Ohio-Cumberland to Kentucky Dam Marina

My Hero!!



Rafted up - a party in the making!



Another beautiful sunset

Yes, it's raining!

Enjoying dinner at Patty's

New dam under construction

Dam under construction - major project!

Heading in to raft up - happy hour anyone?

Friday Morning – September 23 – Couldn't leave our great "rafting" anchorage until about 10:30 due to fog – another morning of thick soup……again…! We finally headed on down the Mississippi for another fine day of boating. We had planned to anchor at mile marker 7.7 but some ahead decided that it didn't look quite right for all of us. - So we all pushed on. We then realized it was going to be another long travel day.

About 3:00 p.m. we came to Cairo IL where the Ohio River converges with the Mississippi. This is where we leave the Mississippi behind and join the Ohio. We go up the river for about 46 miles to near Paducah. Now you want to talk about barge traffic!! Wow! The radio was busy with towboat chatter and they were going in all directions. It took about another 5-7 miles before the congestion let up. I was beginning to think this was going to be a long 46 miles!

Finally we were ready for an anchorage only they were quite scarce. We checked out tying to the bale anchors which are the big bollards right outside the new dam that is under construction. The Lockmaster told us that we could use them if we wanted. We decided against that idea. We went on past the construction and found a great anchorage along the Kentucky Side of the river. Eight boats total – plus one canoe! Yes, one canoe!

Just as all of the boats got settled in, here came two young men in a canoe down the Ohio. They were looking for a place to stop for the evening. They were on a major canoe trip which consisted going down the Mississippi River to Mobile Bay! They had already gone over 900 miles starting somewhere around Akron, Ohio. They had this canoe packed! However, their tent was wet from the rain the night before. SO, being a fine specimen of a Looper, Southern Bell asked if they wanted to stay up on top of their boat. They would be safe, dry and out of the weather. Of course, they said yes. Wouldn't you? I mean if you'd even get in a canoe and take it down the Mississippi! They were a couple of college age guys out on a major adventure. We all wish them well! Stay safe, guys! I'd never be able to sleep if that was one of my kids!

Saturday morning I was so excited because my good friend, Pam, was coming to visit while we were still fairly close by! We hadn't seen each other since I left Joplin over 5 months ago. We worked it out that she would drive to Metropolis and we would pick her up there. Then we'd go on to Kentucky Dam Marina where we could get a car and take her back to hers in Metropolis. Pretty smart!

When we got to Metropolis we found that the launch ramp and courtesy dock wouldn't handle big ol' NautiNell. So we anchored out a little ways while we waited. The other guys went on by - we planned to meet up with them at our designated anchorage. Mike launched the dinghy and we waited until Pam drove in. Right on time! I love it when a plan comes together! We loaded her up and headed on up the river. Oh did I mention – we're heading to Kentucky where we will be in a dry county – so Pam, the bootlegger, took orders before she left Joplin. The dinghy was loaded down! LOL!

Just up from where we picked Pam up was Lock and Dam #52. This was a very busy place. We finally got to lock through only we had to go in with a huge barge. If we didn't - we would be waiting another 3 hours! We pulled in when we were told – but that was a little too soon. The tow was still trying to stage his barges and the thrust from his engines just pushed us over to the side of the lock. Mike had no real control at this time and we slammed up against the lock wall – popping one of our huge fenders and pulling another one entirely off the rail. What a noise that was!! No real harm done – but lost two fenders! We were glad to get out and away from the lock.

Soon we were going on up the river. It didn't take too long before we made it up to where everyone was anchored. Everyone was rafted up at the Cumberland Towhead. This is where we will get off the Ohio River and start up the Cumberland. We tied on and prepared for a fun night. After all, Pam was here and we were ready to party! HA!

We decided that is was a night for blender drinks. Everyone donated what they had and several batches of great tropical drinks were made (TMFrs!). We had a great time! Mike grilled some chicken and Linda of Awes Spray made a terrific pot of soup. We chowed down and drank up all evening!

The next morning was rainy. I mean it was raining cats and dogs! We ventured on though – we really couldn't just sit there. We were heading up the Cumberland River to the Barkley Dam and Barkley Lake. We had the option of taking the Tennessee River to the Kentucky Dam and then into the Kentucky Lake but chose not to. This trip would have been a lot busier with commercial traffic and sometimes the Kentucky Dam has delays of several hours. We were only on the Cumberland River for a few miles – 33 miles to be exact. It snaked through a pretty region and seemed quite peaceful. It would have been a lot more enjoyable if it hadn't been pouring down rain and COLD! We were still having fun though. Pam and I made up a big pot of chili while Captain Chappy maintained the wheel. Chili just hit the spot on a day like this. We were just about ready to serve it when we realized that we were at the Barkley Lock. All of us locked through at the same time, thank goodness. The rain did let up a little while we were locking through and we really didn't have too much trouble. It was a 57' lift however, and the Lockmaster brought up the water rather quickly! It's all good! After that, we ate our chili while we ventured in to Lake Barkley.

We passed Green Turtle Bay Marina which is a huge marina. We had planned to stay there, but there was no room at the inn. So we had reservations at the Kentucky Dam Marina. This meant that we would boat through the Barkley Canal which connects Lake Barkley (on Cumberland River) and Kentucky Lake (on Tennessee River). The land between them is called "The Land Between the Lakes". Original huh!

When we made it through the canal we turned back up river about a mile or so to the Kentucky Dam Marina. There were five of us boats coming in and it was quite a cluster. BUT WE MADE IT and IT WAS STILL POURING DOWN RAIN! It must be monsoon season here in Kentucky.

We didn't let the rain stop us though; we all decided to go to dinner. There's a great place near here called Patty's 1880 Settlement. The restaurant is known for its 2 inch thick charbroiled pork chop and their wonderful desserts. So here we go – all ten of us! They sent a shuttle for us and we piled in. The food was everything they said it was. It was all good! Even including the 15 inch tall meringue topped coconut pie! Okay, Pam and I split it. Our waiter was quite the talker. He was a poli-sci/history major and wanted to tell us all about the history of Kentucky. We just wanted to eat and drink. Oh yeah, it's a dry county! No problem for us! We snuck in our own….. LOL

Monday morning, we got the courtesy car and drove Pam back to Metropolis (home of Superman!) to get her car. We stopped at Willy Jak's for lunch. A really cool place! Great shrimp and great burgers. And of course, we had our pictures taken with Superman! Then we dropped off Pam so she could drive the 6-7 hour drive home. It was so good to see her. Can't wait till she comes back. Guess she'll have to bring Bill next time… LOL

We stopped at the store and ran a few errands on the way home. It was a much nicer day than the day before. We worked around the boat and ate leftover chili. Planned to leave on Tuesday - however, Tuesday was a little cool and cloudy. It didn't take much to decide to stay another day. We all just hung out while catching up on things such as blogs and laundry. Awes Spray had decided to leave on Monday so we'll catch up with them in a few days. We'll see what Wednesday brings……..

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Heading down the Mississippi

Rafted up on the Kaskaskia River Lock and Dam

Along the Mississippi River

Familiar Sight!

Fern holding court - great information

Tuesday, September 20 – We left Grafton (IL mm "0") finally about 10:30 a.m. and entered the Mississippi River. We were ready to leave much earlier but the fog was so bad we had to wait. It was as thick as pea soup! You couldn't see the across the river to the other bank. No one left early. We hoped this would be the exception and that we wouldn't encounter this every morning on the river. When the major exodus started about 12 or more boats headed out. Some planned to stop at Alton only 20 miles downriver. Some planned to go a bit farther. Sweet Pea and NautiNell were those planning to go as far as Hoppies Marina. It was only about a 60 mile run. We would have plenty of time even though we had a late start. BUT, first we had to lock through the Mel Price Lock and Dam. We waited for over two hours at the lock just to get to lock through. They were locking up a barge and paddle-wheel tour boat. It seemed to take forever! We then knew it was going to be a long day…..

Finally we were on our way on the Mississippi! Wow! Who would have ever thought that we would be chugging along in our own boat down the Big Muddy! Mike and I still keep asking ourselves if this trip is for real. It's still hard to believe.

As we approached the Chain of Rocks area – where the Missouri River converges with the Mississippi River we found what it meant to be in turbulence. We were rockin'! Once we were in the Chain of Rocks Canal there was no problem. We also had no problem locking though the Chain of Rocks Lock – the second and LAST lock on the Mississippi River where we rejoined the main channel. Within just a few miles we were spotting familiar signs of St Louis – besides lots of barges. You could see the Gateway Arch standing proud from miles away. There are so many sights to see in St Louis, but absolutely nowhere to stop. If you want to go to the city, you need to rent a car and leave your boat in Alton or Grafton. I think St Louis is really missing the boat (so to speak) here. They should take a lesson from other cities that have the Municipal Docks. Oh well………..

We finally made it to Hoppies Marina which is near Kimmswick Mo. Here the owner, Fern, who has been around this area forever, holds "court" for all the Loopers. Fern is a very sweet older lady that has a lot of experience on the river. She sat us down and explained to us what we would encounter on our voyage on down the rivers to Mobile, AL. She was a bundle of information. The marina itself is not much. It's just three 100 foot barges tied up together. She does have power but there really isn't much of a breakwater. When the barges went by during the night, it would get pretty wavy and could be pretty loud. However, you have to stop here – its tradition! Also, it's the last marina for over 225 miles! There are only about four good places to stop from here and all of them are anchorages – not marinas. Hopefully we would have good weather.

Wednesday morning around 9:30 Sweet Pea and NautiNell headed on from Hoppies. There was no real hurry. We only had about 48 miles to go till our next stop. A lot of the Loopers had stopped in Alton the day before. Only Sweet Pea, Old Faithful and NautiNell were at Hoppies. We met a lot of barges along the way – both going up and down the river. Could they churn up the water! But the current really helped us along. In fact at the same RPMS we had been running we went from our usual 8 knots to 13.5 knots! That's a big push! Saving that fuel!

Most of what we saw on the river was industrial. However, we could tell we were in Missouri by the cliffs and trees that became more frequent. There was quite a bit of turbulence, but NautiNell could handle it. Most of it was caused by the bend weir dams. These are for the prevention of erosion by controlling the flow of the water.

We made it to the Kaskaskia Lock and Dam where we were told we could tie up for the night. We aren't to lock through - just tie up above the lock on the wall. They let boaters do this for FREE! The Lockmaster was very pleasant. In no time we were secure for the evening, Oh, and Old Faithful was already there. The Kaskaskia River is a small river that is navigable up for about 35 miles to Fayetteville, Illinois. There are marinas up there but none of them can handle boats our size. About an hour after we arrived we got a call from Awe Spray. They were all headed our way. Awe Spray, Black Tickle and OokPik had stayed in Alton but passed on Hoppies because they were full. This made a long run from them but they would be staying the night with us on the lock wall. Great! A party was about to start! Before they even got there, Coconuts and Tourist arrived. We helped everyone get settled and when the last three got there, they rafted up. Another Looper reunion! Oh, and one small note - this lock is only about 17 miles from Chester, Ill. – And Chester is the home of the infamous "Popeye"! Just a bit of trivia that I thought I'd throw in. You can learn a lot from the blogs, eh! We visited on the lock wall for most of the evening. What fun!

Thursday morning was cold and rainy! Yuk! We headed out anyway to a recommended anchorage (from Fern) about 70 miles away. There were no locks so we made pretty good time. It was pretty much an uneventful day except an occasional "whirlpool" that wanted to send NautiNell down the river the wrong direction….. LOL! All eight boats that ended up on the lock wall the night before were pretty much traveling together. We made it to our destination in plenty of time – Little Diversion Channel. You had to enter it from downstream! And was there ever a current! We weren't sure Old Faithful would make it in. But true to her name – she did! Five of us rafted up together on five anchors. The others anchored by themselves. It was a nice night and a fairly nice anchorage. – once we got in!!

Tomorrow we are headed on down the river!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

A Day in Grafton

Looper Gathering!

All Aboard1  Hayride to Hawg Pit!

Ready for dinner!

What a busy day we had at Grafton on Monday! It first started out a little cloudy but turned into a beautiful day. We were visited by our old friends, Jim and Verla Dickerson from Quincy. They drove down here to visit with us. It was really good to see them and catch up with everything. They offered to take us to the nearest Wal-Mart. Yea! It was in Jerseyville about 15 miles away. Of course, there were a few wrong turns but we did make it there. We were able to stock up on more groceries, etc. This was pretty important since places to stop are really limited while going down the Mississippi. We can't take a chance in running out of Diet Pepsi!

NOTE TO:  Jim and Verla, thank you so much for running us all around. We really appreciated it and really enjoyed our visit. Hopefully we'll see you again soon. Maybe in Texas?? LOL

We really wish we could have planned our timing a little better. We would have liked to have been able to let several of our family and friends know when we were going to be so close to St Louis. After all, Joplin is just about four hours away. Even though we're not going to make it home this time, our hearts and thoughts are still with everyone in Joplin. We will actually be in Missouri tomorrow when we leave here. It's almost home!

To top off the day, someone called the Hawg Pit to see if they could pick us all up for dinner! It really wasn't that long of a walk, but a ride would be nice…. Did they give us a ride? Did they ever!!! The owner of the Hawg Pit picked us up in his old Army truck – filled with hay! We went on an actual hayride! He took us all through the town of Grafton and over to his place. How fun was that!

Even though we had eaten there at noon, we were ready for another helping. Mike and I love this place. It's just the type of place where we like to hang out. I can tell you we have a lot of friends that would love it too! Too bad it's a little far for the "bikers" we know. They'd love it! Anyway, we had a great dinner and a great time. There were 6 couples in all. Becky of SeaMoore is having a little trouble with her hip and couldn't ride in the truck, so the owner sent someone to pick up Carlton and her in his Hummer! They followed us through town.  What a hoot!

What a day! You never know what might happen when you're a Looper!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

From Ottawa to Grafton

 Just a little strange - sink outside the restrooms?  hmmm!



Having dinner at Babe's Bar and Grill



Wednesday, September 14 – We stayed on the free wall one more day in Ottawa – rafted up with everyone. It was a bit rainy and we needed some provisions so it wasn't hard to convince the Captain. We walked to the store with Don and Linda of Awes Spray. The store gave us a ride back. Pretty smart. With a ride back - we all probably bought twice as much as

Rollin' down the river

Henry Island Anchorage

we would have if we had to carry it back. Later in the day, Dockers Inn, Salty Paws, Last Dance and Black Tickle came by. Only Black Tickle stopped for a tie up. I think the others anchored out just a little down from us. We had a spontaneous gathering on NautiNell with everyone until it was time for dinner. Great time visiting with everyone. That's what it is all about!

On Thursday we left out early – really for no reason. We had to spend over 1 1/2 hours at the lock while they locked through a barge. We had grown to a group of at least 10 now. There were two more barges coming down behind us. It was a little tiring. Oh well, part of the adventure…..
We made it to upper Henry Island for a great anchorage. There were six of us Loopers. The carp were jumping everywhere! There had to be 1000s of them! What a sight! I tried to get pictures but they were too quick. Other than their splashes, it was a peaceful anchorage. – We appreciated it too, because anchorages seem to be few and far between. The water is really down!

Friday morning we decided that if we were going to make it to Grafton by Sunday to meet up with Sweet Pea we had better book it! After all, they were referring to us as "pokey"! That would never do! LOL!
Several Loopers stopped at the Illinois Valley Yacht Club in Peoria. We had an easy time locking through the wicket dam at Peoria once they finished locking through a barge. There really wasn't much between there and Tall Timbers Marina in Havana. That would mean another 30+ miles! We kept plugging along watching the jumping fish, the flocks of white pelicans and beautiful eagles. What a sight!

We decided to stop at Tall Timbers Marina. Now, I mentioned the water was down; well they were telling people that if they drafted 4 feet or more to just pass them by. We draft 3 1/2 so we figured we could make it. We went in first – through an entrance that is about 30 feet wide. Sheeh! Rocks on both sides! We made it! We found Salty Paws there and another Looper – Last Chance. Finally some of the other Loopers made it there too. Including Awe Spray whose beam is 23 ½ feet. He was a little nervous going through that 30 foot entrance! Also, when he made it to the slip – he was on bottom. At least it's a soft bottom……..! OokPik wasn't too sure about trying it. He drafts 4 foot. However, will a little encouragement, he went for it. Of course, it may have been because he really didn't have much choice. Again there were NO good anchorages out there! We all made it in safe and sound. Once we were settled in, we headed to town for dinner. The town is Havana – but we didn't see Castro. Ha! We did find "Babes" – a little bar and grill. They were having prime rib as their special so we decided to check it out. We had a ball! The place was a little crazy so we all fit right in.

We left out fellow Loopers behind a little on Saturday. We really wanted to make Grafton on Sunday. So we put the petal to the metal, so to speak. We knew we'd see them down the river somewhere. Little did we know that we would have to keep going another 90 miles to a good place to stop! It was a long day, but it was nice. There were pelicans everywhere! And just a "few" barges. We locked through the LeGrange Lock by ourselves. They didn't even require us to tie up. We just floated in the middle of the lock. Talk about an easy lock through! Finally after a 90 mile trek we stopped to anchor at Willow Island where we caught up with Last Dance and Dovekie. We were only 30 miles from Grafton so we knew we would have an easy day on Sunday.

On Sunday about noon, we come rolling in to Grafton Harbor. There were a bunch of Loopers! Some we had never met and some we hadn't seen for weeks! We were really surprised to see Jeremiah there. We hadn't seen them since Campbellford! Of course, Sweet Pea was there to greet us too. We hadn't seen them since we left Peterborough! There must have been at least 15 Looper boats. Even Southern Belle was there. We had met them when we were still at Smith Point Marina before we had ever started the trip. What a group! Of course we had a huge "reunion/happy hour". We talked for hours and laughed till we hurt! Hopefully, OokPik and the others will join us tomorrow.

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Traveling Down to Ottawa



Chicago in the fog (smog?)



Yes, we were that close!



Little "Lollygag"!





Entering the electrical barrier



Looper Happy Hour!



What Loopers will do to get free dockage!



Sept 10 - After our little adventure in Chicago, we decided we'd stay near the boat today. We did go into Wolf's Marine – a 50,000 sq. ft. building filled of boating supplies, etc. They run a shuttle back and forth to their store from the marina. Pretty smart!

It was such a beautiful evening that Mike and I rode our bikes around the area. We went out to the Lighthouse and watched the sunset. There was a young man fishing for bait fish using a net. We watched him for a while when we realized that he had caught something bigger than any bait fish. It was a 5-6 lb. flathead catfish! He was huge! The kid didn't really know what to do with it. I think he was rather scared of it.  He kept trying to give it to us. Mike explained to him over and over what a great meal that would be. He showed him how to clean it and cut it up. Finally, Mike convinced the kid that he should keep it. That was fun!

The next morning, (Sept 11) we left out early to cross over to Chicago. It's about a 60 mile trip from St Joseph. It was a perfect day to cross Lake Michigan. Hardly any waves at all. Ookpik crossed with us and we stopped in Hammond Marina (Indiana) for the evening. Hammond Marina is just about 3 miles from the Calumet River entrance or about 12 miles south of Chicago. This was a perfect location for us since we had to take the Calumet River rather than the Chicago River because of our height clearance. Also, right next door was the Horseshoe Casino. We decided to go in and check out the buffet, well I planned on gambling but if you know Mike, you know how much he loves gambling. LOL. Anyway, we did have a wonderful dinner and I did do some gambling on the slots. The crap tables were too full, besides they were $10 and $15 tables. My money went fast enough at the slots! Oh well……

We had met up with Docker's Inn and Spirit Dancer at the marina. So we all left early Monday morning to head on down the river system. As I mentioned before we had opted to take the Calumet River rather than the Chicago River. The Chicago River would have taken us right through downtown Chicago which would have been really cool but there are several bridges that we wouldn't clear. We would have had to be below 17 ft. and we didn't want to mess with taking down our radar, etc. So we opted for the Calumet River which most Loopers do. The Calumet River takes us to the Cal-Sag and then to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal where we meet up with those who opted to take the Chicago River route. Also, the Calumet is a lot more industrial and maybe not as scenic. However, it was very interesting to see the operations on the river. We had a lot of barge traffic but there were no problems.

One of the most interesting things on this river is the permanent electrical barrier designed to prevent the Asian Carp from entering Lake Michigan. There is an electrical charge in the water for about 1800 feet. You contact the Coast Guard before entering and only one boat can go through at one time. We had four boats traveling together at that time, so each of us had to wait on the other. Once the first boat made it through safely, we headed through. You just don't want to fall into the water!

We locked through our first of seven locks on the Illinois River System. It's much larger than the ones on the Erie Canal. These are more like what we were used to on the Arkansas and Tennessee Rivers.

Finally we made it to Joliet, Illinois. We stopped with five other Loopers on the free wall that is provided by the city. Mike and I hoped to run into Jake and Elwood while we were there but we didn't see them. I'm sure they were still on their mission from God!

The next morning we had to wait for a draw bridge to open around 8:30 so we got to sleep a little later! We also had picked up another boat during the night. It was a big Catamaran named "Awe Spray". It was a beautiful day but a little cool. There were several of us heading down the river. One of them was a cool little yellow boat named "Lollygag" heading up the rear of our boat convoy. We would have him there with us for a while; then lose him -  only to have him catch up with us at the Lock. Hence, the name "Lollygag"!

We had a little problem at the Dresden Lock. We had to wait about an hour so we were supposed to tie off at the walls. Well it was quite windy and we didn't get really secure so before we knew it we were in a pickle. Our bow came loose and we were pivoting around the concrete wall corner, plus our pulpit had become "stuck" in the iron rails. We were really afraid that we were going to damage poor NautiNell! However, she came through it without a scratch. Well, at least with no new ones this time! Hopefully we won't let that happen again!

At the Marseilles Lock we had to wait about an hour or so while they locked through this huge barge. This time Ookpik dropped a hook and we rafted to them. It was a pleasant wait unlike the one before. We watched this huge barge being locked up the river. The towboat was huge too. The barges had to be broken down before they could fit in the Lock. I don't see how those towboat captains keep all of those barges under control. Guess they know what they are doing. They also have to have a lot of patience, because nothing happens quickly.

Finally about 5:30 we made it to the free wall in the town of Ottawa. Confetti, Cooper and Gemini were already there. The free wall is only about 110 feet so there wasn't room for us. SO, they all agreed to let us raft up to them. How nice! Now that's how Loopers do things. Imagine this; we had just got there in time for Happy Hour! Yea! Oh and while we visited with each other we were entertained by the jumping Asian Carp! What a night!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Trip to Chicago!



Art?




Landmark



Very cool fountain!

Magnificant Marilyn!

Old time Blues venue





Da'Bears!

Traveling with the Chapmans can be rather entertaining. That may be the word that Bruce and Karen of Ookpik use. I'm not sure at this point! Let me fill you in on our little adventure.

First of all, we are still in St. Joseph at the West Basin Marina. We've been here a few days waiting out the weather, as usual. There are several Loopers here doing the same thing. On Friday, we decided that rather than spend the day sulking around, we would take the Amtrak to Chicago for the day. The train leaves St. Joseph at 9:20 in the morning and arrives back in the evening around 8:20. Ookpik decided they would go with us. One of the guys at the marina dropped us off at a coffee shop just down the street from the depot. We had no problem enjoying the muffins and drinks until time to go catch the train. We were able to buy our tickets at a kiosk and were ready to head out on the great adventure of Chicago sightseeing. The train was right on time - we loaded up and were quickly on our way. It was a really nice train. None of us had ever ridden on Amtrak before. None of had been to Chicago before except Mike when he was in the service (1960's). Things might have changed since then, ya' think!

Anyway, the Porter was a really nice guy and explained everything to us. There was even a cafe' car on the train. It was a two hour ride and we had a ball talking about our past adventures on the Loop among several other things. Bruce and Karen are from Canada and have been sailing over 30 years. They have recently purchased a Marine Trader trawler to do the Loop. They've been on this boat only a couple of months, so they are still learning about the boat. They also needed to get what is called a "Cruising Pass" form Customs. Now mind you, they have been jumping through hoops for months now dealing with US Customs. Every port they are told something different. The last thing they were told was they could get the "Pass" in Chicago.

The ride to Chicago was pleasant and seemed to go rather quickly. We got off at Union Station and made our plans. Bruce and Karen needed to ride the ELL to Midway Airport where they could meet up with US Customs. We would go on and sightsee and meet up with them when they were done. We decided that we would ride the double decker tour bus and check out all the downtown area. But first, we were starving so we went to a true blue Chicago Pizza place and had my first Chicago Pizza. When they say deep dish, they mean it! It was really good. Can't believe that we were sitting in Chicago have pizza and beer! Life is good! Then we caught the tour bus and began playing tourists. The bus had 14 stops and you could get on and off as often as you liked. We rode around admiring the architecture and loved hearing the stories of Chicago long ago. Finally we got to the Art Museum and decided we'd stop for a while. We walked around some and had a beer at Bennigans. We got a call from Ookpik and they met us there. We sat and visited and finally got back on the bus to finish the tour. Ookpik decided to ride too. The bus tour took us all over from the Navy Pier, Soldier Field to the Financial District. It was all great to see. Even the huge statue of Marilyn Monroe! That was a little creepy! Anyway, things were going great until we realized that the bus wasn't making such good time anymore –due to Friday rush hour! Yeah, on a tour bus during rush hour in Chicago on a Friday night. Not really a good thing! Especially when you need to catch your train back home at Union Station! Needless to say – when we got to the stop we hurried as fast as we could move – you've got to remember – we're not as young as we once were! We had 10 minutes to make it 2 blocks and find the train at the station. Oh, and did I mention, it was starting to rain!

We got to the station and unknowingly bypassed the check- in area and went running down the area where you catch the train. A guy sitting at one of the gates told us where the train was and to hurry. We went running down the corridor along side of the trains – all four of us - looking for our train – thinking we could just hop on! THEN! We heard - "HEY, STOP WHERE YOU ARE! WHERE ARE YOU GOING??". We turned around to see two of Chicago's finest running after us! That is rather frightening! They had guns and a dog! They asked us what we thought we were doing! We tried to explain but they just kept looking at us in disbelief! I think they were a little upset that they were winded and we weren't! LOL! Anyway, they turned out to be rather nice and "escorted" us back to where we needed to be. Also, they informed us that our train had left on time and we were up S**T creek! We later found out that the gates close 5 minutes before the train departs. BUT we were SOOOO close! Anyway we tried to figure out what to do.

Here we were with a Canadian couple – in downtown Chicago – without transportation – and our boat was about 2 hours away by train! That also was the last train for the evening and the next one didn't leave for St Joseph until tomorrow evening! The ticket clerk told us that there was a train leaving in about 10 minutes for Kalamazoo. We thought well, at least it was closer to St Joseph – only about an hour away. We exchanged our tickets to St Joseph for ones to Kalamazoo (had to pay extra). And down the corridor we ran because that train was about to leave also! However, we made it! Now we needed to figure out just what we were going to do when we got to Kalamazoo which would be in about 2 1/2 hours. Our arrival time would be about 9:30 p.m. Mike made several calls to car rentals but couldn't find any that would let us rent one – one way! Finally we found one at the Kalamazoo airport! When we finally made it to the train station in Kalamazoo, we found a cab that would take us to the airport. When we began telling him our situation – he said that he could take us on to St Joseph. After some major negotiations, we decided that was a great idea! It took over an hour to get there even though we believe he must have been going 80 mph most of the time….! When we got to town, he didn't have a clue to where the marina was. Thanks to my trusty Verizon Smart Phone with Navigation – we were able to guide the cab driver to our destination! Oh I forgot to tell you – the train stopped along the way at New Buffalo – this would have been just over a 20 minute drive to the marina but who knew! It was about 11:00 p.m. when we finally made it back to NautiNell safe and sound.

What a day! Maybe playing tourists isn't for us. I think we'll stick to following the navigational charts on the waterways!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

p.s.  Ookpik was able to get their cruising pass, at least!!

Moving on to St Joseph

Tuesday, September 6 was still a bit windy! The waves were forecasted to be 3-5 footers so we opted to spend another day in Saugatuck. It hard to make that decision sometimes; especially when the harbor is pleasant and so protected. We just have to depend on the forecasts for the Lake – "out there!".

Across the Kalamazoo Lake is the town of Douglas. It had a supermarket so we decided to dinghy to that side. We parked out dinghy next to the S.S. Keewatin and walked about one-half mile to the store. It turned out to be a really nice supermarket. In fact, Mike and I must have been hungry because it didn't take us long to fill the cart! It's nice to back in the states where things are quite so high priced. Once we checked out we begged them to let us take the cart to the dinghy. There was no way we could it carry all! They graciously agreed. Here we go walking down the Bluestar Highway pushing the grocery cart. Do you think we looked like tourists??

Anyway, you should have seen the dinghy once we transferred all the bags from the cart! I think it sat quite a bit lower in the water. I wasn't too sure there would be room for me. Mike eagerly agreed to wait in the shade with a cold beer while I walked the cart back to the store. I needed the exercise – that's what I said – not him! Anyway, I made it back only to find him helping this guy launch his beautiful restored wooden boat (50's era). It was gorgeous and named Josephine. He told Mike that he and his buddies have a tradition that the day after Labor Day they get their boats out and toast the end of another great summer with champagne. That was where he was headed. Sounds like a pretty cool tradition!

We made it back to NautiNell with our goods all intact – even though the winds had picked up and it was becoming rather choppy on the Kalamazoo. Ookpik had taken their laundry over to Douglas and said they got a little wet coming back. It's always an adventure!

We did find out that Me Nou had ventured out and made it to New Buffalo. Their boat is a "cat" and can take the waves better than our trawler. However, we probably could have made it a ways, but oh well. Later on Last Dance came into the harbor to anchor. They had come from Holland. A pretty short trip but they said it wasn't bad. Tomorrow is another day! All of us planned to leave in the morning.

On Wednesday we woke to a better day concerning the winds. We were on the move early. However, we needed to get fuel so we had to wait for the marina to open at 8:00. We found Erika Lin at the marina. They were heading out too. We took some fuel and headed out about 8:45. About an hour or so behind the others. We planned to catch up! The Lake wasn't bad. We were able to easily make it past South Haven and on to St. Joseph. We would have liked to gone on to New Buffalo, but by the afternoon the waves were building as usual. We had caught up with the rest and we all got slips at the West Basin Marina. It's another municipal marina that treats you right. The rate was about $1.00 a foot! That's always nice. We all checked our weather info and found that it could easily be Saturday or Sunday before we would be able to leave again. Darn! We are so close to Chicago! BUT – 9-11 foot waves??? I DON'T THINK SO!!

SO, we did the typical Looper thing – we all got together for Happy Hour! There was a good lounge area where we all could sit and talk out of the cold. Oh yes, did I mention it – last week the weather was breaking records with the heat – now it's getting down to the 40s at night and only 60s during the day – plus – don't forget the wind! BRRRRRR!!

We had a great Happy Hour – OokPik, Dovekie, Last Dance, Erika Lin, Dockers Inn, Confetti and NautiNell were all in attendance. What a group! Good food and good company!

We'll see what tomorrow will bring.

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Spending time in Saugatuck, MI

Old Lighthouse at White Lake

On Wednesday, August 31 we left Manistee and found the Lake to be calm and quite pleasant. The forecast had been 2-4 foot seas but the winds were much lighter than anticipated – therefore so were the waves. We had planned to go to Pentwater, but we passed since it was a good travel day. So we added another 32 miles to our day and anchored in White Lake near Whitehall, MI.


View from our anchor



Lunch at the Red Dock

There was a really neat old lighthouse there and the scenery was nice. When we got to the anchorage, there was Tourist already on the hook. They had planned to cross to the western shore of the Lake, but decided not to try it after all. It seems that the 2-4 foot waves that were forecasted were there out in the middle of the Lake. We just relaxed out on the sundeck and had a nice evening. Not really eventful – we will take those now and then.
The next morning we found the Lake even better than the day before – extra calm. This is what we think of when we think of lake travel. Calm and no winds! We talked to Last dance and Erika Lyn. They had stayed in the marina near where we had anchored and left just a little behind us. Since the water was good this time, Tourist decided to try for the crossing again. As we grew near to Grand Haven we realized that we were making better time than usual. It was only 10:30 am and way too early to stop for the day – especially since we weren't getting bounced around all over the Lake! So on we went – past Muskegon, Grand haven and Holland. We passed Confetti along the way. Glad to see them up and running fine. I'm sure they will catch up with us again soon.
We ended up in Saugatuck on the hook again. Saugatuck is located on the Kalamazoo River. As you go down the river - just as you get to the town – it opens up into the Lake Kalamazoo. The lake is pretty shallow and has a lot of marinas on it, but we found a good place to anchor. We met another Looper on the hook there from Canada - OokPik. I found out later that OokPik is Eskimo for the "white owl". They are really nice people. Typical Canadians – very friendly!
Our first day there we took the dinghy into town to look around. There are some really nice upscale shops – very artsy/fartsy. However there are some cool things to see and I knew I'd be back to do some shopping! We spent Happy Hour at Phil's – a local tavern. I highly recommend it! We spent another hour or so walking around the marinas and checking out more stores. We met up with Me Nou – another Looper. They are in a sailboat that has been "de-masted" for the trip. We met them in Delaware City. They are from Port Arthur, LA and will finish the loop in a few months. It was really good to see them! We had a nice evening on anchor, but it really hat. They are supposed to break records around her tomorrow with the temperatures. They are also forecasting 2-4 foot waves so we plan to stay another day or so.
We woke up to light showers and some thunder on Friday morning. Not bad though. Mike went fishing and I spent the morning watching boats go in and out of the harbor. Nice peaceful morning. We took the dinghy to the Red Dock for lunch. The Red Dock is a "colorful" dock made into a restaurant. You pretty much step back into time when you get on the dock. It's run by two "hippie" type guys and it definitely shows in the decorating. It was great! Very limited menu – we had Chicago dogs and beer. Can't get much better than that! The Dock is located next to the S.S. Keewatin that is on display. It is the last Passenger Steamship that was in service. It has been sunk here and tours are given. Again, we passed on the tour. We did ride around it in the dinghy – free of charge. LOL
We had made plans to go to St Joseph from here and cross over to Chicago. But we found out from Sweet Pea (who is now in Chicago) that America's Cup was there. The sailboats were leaving Chicago on Saturday going to St Joseph then to Michigan City and back to Chicago on Monday. I'm talking about over 150 huge sailboats – racing! It would have been neat to see, but we just couldn't make that happen. All the marinas in that area were booked. After all, America's Cup is a big deal! That brings a lot of spectators too. Since there were no marinas available and there are no really good anchorages in that area, we decided to stay until at least Monday. So we took the dinghy to the market and visited with Dixie and Dick from Me Nou again.
Sunday would have been a great travel day, but we had nowhere to go! We took the dinghy to town where I did some shopping and Mike found the Sand Bar - a local tavern. Hmmm! He's just not into doing much shopping! I need a shopping companion!! Like I said before, the town is rather artsy and can be a little precocious. I still enjoyed window shopping and did make a "few" purchases.
We enjoyed sitting on the park bench and watching the people. There are all kinds here. Me Nou called and invited us to watch the LSU/Oregon game with them. Since they are from Louisiana, they didn't want to miss it – plus Dixie was cooking up some gumbo! How could we resist!! Coincidentally their daughter and son-in-law were at the game in Dallas and so were Mike and Jill! Jill was even on ESPN but we didn't get to see her. Turned out to be a good game – and the GUMBO was even BETTER! Dixie can cook some mighty fine gumbo….! We had taken the dinghy over to their boat down the river a spell and when it came time to come home – well, let's just say – it was rather "dark" out. Neither Mike nor I could see very well…. Oh, and it was night too. LOL! We did make it back to NautiNell though safe and sound.
Sunday the forecast was for 10 foot waves on this D&%* Lake! We would be staying another day and perhaps two. The wind was just not going to lie for a few days. We pretty much did nothing on Sunday but hang out and pout. We are ready to get moving. However, it did get even windier and NautiNell moved some while on anchor. We had to reset the anchor twice. Luckily we didn't run aground or hit anything. We didn't really drag the anchor far – but it's still unnerving.
When we got up on Monday morning, the wind we still raising H*LL! When we decided that we would move to the other side of the Lake (which is what OokPik did also), we found that our port engine wouldn't start. We had been having a little trouble with it and figured we were going to have to buy a battery. But we hadn't done it yet…..! We called around and couldn't find a store that was open on Labor Day. Finally we called the marina that we were anchored out in front of – duh! They had one and would bring it out to us. How perfect is that! About $300 dollars later, we had a new battery and a port engine that would start right up. SO, we moved to the other side of the lake where it was much calmer. Now we just needed to wait for the wind to die down….! According to the weather radio it was still gusting up to 30 knots out on the Lake. Maybe tomorrow! Maybe not! We would have to wait and see.
There was a good chance that we would be spending another day here in Saugatuck.

Till next time!
Admiral "C"