September 10 – Friends along the way

We’re waiting in Cheboygan, Michigan to be hauled out later this week.  Then we’ll pick up a rental car and make our way back to Virginia.  It has been over three months since we have driven a car, so we’re hoping it’s like riding a bike.

When we started this trip Patti said that we’re going to meet our new best friends this summer.  And we did.  Here is the list:

·         Wade and Suzie on “Shady Lady” in Chesapeake City, Maryland

      ·         C.A. and Sandy on their Monk 36 – “Refuge” in Cape May, NJ
      ·         Paul, Nancy, Ed, Bobi, Larry, Joan our Cape May County best friends
      ·         Don and Connie on their Monk - “Shiffli” from Kingston, NY to Oswego, NY
      ·         Steve on “Miss Hadley” from Waterford, NY to Orillia, Ontario
      ·         Russ and Elaine on “Twelve Stones” also from Waterford, NY to Orillia, Ontario
      ·         Tim on his kayak in Ilion, NY – Tim was traveling the great loop in a kayak
      ·         Curt and Marilyn on “Castaway II” in Minetto, NY
      ·         Judy and Bruce – the harbor/park masters in Minetto, NY
      ·         John and Susan on “Nuclear Fishin” in Oswego, NY
      ·         Don and Kathleen on “John B” on the Trent Severn waterway
      ·         Mike and Laurie on “Green Eyed Lady” on the Trent Severn
      ·         Bruce and Anne on “Happy Hour”
      ·         John on “Endeavour” in Orillia, Ontario
      ·         Larry and Flora on their Manatee – “Panda Bear” our traveling companions from Orillia to Cheboygan
      ·         Harry and Carolyn on “Pour House” (soon to be renamed “Poor House”) on Lock 43
      ·         Bill and Lannie on their Monk 36 – “Seafarer” on Beausolleil Island in the Georgian Bay
      ·         Tom and Barbara on their Monk 36 at their Georgian Bay island
      ·         Jeff and Susan on “Gran Vida” in Little Current
      ·         Kip and Linda on “Rascal” in Little Current
      ·         Harvey and Judy on EOS in Thesallon, Ontario
      ·         Kat and Court on Alaya in Mackinac Island

And many more.  It is the people met along the way that make cruising, and maybe life, that much richer and worthwhile.

Thank you

Last Port of Call For 2014... Bois Blanc Island

We couldn't bring ourselves to end the trip any sooner than we had to, so we stopped at Bois Blanc Island just 5 miles from Fairways' Winter home in Cheboygan.

Only a dirt road, a few homes, a restaurant, an airstrip, & a ferry along with a bare bones marina. That means great biking, woodsy smell & a place to get a head start Winterizing the boat.  And to clean up the boat.

In reflecting on how the trip compared to our expectations: it was more social with almost no career, TV or political discussions which were replaced with tales of adventure, boating strategies, weather & destinations. Very easy to get up a pot luck supper or happy hour. The terrain & boating conditions changed from salt to fresh water, tides to wind driven water levels, sand to rocks, rocks, rocks, placid open water to the swirling water of dam turbulence. Spectacular scenery.

Best of all were the new friends we made & plan to see again this Winter or again next Summer! The beautiful ship's log given to us by our friends from work is chock full of boat cards, cruising data & wonderful memories we hope to repeat.

 Fairways and following seas. Stay tuned. :)

September 3 - Mackinac Island, Michigan

We left Thessalon, Ontario after spending three days there (something like the joke: "we spent a week there one night").  It rained for a couple of days, but we enjoyed it.  There were three other boats there (EOS, Panda Bear and Gran Vida).  We had a great time getting to know them, dinners together, etc.  And the people of Thessalon were very friendly, especially Ronnie who works part time at the marina & is a wealth of local knowledge.

We went to Drummond Island on Sunday to clear customs and then anchored out in Harbor Island.  It was a beautiful night to anchor out, with the full sky of stars and Milky Way.

From there we went to DeTour Village for one night, then to Mackinac Island yesterday.  If you haven't been to Mackinac Island in Michigan, it's a little out of the way, but worth a visit.  The downtown looks like Disneyworld's main street.  There are no cars.  Only horse manure, (a lot of) bicycles, plus horses.  We could smell the horse manure on the way in before we even reached the dock.

We're going to stay here two or three days to ride the bikes and explore the island. There is an 8 mile ring road & lots of park trails with elevation, views, gardens & rock formations.

This will probably be one of our last stops before we go to Cheboygan to start the process of cleaning up the boat and getting our stuff off.  And find a car to visit some of the people we met along the way, plus others we missed.