Our Great Loop Adventure

On Sunday, August 25 we left South Haven under blue skies, but with a nice breeze. We called St. Joseph from the water to see if they had slip. Thankfully they did. It was the same size as our slip at Belle Maer, so we knew we could get in. Sea Fever, Second Wind, and Q's cabin are here. Peg from Peg of My Heart (St. Joseph is their home port.) generously offered to drive us to the grocery store. All the boats got together for docktails and snacks. It was fun sharing advice and stories. Monday, we stayed in St. Joseph. Brian from the marina drove us downtown. St. Joseph has a lovely downtown. We walked the historic neighborhood enjoying the architecture of the old homes, the gardens and the sculptures. We also loved the whimsical street art downtown. We had coffee at the Golden Brown Bakery and also purchased some yummy cookies. We then walked to Silver Beach, which was an amusement park from 1891-1971. They had magnificent carousel as well as a children's water park. The carousel had a horse with a MSU theme and one with a U of M theme.

On Tuesday we departed St. Joseph for our last port in Michigan, New Buffalo. The skies were overcast and the lake was lumpy. But, as we approached New Buffalo, the skies cleared and Lake Michigan calmed down. Sea Fever was already there and we docked next to them. We were then joined by a new looper friend, Mystic Sanctuary. After a walk into town, we all went on Sea Fever for drinks and snacks. We used the air on the boat because the heat has become intense. Wednesday brought overcast skies and lower humidity. However, fog rolled in about 10:00. We biked to the grocery store for provisions. We were excited when Meandering came in through the fog. After biking to the beach and around a lakefront neighborhood, Deb and Jim from Sea Fever came over for drinks and to see the boat. We then chatted with Kathy and Ken from Meandering before dinner and turning in for the night. One of the highlights of this trip has been the friends we are making as we move from port to port and anchorage to anchorage.

We all woke up on Thursday to dense fog with very little wind. A convoy of Summer Recess, Mystic Sanctuary, Meandering, and Sea Fever left New Buffalo at 9:25. As we entered the lake the fog thickened. We put on the radar.and began communicating on Channel 6. For the next five hours we watched each other's back. We had about a quarter mile visibility all the way across the lake. Mystic Sanctuary left the group first to go to Calumet. Then Sea Fever and Meandering broke off to go to 39th Street Marina in Chicago. We were approaching our harbor, Burnham, but did not see the entrance until we were about 200 yards off shore. Due to the fog we did not see the skyline until later in the evening. All the boats got into their ports safely. Burnham is a very large harbor. We are directly in front of Soldier Field where the Bears play. The Bears had a game today against the Cleveland Browns. We were amazed that people used their boats for tailgating. We took a long walk on the waterfront and saw the skyline. It was extemely hot and humid. Friday was another hot day. Today we walked our paws off. We went through the museum campus, which contains the Adler Planetarium, Shedd's Aquarium, and the Field Museum of Natural History. We are making our way to Michigan Avenue and the Art Museum. Along the way we passed the beautiful Grant Park. Chicago is a magnificent city. The museum has a very large Impressionist collection with many works by Claude Monet, who just happens to be my favorite artist. They also were hosting a special exhibit titled "Impressionism, Fashion and Mondernity." It was simply beautiful. Tony was not that impressed. After leaving the museum, we had lunch and made our way down the Magnificent Mile to the Water Tower building to the American Girl and Lego Store. Our goal is to purchase gifts our grandsons and granddaughters. We then took a taxi back to the marina. The heat is still oppressive. A rather impressive storm blew in around six o'clock. It had very high winds, thunder and lightning. Tony made sure we were safe. More on Chicago in our next blog entry.