Monday morning before we left, we made a somewhat quick trip to West Marine in the rain to get some coax line to run to the antennae so we could have the radio while the mast is down. It was pretty rough on Lake Michigan with waves of 4-6 feet, but we only had about one mile to go to get into the river. We debated about staying, but the weather sounded like it would be worse for the next three days, so we decided to make a run for it. It was pretty bouncy and the aft cradle for the mast slipped, so we struggled for a few minutes to secure it. Thankfully as we got inside the break wall it calmed right down and we headed into the first lock. Afterward we thinking that we didn’t have any problems with the mast on the Erie Canal, but that was flat water.

We got through the first lock and within the first half hour when through about 15 bridges. Some from the bottom showed a great deal of decay. We moved along at a good pace until we came to the Amtrak bridge. As we approached we noticed two boats off to the side and the bridge was down. It is a rail bridge that is supposedly only down when a train is crossing. The boats waiting had been there since 9 am and were told that they were doing maintenance and would open at 2:00. At 2:30 Clay and one of the other guys walked down to the bridge because they wouldn’t answer the radio, as they approached the whistle blew and the bridge started opening! We all jumped on our boats and started a wagon train through the bridge. We stopped fairly early with the other boats at an old boat yard. We just tied to the wall and relaxed. We all got together for a potluck dinner – a nice evening. In the morning we headed south again. The other boats stopped at a marina, but Clay and I continued on and found a nice spot to anchor behind Sugar Island. It poured all night with thunderstorms. With all the recent rains, the river was rising and we noticed a lot of docks under water. We also had to dodge a lot of debris in the river, lots of floating logs. We stopped in Ottawa around noon. We had learned through emails from other Loopers that this was a good stop and we were given good information. We stayed on the town docks free of charge. We hadn’t been there for more than an hour and a van pulled up and someone asked if we needed groceries – he’d give us a ride. This gentleman owned the local IGA. Talk about a welcoming party – he took all seven boats back and forth to the grocery store and Laundromat – even stopped at the liquor store! It’s a smart business man, because we ended up spending a lot more because we knew we didn’t have to carry it. We stocked up! That evening we had a cocktail party on the dock – everyone brought an appetizer and whatever they wanted to drink. Another enjoyable evening.

In the morning Clay and I were going to take the bikes and jerry jugs for diesel up to the filling station where the diesel was only $3.19 (on the water it was $3.65). The boat next to us then told us that he had made arrangements down river at Hennepin to have a fuel truck come to the dock to give us fuel and it would be less than $2.50/gal. We quickly put our jugs away. We headed south again, with the others not to far behind us. As I said before the river was rising and continued to rise while we were in Ottawa. The debris field was pretty thick, so we had to be very alert not to hit a tree. We arrived in Hennepin first and got docked and helped the others as they came in. The docks were designed for boats less than 25 feet, and our 34 foot was one of the smaller ones of the group, so we did some finagling to get everybody in. The fuel truck arrived on schedule – everyone else had huge tanks, one took 300 gallons, another one 210, the third 100 – we took 23 gallons – including 10 gallons in two jerry jugs - for the amazing price of $2.21 per gallon. With the boats fueled, we all relaxed and had another cocktail party!

We took off at 7:00 a.m., the humidity was so high that we had to keep cleaning the windshield to see, but it was beautiful as the sun was breaking through the trees onto the water. The birds were coming to life and fish jumping. We saw two golden eagles sitting very regal high up in a dead tree. The white pelicans are very plentiful here also – along with blue heron. I thought they were only down south. We pulled in to the town dock in Peoria just in time for lunch. Our plan was to stop for a couple hours as we were told that they charged by the hour for docking. We were going to make a quick stop to the library to get on the internet. We got in and went to pay and found out that they had quit charging because it was hurting the local merchants. Down the dock from us we found two more Loopers and they told us that there was barbeque festival with music here at the dock tonight – so we decided to stay (especially since the dock was free). We headed into town looking for a hardware store to replace some o-rings. We found the hardware store right off, but they didn’t have what we needed. They said – across the river there’s a Walmart and Lowe’s – they should be able to help you. Down six blocks and across the bridge - it wasn’t a bad walk but it was warm. It was a successful trip - we found two of the three o-rings we needed (of course we now have a supply for a life time of sizes we’ll never need), found a little lamp we wanted for reading at night and we both got haircuts – talk about being productive. We got back to the boat in time to get cleaned up for the rib fest. There wasn’t a big turn out for the event but boy did they have good ribs. We found a picnic table with several other people and sat down. Clay managed to strike up a conversation (imagine that) with this friendly group. The guys make their own wine - Three Amigos Whinery. Their wives said they do a lot of whining!! Peoria is a really neat big little town with nice people. It’s the world headquarters of Catapillar. In the morning we’ll shop at their open air market for fresh fruits and veggies and get to the library because we never got there today and then head south on the river again.

Chicago

We arrived in Chicago on Wednesday September 8th. We got in and started preparing to have the mast stepped in the morning. We also found out the lay of the land so we could get to the airport to pick up Sue. Thursday morning we our appointment to take the mast down – let’s just say it was an experience that we care not to repeat. The young man that worked the hoist was very polite, but unfortunately didn’t have much experience. We finally got it down and into the cradles. Clay lost a pair of glasses in the process – somewhere 16 feet down in the water and fortunately just a minor abrasion on his head where the roller furling grazed him. Then we were off to the airport to get Sue. Her flight was delayed because of bad weather in Orlando, but when she finally arrived, we got her on the “orange line” and headed back to the marina. I can’t speak for Clay and Sue but I felt like a kid in a candy store, there is just so much to see and do in Chicago, it was hard to decide what to do. Our first stop was the Field Museum of Natural History with the King Tut Exhibit – WOW! It’s hard to imagine how everything was so well preserved for over 3000 years. We consider anything over 100 years old as antique. After the museum we were all tired, so we went back to the boat and rested for a while, then headed off for an evening at the Navy Pier. Saturday morning we got up early and headed out to the Architecture Center hoping to get tickets for the Architecture River Cruise. That was another highlight of the weekend – it also gave Clay and I a chance to see what to expect when we would be heading into the river on Monday. After the cruise we walked through Millennium Park, listened to the musicians and watched the people. I just found the whole place really exhilarating. We found the public transportation fantastic. We purchased three day passes that gave us unlimited use of the buses and trains. Saturday afternoon we took the “L” and rode out to Oak Park where Sue lived as a child – we walked by Hemingway’s birthplace and then went to see Unity Temple that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The entire time we explored, we all chatted about what’s been happening in Naples since we left and filled Sue in on what we’ve experienced along the way. It was a wonderful visit and went by too quickly.

Just how close will it get Clay?

Cousin Phil and Jourdan at the helm
Pirate ship from Michigan Maritime Museum
The Schneider gang

We’ve been on the water for five months now and heading back South – still very much enjoying our little adventure. We’ve settled into a routine – but there is nothing routine about this trip. The trip down the West coast of Lake Michigan has been uneventful as far as problems or bad weather, thankfully. We have stopped at numerous harbors, enjoyed the towns and the people. All of our fellow “Loopers” are starting to congregate coming from all directions – the North Channel, Ste. St. Marie, Lake Superior and the East Coast of Lake Michigan – all converging on Chicago to start our trip down the rivers. I can’t count the number of people we’ve met doing the same trip. We should have no trouble keeping company along the way.

We are currently in South Haven, having stopped in Ludington, Muskegon, Grand Haven and Saugatuck. We plan to meeting more family – Phil & Jan Schneider here on Saturday and hope to take them on a nice sail on the lake. On Sunday we’ll head to Benton Harbor and slowly make our way across the lake to Chicago mid week. We have reservations at Burnham Harbor right downtown Chicago. Sue Hunt is flying in from Naples to join us for a long weekend. We plan on hitting the Windy City and catching up on what’s happening in Naples. We’re really looking forward to this.