to get as far south as possible. Petosky has been a nice place to visit, and we only scratched the surface.

# posted by Second Wind @ 7:35 PM 0 comments

Several lighthouses and large buoys were our guides until late afternoon when we arrived at the Petoskey Municipal Marina. That's when the wind did a number on us, but Captain Bob was up to the challenge of docking without mishap. Even though I didn't even know how to spell Petoskey before we got here, it has a whole lot to offer visitors and will be an excellent place to wait out the weather system that's on the way.

# posted by Second Wind @ 7:15 AM 0 comments