Day 76 - Location: Home @ Watson, MI

The 'old view' from the window

Our 'welcome home committee'

Our 'new' view from the window

We made it home today! The lake forecast was somewhat questionable with small craft advisories on. We decided to at least check it out and we found that while the waves were right up there the angle of the waves made it a fairly comfortable ride and they pushed us along nicely. By 2:00 we were in Grand Haven for the 2 hour ride up the Grand River to the marina. When we came home we were greeted by three Trumpet Cranes in our yard The pair has been coming every year for the last 7 - 8 years. This is the first year we we've seen young ones. A nice welcome.

What a vacation! Thanks to all who helped make it possible, thanks for following our blog. We can now be reached at home again, we'll catch up on visiting friends & family over the next few weeks.

Day 75 - Location 43.78505N, 86.43261W

Arcadia Harbor
Lake Michigan shoreline @ Arcadia

We're in Pentwater, MI, one of our last, maybe the last stop before we get to Grand Haven. Tomorrow could be the last leg of a fabulous vacation if the lake conditions allow it. The lake forecast is somewhat doubtfull, but if there is one thing we learned it is to take the forecast with a grain of salt without ignoring it. We can now smell home and it's making us anxious. We enjoyed every day of our time on the water, but being back home with our own shower, bathroom and bed does sound good. We still have a good 8 - 9 hours to go and if the waters are rough we'll quit before Grand Haven and come in the following day. We'll see what works

Day 74 - Location: 44.49017N, 86.23741W

Beached & abandoned sailboat on Sleeping Bear Point

Lighthouse @ Point Betsie

Lake Michigan, like all large open bodies can be rough going. Today was one of those days that was just perfect. Sunny and the temp's were in the upper 70's, wind was fairly light and behind us. We left Leland this morning and made it to one of our favorites spots along Michigan's West shore, Arcadia. As we go South along the West side of Michigan, there are four main points sticking out into the lake that we need to clear. Today we cleared Sleeping Bear Point and Point Betsie. As we were passing Sleeping Bear Point we noticed a nice 30' or larger sailboat with sails still up on the beach. At the marina in Arcadia we found out the boat had been found five days earlier, but the Coast Guard was still trying to figure out what happened to the crew.

Day 73 - Location: 45.02537N, 85.76202W

Old historic Leland Fishing town
Leland - looking out at Lake Michigan

Beaver Island Old Coast Guard Station & Lighthouse

Leaving Beaver IslandSt. James Harbor behind us this morning

Now that we're back in our home waters we're coming to the realise that as always, all good things must come to an end. We're starting to reflect back on the ups and downs of the trip, the few disappointments and the many pleasant surprises. For one thing, we've been very fortunate - no mechanical breakdowns, and consistently very good weather. We figured that one in five days would keep us in port because of the weather but to date we've only stayed put for three days because of the weather. This puts us somewhat ahead of our anticipated return date, but now that we're close, we're both ready to check things out at home. This will also allow a little time off before returning back to work. It will be hard though to put an end to our vacation of a lifetime.

Today brought us to Leland, an old fishing town, tourist town now. It's also the home of the ferry to South Manitou Island. We did manage to get a good lake fish dinner here - obviously the Indian fishermen here have more balls than those on Beaver Island.

Day 72 - Same location

Entry from Lake Michigan to Beaver Island Harbor

Beaver Island Post Office

'King' Strang's story - long live the king!

We're staying put for an extra day on Beaver Island, not because of the weather, but we like it here. Beaver Island has a unique flavor and history. In the 1850's the island was inhabited mainly by Mormans, and ruled by James Strang who was crowned king and ruled with an iron fist. He was assinated by two of his followers by July 1856. Shortly afterwards mobs from other islands ran off all 2600 Mormans. After that the island's population was made up of mostly Irish who made a living off fishing and logging. In the late 1800's Beaver Island was the largest supplier of fresh water fish in the US. Today it has a permanent population of some 500 people. Tourism is the main industry, though a sizable Indian population still tries to make a living fishing. We were unable to get the fish dinner on the Island we were looking forward to. The fishermen did not go out because of the rough weather the last few days - and they used to call them braves?

Day 71 - Location 45.74714N, 85.51781W

Mackinac Bridge - entrance to Lake Michigan

Lighthouse in morning

Beaver Island

We got up early, determined to make it to Beaver Island, always a favorite stop of ours. Before the sun was up we were out and by 4:00 this morning we were dodging the Indian fishermen who did not bother to show any lights until we were within a 1/2 mile from them. By 7:00 AM, the radar showed a line of thundershowers coming accross the lake from Wisconsin and we decided to wait those out in Mackinac City Marina. While we were there we found out that Nancy's sister Sandy and her husband Larry were just across the straits in St. Ignace, gaming at the casino at 8:00 AM already (real diehards). They came on over and we stopped for coffee, a nice break in our routine. Mackinac City is a real tourist attraction and the marina is not our cup of tea. As soon as the weather cleared up at 11:00 we got going and made it to Beaver Island by 5:00. Good move!

Day 70 - Loacation: 45.59275N, 84.15862W

Hammond Bay Harbor - Pure Michigan!

Indian fishing boats - we've been trying to avoid their nets for weeks now

Thunderstorms kept us in port until after 10:00 yesterday morning - left only to find out the water was still pretty wild. We stopped after a few hours at Hammond Bay Port - a truly quiet spot - nothing there - no people, restaurants, phone service or good internet. The only thing we shared the harbor with was a few indian fishermen's boats.

Day 69 - Location: 45.42277N, 83.81461W

Presque Isle Point Lighthouse

One of the dozen or so freighters we passed today

Well, we have one more good day left to go on Lake Huron and after that all that's left of our fabulous vacation is the home stretch on Lake Michigan. I think both of us, while reluctant to finish this great vacation, we are getting somewhat anxious to see what's happening back home. Today we ended up in Roger City, MI, a small city of some 7,000 at the North end of the lower peninsula. Tomorrow we plan on making it to Mackinac City, just short of the Mackinac Bridge. Travelling on the big lake is really pretty easy going, with the autopilot doing all the work. Traffic is very light with few other boats, and any obstacles rare and few in between. It's easy to cover some fair distances this way.

Day 68 - Location: 44.66097N, 83.28197W

Port of Harrisville

Harrisville shoreline

After a nice quiet day in Port Austin we decided it's time to move on. There is only so much to see & do in a small town, before getting restless. The lake was not yet as quiet as we like it and the boat got a nice wash down by the time we reached the West shore of the lake where the waves were not quite as high. We moved North up the coast to another nice & smaller town, Harrisville, MI. where we'll settle down for the night.

Day 67 - Location: unchanged

Waves hitting the pier today

Shoreline @ Port Austin

Today we stayed in Port Austin because of high winds and waves. Tomorrow does not look all that promising yet either. The oil on our trusty little diesel engine was changed, and we biked around the area. It doesn't take long to check out the nice little town of 700 people and with almost that many restaurants. (they do take longer to check out)

The town is busy redoing the waterfront and the marina is in the middle of a 5 1/2 million dollar make-over. All of Michigan's more than 75 municipal and state owned marinas along the lakeshores are mostly funded with the taxes raised on fuel sold at marinas and boat registration fees. All are well kept and are upgraded periodically. We prefer to stop at those when we have a choice. Port Austin is no exception.

Day 65/66 - Location: 44.04866N, 82.99442W

Sunrise on Lake Huron this morning
After sitting around without moving yesterday we made up for it today. We were on the lake before the sun and made it to Port Austin, which is a small quiet town at the Northern tip of the 'Thumb'. The marina is nearly empty so excitement we'll have to make ourselves. Our next leg will have us cross the Saginaw Bay. Tomorrow's lake forecast (4' - 7' waves) will keep us in port if true. Just a quick walk through town after we got here convinced us we'll be just fine if we need to spend a day here.

View from the boat as we're preparing to leave Lexington, MI this morning

Day 64 - Location: 43.26867N, 82.52710W

Marina & Lakefront @ Lexington, MI

After almost 3,000 miles, much of it in remote areas we ended up in Lexington. MI, the first place where we were unable to get on-line. That's why the posting is a little delayed. We also found a nice town where we decided to spend the day-off that was planned for Pelee Island. Last night we attended a well attended and enjoyable evening of 'Music-in-the-Park' after going out to a nice restaurant for beer & pizza. The ride up the St. Clair River proved to take more time than planned because of some very strong currents. At times we were happy to go at half our usual 7.5 MPH cruising speed. Since everything else was going smooth, and we wanted to spend time away from the crowds, we decided to make a long day of it and go all the way to Lexington, which is on the Southwest end of Lake Huron. It turned out to be a good move.

Music in the park @ Lexington - nice bonus

Lexington Municipal Marina

Lakeshore @ Lexington

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Day 63 - Location: 42.57243N, 82.79191W

Detroit skyline

Steel plant buzzing w. activity

going under the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit

Today we moved from the NW corner of Lake Erie, up the Detroit River, through Detroit and accross Lake St. Clair to Metro Beach Marina near Mount Clemens, MI. It was somewhat suprising to us that the commercial traffic, the freighters, was heavier here then anywhere else we've been, including the St. Lawrence or the Hudson River. Going through the city of Detroit was also interesting; many old industrial plants closed and rusting away, while others were bustling with activity. The riverfront in downtown looked quite atractive.
Tomorrow we plan on going up the St. Clair River to Lake Huron. The distance will depend on our ambition.

Day 61 - Location: 42.05332N, 83.19118W

Shoreline @ Metropark Marina

Our 'neighbor' providing the evening's entertainment on Pelee Island

One of nice things about being on your own, you can change your mind easily. That's what we did this morning. The intent was to stay put on Pelee Island today and bike around the island. It was uncomfortably hot & muggy early today and after sleeping in and giving the boat a good clean-up we decided we'd be cooler on the lake. So at 10:00 we got going on a nice calm lake until about 1:00 when a line of thunderstorms came upon us. We've had a bad experience with one of those before and were not ready for another. Luckily we were close enough to shore to find refuge in the Lake Erie Metropark Marina. The storm also turned out to be a mild one. Tomorrow we plan on heading up the Detroit River, past Detroit and to Lake St. Clair. We're back in Michigan but we still have more then 600 miles to enjoy before we get back to Grand Haven.

Day 61 - Location: 41.81272N, 82.65804W

Some of the island residents

Scudder Marine @ Pelee Island

A nice easy 5 hour ride brought us from Lorain, OH to Pelee Island, ON. In case we forgot we were quickly reminded we were back in Canada by the cost of our basic needs. A bag of ice cost as much as a six pack of beer in the US, and 2 cold beers would have bought us a good meal in a restaurant back home. Oh well. It is a beautiful, nice quiet island that has about 300 year around residents. We are planning on staying put here tomorrow and get a little work-out with our bikes

Day 60 - Location: 41.47256N, 82.17690W

Sunset over Lake Erie

After a late start for us (7:30 am) we set off for Cleveland, Ohio this morning. The lake was a little rougher than we like it, but late morning she calmed down somewhat and we decided to go one stop farther to the Port of Lorain, OH. This will make our planned jaunt to Pelee Island, Ontario a few hours shorter tomorrow. We're planning on a short day there and then staying put on the island the following day, before heading out to Detroit in our home state of Michigan. We will then do the last 500 miles traveling along the East and West shores of our great state.

Isn't she just a little sweetheart

Lake Erie beach

Day 59 - Location: 41.85636N, 80.96867W

Entrance to Geneva-on-the-Lake Marina

Lake Erie shoreline at the Marina

Almost two months underway. Time sure flies by. By last count we still have 650+ miles to go, 500 of it along Michigan's Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. We're looking forward to all of them.
Today is Nancy's B'day and we celebrated it with a cold beer when we got into port after a somewhat choppy day on Lake Erie. We ended up in Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH, somewhere between Erie, PA and Cleveland, OH. It is a large state park/marina with over 450 slips. A real resort! Tomorrow's goal, weather permitting is Cleveland, OH.

Day 58 - Location: 42.13797N, 80.08791W

Sun coming up w. the Buffalo, NY skyline behind us

Lake Erie shoreline

We had a nice day on Lake Erie traveling the almost 80 miles from Buffalo, NY to Erie, PA. Nice weather, temps. in the high 70's and a fairly calm lake. We left early this morning to watch the sunrise on the lake as we went along the South shore of the lake, within sight of the New York and Pennsylvania shoreline. We arrived in Erie, PA late afternoon and got a slip in the old restored waterfront at Wolverine Park.

Erie, PA skyline

Day 57 - Location: 42.87903N, 78.88217W

Leaving the Erie Canal behind us today

Last nights prime spot on the Erie Canal by Locks 34 & 35

Buffalo, NY Port entry

Erie Basin Marina, Buffalo, NY

After one week, 340 miles, 34 locks and 16 lift bridges, we left the historic Erie Canal and a unique piece of history behind us today! We were surpised to find out we had one federal lock on the Niagara River to go. This should be the last after at least 155 locks we went through on our trip. The Niagara River had a pretty strong current to fight, but I guess that's to be expected since the falls are only a few miles down river.
Tonight we're spending some time in Buffalo, NY, preparing to cross Lake Erie starting tomorrow. The forecast looks good and we're planning on an early start to take advantage of it.