Monday, June 26. Well.....I might be putting out a call for a new captain!!....since we left, Bob has broken (almost, so he thought, but an er visit) a toe, fell off the boat, and last eve cut open his finger....went to ER this am and got 3 stiches in it!! Last eve I tried to play Nurse (NOT AT ALL MY CALLING) and we cleaned it out with a concoction that I found in the first aid kit....but this morning, still bleeding heavily (ugh......again, I am far from a nurse, did all I could to not pass out last eve just looking at it!)...so off he went for "professional" help. After the horror of our friend, Dick's , cut finger, it was nothing we wanted to fool around with.
We are still in Rogers City, a crummy day, overcast, heavy rain. We have reservations for Mackinaw Island on Thursday, and hope to begin our way there tomorrow, or next day. Plans are changing daily, as to our "schedule"....NO schedule!.....
Our dinghy here is way too big for this boat, so we have ordered one back in Detroit area. We can pick it up end of week. So we decided to go north for the heck of it and then return to Rogers where our car is (stored at my mom's) and go pick it up when ready. We thought about heading across the lake to North Channel, but you really need a dingy there to get around all the anchorages, etc. So we will visit the island of fudge and horse sh___. We will return here, (Rogers) and Bob has business in the area where we will pick up the ordered dingy, so perhaps I will go along (by car) and visit daughter Molly and son in law, Aaron....who by the way, announced that the upcoming baby (November) is a GIRL. We prayed for a healthy baby, and already have 3 grandboys, and would have welcomed another, but are over the moon for a girl!!!
We also forgot to mention what an awesome day we had the day before we left Lake St. Clair with Bobs mom and sister Diane and brother in law, Tom. We did a short trip out to the lake so show them how "fast" we would be going.....thus, why it will take a year!! (HA). The weather cooperated and we had a good day. Bob's mom said she feels better now knowing what we are living on , etc.... She also watched him build the platform and steps this winter, and signed the bottom along with the all the guys that helped with that project. AND speaking of that.....we had a couple yesterday come over and admire our boat (always a good thing) and say, "I've never seen a Carver with a swim platform like that".....to which I replied "and you never will!!" UNLESS you have Bob custom build you one!! They were impressed and Capt Bob's chest just got a little puffier.....almost makes up for him cutting off his finger!! That's why they call it an accident. Everyone has survived and we are learning from all our "mistakes".
Monday, June 26, 2017
Thursday, June 22, 2017
JUNE 22......a very rainy, humid day in alpena,mi. We arrived yesterday..had a long day across Saginaw Bay...but enjoyable and calm seas...however at 10 miles per hour it can get tiresome. Woke up to rain and cloudy skies so stayed put....Alpena was the BIG city back in my high school days...it is sad to see it now... not vibrant and booming as it was in the 70's. We did however have dinner at the "owl cafe"...a favorite of my youth. Still run by same family. Took capt bob to groc store with me...not a good plan...but we do have lots of swwets and junk food! Hope to head for rogers city tomorrow am.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
May 18, 2017
We don't have sails Lord! Thats what I said when we woke up to the strongest winds we've seen in a month! and WE planned to "start" the trip today! We even took pictures! So now we have to wait it out...like I said, either the Lord thinks we have sails, or He is trying to teach us patience...probably the latter.
Update: May 20....we DID leave. Apparently the Lord thought we learned our lesson. About 1 pm the skies cleared and the Captain asked if I was up for a 6 hour trip.....well, I was getting tired of Markley marine,( although we made some good friends in the short time we were there). So we pulled the lines and blew our horn and we were off ... day 1. Have to add the incident at the marina "guard shack"-- when I went to turn in our key and explain we decided to leave a few days early.....the guard looked at me and said.....(seriously!!) "are you taking your boat with you?"...in hindsight I should have said....."no, we decided to swim". Oh well, it was the day after Saturday night, and he probably had a hang over??? just trying to give him some credit....as he probably wasn't the smartest kid in his class. (ps...either was I, but seriously, I asked you!)
6 hours later we had cruised the Clinton River, passed Port Huron (which we could have pulled into if we decided we were tired) but kept on to Lexington, MI. (hit a rain storm on the way, but nothing to rattle us....we need to see what LeReve can do....and she did fine. Bob had a little problem figuring out the fuel tanks, as LeReve has 3. He worked thru that (what a guy) We were delightfully surprised at what a great port Lexington is. We were in the slip and tied up by 8:30pm. Monday was a beautiful day and we decided to not move but take a day of rest...
...which means shopping and eating. We did both. I had forgotten how much fun these port cities can be.
Another thing we quickly noticed is how cell phones and internet has changed boating since our last boating experiences.... ie: hardly anyone uses the marine radio. You don't hear the fishermen chattering at each other, or people calling marinas, etc....(kinda like listening in on a partyline!) I miss that, but we too, resorted to using our cells.
This morning we left Lexington, to a good weather forecast, and headed to Harbor Beach (on the tip of the thumb) as in you view Michigan as a mitt....in case you are not familiar with how we do it here. Notice I said "we"...I guess as hard as it is to admit, I missed this ole state and the beautiful waters....although it will be a long time getting used to the humidity.
Another "cute" harbor worker experience.....today, as we pulled into a slip, I got the back end secure and the wind was fiercely whipping, and it was starting to rain...(note the above mentioned "good" weather forecast...NOT) the girl dockhand had the front of boat by the line around a piling and was holding on for dear life, as the wind gusted, and she says to me...."I've pulled calves on our farm, but it isn't this hard!" Finally with capt Bob on the dock (that left me on the boat alone....oh no....) a neighboring sailor ran over and helped pull us against the wind...and she was finally secured. (this is while a boat load of Coast Guard, big, strapping men, sat in the comfort of their float boat and watched)....oh well, probably not in their job description. (Now, for you boaters out there....yes I did throw a spring line but "we" were trying to get the nose over and change cleats at the same time the wind gusted and the spring shouldn't have been loosened before the other was secure ....lesson learned.) That's what life is about....a good quote I heard the other day..."it's ok if you don't know something, but it's when you don't know that you don't know, that will get you in trouble!"
As long as I am quoting, someone on our AGLCA page said..."How awesome is our God that has not only promised us an incredible future home, but also gives us the opportunity to do things like the Great Loop, while we are waiting".
We don't have sails Lord! Thats what I said when we woke up to the strongest winds we've seen in a month! and WE planned to "start" the trip today! We even took pictures! So now we have to wait it out...like I said, either the Lord thinks we have sails, or He is trying to teach us patience...probably the latter.
Update: May 20....we DID leave. Apparently the Lord thought we learned our lesson. About 1 pm the skies cleared and the Captain asked if I was up for a 6 hour trip.....well, I was getting tired of Markley marine,( although we made some good friends in the short time we were there). So we pulled the lines and blew our horn and we were off ... day 1. Have to add the incident at the marina "guard shack"-- when I went to turn in our key and explain we decided to leave a few days early.....the guard looked at me and said.....(seriously!!) "are you taking your boat with you?"...in hindsight I should have said....."no, we decided to swim". Oh well, it was the day after Saturday night, and he probably had a hang over??? just trying to give him some credit....as he probably wasn't the smartest kid in his class. (ps...either was I, but seriously, I asked you!)
6 hours later we had cruised the Clinton River, passed Port Huron (which we could have pulled into if we decided we were tired) but kept on to Lexington, MI. (hit a rain storm on the way, but nothing to rattle us....we need to see what LeReve can do....and she did fine. Bob had a little problem figuring out the fuel tanks, as LeReve has 3. He worked thru that (what a guy) We were delightfully surprised at what a great port Lexington is. We were in the slip and tied up by 8:30pm. Monday was a beautiful day and we decided to not move but take a day of rest...
...which means shopping and eating. We did both. I had forgotten how much fun these port cities can be.
Another thing we quickly noticed is how cell phones and internet has changed boating since our last boating experiences.... ie: hardly anyone uses the marine radio. You don't hear the fishermen chattering at each other, or people calling marinas, etc....(kinda like listening in on a partyline!) I miss that, but we too, resorted to using our cells.
This morning we left Lexington, to a good weather forecast, and headed to Harbor Beach (on the tip of the thumb) as in you view Michigan as a mitt....in case you are not familiar with how we do it here. Notice I said "we"...I guess as hard as it is to admit, I missed this ole state and the beautiful waters....although it will be a long time getting used to the humidity.
Another "cute" harbor worker experience.....today, as we pulled into a slip, I got the back end secure and the wind was fiercely whipping, and it was starting to rain...(note the above mentioned "good" weather forecast...NOT) the girl dockhand had the front of boat by the line around a piling and was holding on for dear life, as the wind gusted, and she says to me...."I've pulled calves on our farm, but it isn't this hard!" Finally with capt Bob on the dock (that left me on the boat alone....oh no....) a neighboring sailor ran over and helped pull us against the wind...and she was finally secured. (this is while a boat load of Coast Guard, big, strapping men, sat in the comfort of their float boat and watched)....oh well, probably not in their job description. (Now, for you boaters out there....yes I did throw a spring line but "we" were trying to get the nose over and change cleats at the same time the wind gusted and the spring shouldn't have been loosened before the other was secure ....lesson learned.) That's what life is about....a good quote I heard the other day..."it's ok if you don't know something, but it's when you don't know that you don't know, that will get you in trouble!"
As long as I am quoting, someone on our AGLCA page said..."How awesome is our God that has not only promised us an incredible future home, but also gives us the opportunity to do things like the Great Loop, while we are waiting".
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