GREAT LOOP COMPLETED BY SIMPLICITY

Hi everyone..

We were met at the boat ramp by our sons Adam and Zack with the car and trailer. It is hard to believe that six months has past since we started this adventure and here we are back where we started.

WE HAVE COMPLETED THE GREAT LOOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DESTIN, FL

We left our anchorage at Fort Walton and cruised over to Destin. Found Harbor Docks restaurant(one of our favorites by car) and docked for lunch. After lunch we decided we would stay the night in Destin and anchored by the beach in front of Harbor Walk. We had the best view in the house and the music was great too. 

Mobile to Ft Walton

We left Mobile and cruised the intercostal to Fort Walton. On our way we stopped at LULU'S(famous place because Jimmy Buffet's sister owns it) in Orange Beach. After lunch we cruised and enjoyed the Panhandle view and the white beaches that the Florida panhandle is famous for. The emerald water and the sugar sand beaches.

Pebble Isle Marina-TEnnessee River to Mobile Alabama

Traveling by Pontoon  and boaters at pot luck

We left Prizer Point early in the am and traveled on Kentucky Lake 96 miles to Pebble Isle marina in Tennessee. We stayed two days there and re provisioned for the trip south.  Next we cruised to Aqua Yacht Harbor and stayed for two nights there. We knew that three of the locks on the Tenn-tom would not be opened until the 24th so we were taking our time going down. We cruised 36 miles from Aqua Harbor to Bay Springs to be close to the lock the next morning to leave. While at Bay Springs we joined some other boaters for a pot luck supper and met these four young men who were on an adventure themselves aboard there pontoon boat. THey launched in Minneapolis Minnesota and have been cruising the Mississippi River and headed to Mobile. They were having a good time. We left the next morning around 6am to go through the lock. There were 9 of us pleasure craft boats to lock through. At the end of the day we stopped at Columbus marina for two days to rest up and chill out. We have been putting in long days, but we usually stay for 2 days when we arrive at a marina. Columbus was a real nice stop and we enjoyed it. We left early and traveled to Demopolis Alabama 90 miles and 3 locks. The last lock before Demopolis was the beast. The water hyacinths were so bad that they completely covered the entrance to the lock and we have to stop and clean off the motor at least twice just to make it into the lock. We have never seen anything like it before. We finally made it through and got into the marina. We left this morning around 7:30am and went through 2 locks and 228 miles to Mobile ALabama. We are at the Dog River Marina for the night and will leave in the morning for Destin. Arrival at home will be Wednesday to Lynn Haven for kids to pick us up.

Prizer Point Marina and campground

We locked through Cheatam after the fog lifted this morning. We had 98 miles to cruise today to Prizer Point. It was a nice day to cruise, but there were so many barges on the River with really huge loads. We arrive Prizer Point and topped off fuel and went to our covered slip. After tying up and securing boat I inquired about a courtesy car for grocery shopping. The owner loaned me her car and pointed me in the right direction. I was so thankful because we had not bought any real groceries since Buzzard Rock way over a week ago and I was just about out of everything. 

We are staying 2 nights here so we can get the boat ship shape for the next leg on the Tennessee River to the Tenn-Tom. 

Granville Marina Cumberland River to Defeated Creek

We left Shady Cove and cruised up the Cumberland River to Granville Marina. We arrived before lunch and topped of fuel tanks, grabbed a bite to eat and went for a walk. Cell service was spotty, but they did have internet. We had planned to leave from there early the next morning and cruise to the end of the navigable waters of the Cumberland to Celina and turn around. We did just that and then went to Defeated Creek marina for the night to try a different place. We had made arrangements with the lock-master to lock through at 10am Thursday morning. Alan the owner of Defeated Creek has recently bought this marina and is really trying to turn it around. They were very nice and accommodating to us. It is a beautiful setting with a Army corp campground and hiking trails on the property. We left around 9:45am Thursday morning to make the 10am lock. We were greeted by lock master Lampton with 2 grocery bags of FRESH homegrown tomatoes. WHAT A TREAT! He said he liked to treat his out of state customers and they were GOOD. After locking through we had decided that we would cruise all day to get through 2 more locks to be close to the Barkley Canal. There was a back up on the Cheatam lock when we arrived and so we anchored for the night in a really nice spot on the Harpeth River. This is the same anchorage that Eva and Rob Stowe were at in their side trip book. VERY PEACEFUL NIGHT AND THE SCENERY WAS BEAUTIFUL.

Shady Cove Marina and Resort on Cumberland River

We left Cherokee Marina and Steakhouse after topping off our spare gas cans because of the possible fuel shortage. Chris Cunningham of Cherokee was great with info about Cumberland River and the area. We bought a chart for the river and a guide book for the river . We left and cruised slowly to absorbed our surroundings and conserve the fuel. We arrived at Shady Cove Marina and campground around mm 249 which is about 2 miles of the channel, but well worth the trip. It is absolutely beautiful back on the creek. Gene and Lucy Conyer bought the place about 4 years ago and have really made quite a retreat. They have a restaurant, Tick Bar and all the other necessities like shower and laundry room. The restaurant was closed on Mondays, but Lucy brought Alan and I out a plate of catfish, fries, white beans and cole slaw for us to eat. Man, I thought I had died and gone to heaven eating some good southern food. I was so appreciative that she would do that. Good ole southern hospitality. They winter in Okeechobee, Fl and of course knew where Clewiston was. 

They really have something going in this place and we wish them the best of luck. We have to stop back by here on our way back on a Thursday or Friday and check out the Tiki Bar action.

Everyone along this river have been so gracious and the scenery is spectacular. The leaves are just starting to change here and it is beautiful.

Cherokee Steak House and Marina

We arrived at Cherokee Marina in the afternoon , topped off fuel and got a slip for the night. The nice young dock hand told us about the storm that was coming the next day. We connected to wi-fi and sure enough Ike was heading our way. After securing the lines we went to eat at the Steakhouse and enjoyed a great meal and the A/C. Temperatures were in the 90's today and very humid. After a restless night due to the heat we started out on Old Hickory Lake, but turned back to Cherokee and tied up to weather the storm. It finally cooled down a bit and we decided we would leave tomorrow morning for Cordell Hull Lake.

Rock Harbor Marina and Nashville

Tennesee Titan stadium and Nashville looking up Broadway

Honky Tonk "The stage"  and band Sweet tea and the homewreckers

Didn't go in there Carla NElson and Scott Collier

BB Kingsmen and Chainsaw Dupont playing the Blues

We left Buzzard rock this morning and cruised to Rock Harbor marina. Nashville's city docks were closed for 5 days so we decided to stay at Rock Harbor and take a cab into Nashville. We got settled in and went to eat at the Blue Moon Lagoon cafe for dinner and some A/C that was much needed. We had a great meal and our waitress Andrea was full of great info about Nashville. We also found out that we were eating in a restaurant that Erv Woosley (George Strait's manager) owned. THis is a very popular place and boats could also cruise up to their dock and eat. 

We went into Nashville around 10:00am by cab and we walked around the waterfront then went into the Stage for a little entertainment. THe band was good and then it was lunch time. We ate at a nice restaurant on Broadway then went to the famous Tootsie's. There was a great band there playing and we stayed for a while. The singer Scott Collier and the fiddle player Carla Nelson was totally awesome. They should both be recording and playing all over. 

To finish the night and day off we went to BB KINGS for some blues. Chainsaw Dupont from Chicago and the BB Kingsmen were playing and bringing down the house. This was a fun day for us both and we will now continue our trip on the Cumberland River to our next stop.

Alton to Hoppies then on to Buzzard Rock in Ky

We left Alton and cruised to Hoppies on the Mississippi. We were dodging logs and current all the way there. We fueled up at Hoppies and purchased 3 more 5 gal jugs to carry extra fuel on our next leg. We would be cruising 259 miles and no fuel stops between Hoppies and the Cumberland River. Now Hoppies was a unique marina in itself. It was about 4-5 barges linked together with electric and water setup and the fuel dock We actually had a GREAT nights sleep and it was an experience I won't forget. We left at 7am this morning and cruised 259 miles, through 3 locks and 3 rivers to get to Buzzard Rock marina by 6pm. We had one incident on the Ohio River when we hit a log that we did not see. The propeller was slightly bent, but we could still keep going and Alan will change it tomorrow. You would think after all the lumber we saw floating in the Mississippi and did not see ANY in the Ohio River , that is where we nailed it hard. 

Alton, Mo

We arrived Alton and pulled into ramp so that Randy could pull the boat out of the water and service the motor. All went well and he had her back n within an hour. We really appreciated Randy and his son for spending there Sunday with us. We cruised back to our slip at the marina and then decided to take a walk around Alton which wasn't that much to see. We walked by the casino and yes we ducked inside for a little bit. A very short bit since we each had $20.00 bucks to play with. Well, it was a good night for us and we came out winners and ran as fast as we could to the boat so that we would hold on to it. 

When we got back to the boat I was fixing the dinner and Alan was on the deck of the boat watching a show over at the next dock. Obviously the young lady had way too much to drink as she was pole dancing to music and EVERYBODY could see it.  

Tall Timbers Marina to Grafton Mo and Linda is a year older

We left Tall Timbers and headed for Grafton Marina. We arrived and decided to stay 3 nights, clean out boat and just relax a bit. Friday morning I met Duanne in the marina store and started talking about boats. He used to own a c-dory and invited Alan and I out that night. He took us to Fast Eddies in Alton which has the cheapest food around(and it was good) as long as you buy a drink. They served bottled tea so I was good. The shrimp and wings were fantastic and the atmosphere was great. The next day we celebrated my over the half century mark by riding bikes to the state park and having lunch at the lodge. 10 miles later, sore butts and me not feeling any younger we came back to the boat and had soup for dinner. 

We met Randy Sheehy a C-dory dealer from St. Louis who came to look at out Cape Cruiser 23. Randy made the arrangements to haul out our boat and have her serviced tomorrow at Alton. We will leave in the morning for the short 15 mile trip and stay the night there. 

Chicago to Peoria, Il

We left Chicago and had a great cruise through the city. It was amazing from the water to see what rush hour is like in the mornings. People were everywhere walking across several bridges, taking water taxis, trains and etc. It was a beautiful morning for cruising and the weather was great. The locks went smooth until later in the afternoon and it started getting busy on the river with barges. We had to wait an hour and half for the last lock so we pulled into Starved Rock marina(wonder how they got that name)for the night near Ottawa, Illinois. Very nice people and marina. It had been so hot that day that I thought we might had somehow been beamed back to Florida. The humidity was about 85%. After not much sleep we topped off the fuel tanks and headed south again. The river was busy again today with barges so we had to wait for locks. We stopped and fueled up again at the Illinois Valley yacht club and had a great lunch. They called ahead at a marina for us near Peoria to expect us. We arrived about 5:30pm and tied up for the night. They are expected Gustave here tomorrow so we will see if we are going to travel. It has really been interesting on this leg of the trip watching the barges and how they operate. They have 3 or 4 barges and sometimes 2 wide that they are pushing along the river. Seems like barge traffic is up this summer, which I am sure has to do with the price of fuel and the economy.

Chicago-Pictures

Roosevelt Bridge and Sears tower in background 

Rush hour taxis along waterway in the morning

Skyscapers and and those who have to go to work

walking on bridge during rush hour

Chicago Harbor Lock and Soldier Field "DA BEARS"

Chicago skyline and cruising through the Chicago River

South Haven to Chicago

We left SOuth HAven about 11am on Sunday and arrived CHicago around 2:45pm after crossing Lake Michigan in nearly flat waters. It was the smoothest ride we have had on Lake Michigan since Mackinaw. We arrived at Burham harbor in Chicago and tied up to dock. We knew it would be busy because it was the holiday weekend. We just didn't know HOW busy. We requested another dock space the next morning and they moved us to an inside spot. We visited the Shedd aquarium on Monday and had a good time. We got to see the final dolphin show for the season that afternoon and it was pretty cool. It was so hot we just hung out for the A/C. Tomorrow will be an early morning so we can get through the Chicago Harbor lock early. We want to see the city when it is hopping by water. 

Lawton, Michigan

 

"THE TERRIBLE SWEDE" John Larsson

later changed to Lawson in America

 

"The Three Swedes"  BOB, ALAN AND KEN

Bob, Debbie,Alan, Linda and Ken

Lake house and  LINDA AND ALAN BEFORE CRASH

We have enjoyed our stay at Lawton visiting Alan's cousins, Aunts and Uncle. We stayed at Uncle Earl's lake house on Cedar Lake and was entertained every night. It was fun sitting around visiting and enjoying the old stories of their childhood. Friday morning  we had the 1st annual "Terrible Swede" memorial bike race where Bob,Deb, Ken, Alan and myself started out at Grand Junction (bike path) and rode to South Haven. We had lunch at Clementines and then rode back which totaled 25 miles according to the official time and miles keeper Debbie. 

"The terrible swede"  AKA John Larsson was ALan's, Bob and Ken's great grandfather and was a professional bike racer in the USA who had emigrated from Sweden. They also had a great uncle Iver who raced and had changed his name to Lawson.

The trip was great, but I have the scars to remeber it by. Alan and I managed to get tangled up and crash , BUT I finished it even if there was pain. THere was no way I was going to wimp out on this. 

Later that night we all gathered at the Lake house along with cousins, Nancy,CHarlene, Connie and Aunt Lorraine to have pizza and rehash the day. 

`

Yesterday Alan and I went to the Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery and walked the nature trail then later I fixed dinner for Ken, Judy and Uncle Earl.

This has been a great stop and boy did we have ADVENTURE! 

South Haven Michigan headed to Lawton

We arrived at South Haven after a beautiful almost FLAT cruise from Ludington . We docked at the NOrth Municipal marina because the SOuth marina was reserved. We secured the boat and Alan's cousins from Lawton, Bob and Ken drove over to pick us up. We are staying at their family lakehouse on Cedar Lake. We will all be getting together tomorrow . The Lawson's are great host and really make you feel like you are part of the family and glad to see you. We will be here for a few days and maybe catch up with everybody. It was good to see Uncle Earl and Aunt Delores. It is hard to believe that it has been 14 years since we were last here. 

I will post more later and update our great stay here along with pictures.

Winneconne, Wisconsin

The S.S. Badger

Their Boat and their house from the river

We arrived in Wisconsin by way of the "SS BADGER" a steam ship ferry from Ludington, Michigan to Manitowac, Wisconsin. My sister Debbie and brother-in-law Phil picked us up at the ferry. We enjoyed 4 nights at their house in Winneconne on the Wolf River. Friday Al and Phil explored in the area and Debbie and I enjoyed a day of SHOPPING. SAturday we went out their boat for a fun cruise and enjoyed the company of Captain Ron and Steve their friends. We enjoyed a delicious meal at the Supper club that night here in Winneconne with Ron and Jeannie, Rose and Dale, Phil, Debbie and us. Sunday Deb and I went back to the mall and Alan and Phil went to an outdoor show. We enjoyed a dinner that evening with Dan and Colleen at Debbie and Phil's house. We leave this morning back on the Badger to Michigan. We have really enjoyed our stay there and it was time off the boat which we haven't had since the 1st week of June. 

Now we will visit ALan's Michigan family in South Haven. We look forward to our visit with them and family time there.

Ludington

After two more nights in Frankfort due to the weather we left  at 6:15am this morning heading for Ludington. Alan did some trolling on the way, but finally gave up and we picked up speed. The waves were not to bad, but they were choppy and about 1-2 foot. We made it into Ludington about 10am, fueled up and got our slip at the Ludington Municipal Marina. We took a walk over to the Badger and got our tickets for tomorrow to Wisconsin. We will be there until Monday visiting my sister, so don't panic if nothing is posted for several days. This is a very nice marina and the staff is superb!

Frankfort, Michigan

We arrived in Frankfort yesterday and winds were picking up. Today some fisherman told us the waves were over 6ft on Lake Michigan. I am glad we were in port. A cold front is pushing through tonight and hopefully the Lake will settle down by tomorrow evening and we can proceed on. Last night we had one of the best meals in awhile. The local high school football program were having a benefit for the team and serving a pork loin dinner with all the fixings for $5 right here at the marina park. BOY was it GOOD!

Northport, Mi

Well we did decide to leave at 6:15am this morning and see if we could make it a little further south. This time we had the 2-4 foot seas to our bow. We only had to go about 12 miles so I toughed it out. Once we made it into Traverse Bay it eased up some and we got a slip at the marina. We walked around a bit and I did a little grocery shopping. 

Charloviox, Mi

We left Beaver Island at 6:30am heading to CHarloviox before weather conditions deteriorate. We have 2-4 foot swels to our stern for a surfing 30 mile trip. We made it there and got a slip for the night. Walked around and listened to the bluegrass music they had going on at amphitheater. There was a 74 foot hatteras that was parked right in front of us and people would walk down to the end of the dock to look at it. We would make some comment like we were their dinghy. We felt like an ant to this big monster, BUT we were both at the same marina. We also met Skip from Indiana who had recently purchased a 2008 C-Dory from Marc at Wefings in Appalachicola. The name of his boat is "Lizzie" and he winters in Orange Beach, Al. 

 We will decide in the morning if we are going to leave depending on again the weather.

Beaver Island, Michigan

Easy Rider Weiland's
Beaver Island


We arrived at Beaver Island yesterday around 8:30am. We left St. Ignace about 6:30am and had a fairly smooth ride through the Straits of Mackinaw. 

We tied up the boat and walked up the street for breakfast and decided that we wanted to stay here for a couple of nights. This island is really cool and very few cars. We rented mopeds and toured around on the sometimes dirt roads and back woods for a couple of hours. WE HAD A BLAST!!!

The wildlife is incredible and the view is spectacular. You would think you are in the Caribbean with the water color and sand dunes. 

After the mopeds we went back to the boat, napped and planned the next day. WHAT A LIFE.

It was a very quite night and I decided I wanted to spring clean the boat so Alan went biking on the island. THere are miles and miles of road and trails to cover here. Tomorrow depending on the weather we will go to GArden Island which is right close by then head to the eastern shore of Michigan and start south. 

Mackinaw Island by ferry from St. Ignace

We pulled into St Ignace and tied up at municipal marina there. Tom and Linda on the (Harvey J Kendall) were already there. I went walking around and shopping, but did not buy much. It is a very cool little place downtown. We met up with Linda and Tom and got the ferry schedules for Mackinaw Island.  Alan and I went over the next morning on the 8:30am ferry and Linda and Tom came over on the 10:30. They had been there several times and love it. Alan and I rented bikes and rode the 8 mile trail around the island then around town some. We also walked up to the Grand Hotel for some kodak moments, but declined to pay the $10.00 a piece charge to walk through  the hotel and in the court yard, so we found a little path by the tennis courts and snuck in for a few photos. 

The island is motor free and the only way you get around is by horse and buggy or bicycles. 

We met Tom and Linda for lunch at the Yankee Tavern Inn and had a nice time. We took the ferry back where we both took a nap after our adventure. 

We leave in the morning for Beaver Island and will part ways with Linda and Tom. They are headed back home to Toledo Ohio by way of Lake Huron. I have really enjoyed the past few days with them and look forward to our next time together. 

Detour Village to St. Ignace, Michigan

Stormy evening after arrival at Detour. 

Alan Caught this spout on camera!
We left Detour VIllage around 6:45am in relativity calm waters and headed for Cedarville and had breakfast. We also visited the Great Lakes boat-building school which was really interesting.It is amazing to see how wooden boats are built from the bottom up starting with plans. It is a 9 month program then the students go out in the work force among some of the best wooded boat restoration and boat builders.  They also offer summer classes for anyone who wants to participate in the various workshops. After that eventful visit we left and headed for Hessel where the antique boat show had been that past weekend, but the weather was too bad for us to go. We had lunch at the little Inn there and met up with Dave from the Boat building school again. He was having lunch there also. (He recommended the place to us) We left Hessel and headed for St. Ignace which was a beautiful and FLAT cruise. Today was a fun day and we really enjoyed it. We are going to stay at St. Ignace for two nights so that we can go to Mackinac Island by ferry.

DETOUR VILLAGE_USA

We left Meldrum BAY, Ontario around 7:00am this morning and arrived at Drummond Yacht Haven for customs about 8:10 am. Checked through customs without any problems and headed for Detour which is only about 8 miles away. 

Will update travels in a couple of days when we have wi-fi at a marina. 

Meldrum Bay

Meldrum Bay marina

Linda and Tom with their boat in background

Lighthouse and inlet

We arrived at Meldrum Bay around 10:30am. The seas were picking up and we decided to head for a harbor. We tied up and walked around the small , but quaint village.  We met Linda and Tom from Toledo, Ohio and just hit it off. They have been boating in this area for several years and have great knowledge of it. We had lunch with them at the Inn the first day and Peggy from the marina lent us her car and TOm drove us all to the lighthouse at Mississiagi Strait. Tonight Bob and Lois on the "Going There" trawler organized a pot luck supper that most cruisers came to. Lois and Bob are from Pennsylvania and doing the loop. We all had to stay an extra night at Meldrum Bay due to the weather. This has been a really crazy year with the winds and storms here in the North channel and Georgian Bay. I think the weather has been crazy all over. 

Pictures

I am trying to load more pictures, but haven't figured it out yet. I am trying to link our picassa web album.

http://picasaweb.google.com/meluvscruzin/GreatLoopSimplicity

Spanish heading towards Drummond

We stayed for two nights at Spanish and had a heck of a rainstorm last night. Kurt and His mom Pat stayed at marina also and invited us for dinner aboard their boat. Kurt is a great cook(stir fry) and it was good. With his knowledge of Lake Michigan we have planned our trip south. We are going to cruise the Eastern shore of Lake Michigan and take the ferry  SS Badger to Manatowic on the Wisconsin side. This ferry is a coal fired ferry and should be a nice trip. We will visit Debbie and Phil on that side. 

Well we are sad to be leaving the Georgian Bay and North Channel, but there is always next year. 

We will probably anchor somewhere tonight before Drummond.

Until next post.

Safe Travels:)

Spanish Ontario (HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANK)

Today is ALan's Dad's 91st birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANK!!!!!

We are at the Spanish Municpal marina in the North CHannel and here  for two nights to reorganize the boat and load up on some groceries. We walked into town this morning and went to the only grocery store they had. Today was a civic holiday for Canada so there wasn't much opened. Tomorrow we will wash her down and try to get the boat ship shape again. We will anchor out after this and get ready for the crossing over to Drummond Island where we will check into the US Customs and we  will be in Michigan. This will probably be towards the end of the week or early next week. We will want to make that crossing when the seas are VERY calm.

Oak Bay off Perch Bay anchored

Well we cruised around trying to decide where we wanted to thrown the hook. Today was a real gunk-holing day. We first stopped at Hotham Island and dropped the hook for some lunch. After a sandwich and a little rest we headed for Oak Bay. Found the spot between some rocks and away from the main anchorage. A good mud bottom we set out bow and stern anchors and watched a movie on the laptop I had downloaded from I-Tunes. Life is Good.

So Benjamin Island 1 night anchored

Found a spot that was just for us. Our own private cove with cliffs above us and a view that was incredible at our front door. Was a little crazy at first because it turned out our front anchor was dragging so the boat was inching towards shore. ALan had gone off kayaking, but LUCKILY  came back in  time to see me trying to push the stern away from the rocks. He got the stern anchor and we reset the bow anchor . This was another comical routine that should have been filmed for America's funniest videos, but it wasn't. We finally got everything squared and the anchors were holding. We breathed a sigh of relief and looked at each other and said"Are we having fun yet?"

Of course we are. We WANTED adventure!

Croker Island- WELCOME HOME MOM

We arrived at Croker Island and picked our very special, almost private spot to be anchored for two nights. it was a nice spot and only one sailboat a little ways from us, because we can anchor in shallow water. the blueberries were scare and picked over. we did manage to get a few to throw into the pancakes the next morning. pulled up anchor on the 2nd Saturday morning and headed for South Benjamin Island. 

FRIDAY was a great day.MY MOM went home from the rehab center. She is progressing very well and glad to be home.

Gore Bay

C-Dory at the same marina we were at. Leslie and Eric recently purchased their C-Dory and were doing some shakedown cruising. They are from Michigan and are up here enjoying the scenery.



This was another very interesting boat from Ohio. The captain gave us a tour and I regret that we didn't get their names.


We stayed the night at Gore Bay Municipal marina and stocked up on groceries and did the laundry. We were suppose to have bad weather, but we never saw it. We are heading out this morning to the Benjamin Islands to gunkhole and chill out.

The blueberry picking is suppose to be fantasic here. We will see if we have blueberry pancakes in the morning.