Motors work and we have moved a short distance!

Taken from shore at Irish Boat Shop



 

Before we left Irish this morning, we said good bye to these and other duck families who seem to be thriving in the marina -- at least to date.

Now we've moved the grand distance of four miles to downtown Charlevoix -- a really nice marina in the center of everything and probably our home for the next couple of weeks.

Managed not to bump into anything on the way out of the marina, as we pulled into the local fuel dock for a pump out, or as I maneuvered into the slip.  Just dumb luck!

But it really helped that Lou was on-board to help and Donna met us at both the fuel dock and at the city docks.  Now, I've moved the car downtown, did a little more provisioning including some white fish spread from American Spoon, and life is good.



Mid-Week and It is Still Bright, Sunny, and Relatively Warm!

Had a great time in Cheboygan with BD and Rick, and friends, but it was a little cooler over there on the bigger Lake than here in Charlevoix (I'm easily five miles from Lake Michigan and behind some low ridges).

Have spent the interim, continuing to put stuff away and, yesterday did some minor sanding and touching up of the "bright work" aka teak trim.  At some point in the not too distant future, I'll have to sand it all down and start over -- but not now.

Also, asked Irish to create some new storage in the galley for me -- it was completed today, and I'm very pleased (as I am with almost all of their work.)  I'm still the only person staying on-board their boat, so it is a little quiet after 5 p.m.  I'm getting a lot of reading done, and trying to keep in touch with friends from the local community.

Mama Duck still has her five babies -- so she is either very diligent, very lucky, or this is a particularly safe harbor for her to raise them in.

Yesterday I drove down to Elk Rapids -- about 45 minutes south on Grand Traverse Bay -- just to shop and explore.  Treated myself to an artistic glass perfume bottle, saw lots of other things that were very attractive, and exercised some discipline since it is too early in the season to get carried away with purchases.

Today, Jay and Phillip came up to check on their boat -- expecting to launch on Saturday while they are winging their way to Paris.  We had a good catch up, and will probably see them on Friday.

First Morning and It's Beautiful

Moved on Board yesterday -- a beautiful, sunny and warm Saturday of the Memorial Day Weekend.  I've been so spoiled by the Florida sunshine, that I was mildly amused watching the guys who work in the boat yard stop to bask in the sun, heads tilted back just soaking in the warmth.  But, who can blame them after the winter they've been thru.

Interspersed my unpacking and putting things away with strolls around the local park to stretch both my and Sophie's legs -- and, admittedly soak up some of that same sunshine.  The trees are such vibrant colors as they bud, and the water is cold and crystal clear this early in the season.  There is even an early family of mallards, with five very little guys paddling around the marina -- need to count the babies every morning just to make sure they have survived.

Yesterday, Irish Boat sponsored a cook out for their "customers" so got to see a lot more of my boating friends -- exchanged stories of winter and plans for the summer. 

Today, I'll spend the morning after a three mile walk with Sophie going thru all the safety gear on Sonador to make sure everything works and will meet Coast Guard rules.  Then in the afternoon, I'm driving over to Cheboygan, MI to visit with my good friends BD and Rick Gillig at their wonderful home on the shore of Lake Huron.  It's another beautiful day, and again surprisingly warm -- I'll take it!!

Loading Up Sonador for a Summer of Fun

Having put 1450 miles under my car -- I arrived in Boyne City on Wednesday afternoon as planned and have been staying with good friends Donna and Lou Diaz (TEQUILA) until I've settled everything into Sonador.  Only a little bit of scary weather just north of Dayton, Ohio as we passed underneath/thru a front where the temps dropped from the mid-seventies to the very low fifties in the space of twenty minutes with torrential down pours and ground stike lightning.  Then, just to add to my wonderment of mother nature, as I passed the 45th parallel all the trees looked dead -- turned out the leaves are just beginning to bud.  It's late May, for crying out loud!!!

Arrived in warm weather -- low seventies with bright blue sky -- only to wake this morning to a very low cloud cover and temps more in the low forties.  Not very inspiring for the day of work I'd laid out.  But, Sophie and I forged on -- arriving at Irish in Charlevoix a little before 10 a.m.  After Sophie was greeted by all her friends, with a few "oh, hello, Melissa," as follow-up -- we located Sonador at Irish' main marina.  Saw several acquaintances, including Jim and Susan Fish (FISH TALES) -- everyone talks about the "winter that was" and how glad they are that it appears to be over. Stories of towns with frozen water mains, and frost levels down a good seven feet -- and ice still in Lake Superior (7% coverage as of this morning.) 

By 11 a.m., Sophie was in her appointed spot on the front of Sonador, surveying her surroundings.  She certainly is at home in this different environment.  I managed to unload most of the stuff from the car, and get a lot of it put away.  I plan to move on-board Saturday in the morning, and then just hang out.

Of course, miss my friends in Florida -- but this is another world, filled with planned adventures to the North Channel and getting together with all my boating friends.

(please excuse the quality of the pictures -- taken with my I-phone until I get my real camera thanks to Susan)
 

Heading North!

 Two days on the road -- one thousand plus miles under my tires -- and another day to go.  I-75 isn't exactly the most exciting of routes to follow, but it is the most direct -- and some of the scenery is really beautiful if you could take your eyes off  the road for a second and not worry about the eighteen wheelers barreling down on you every other minute!

Sophie continues to be a champion traveler -- except she refuses to drink any water between our take off in the morning and stops at night.  She doesn't seem to suffer from the lack of hydration, and for the second night has settled into a deep sleep guarding the door to our room.

Sonador was launched last week -- and I've been told that the new cushion cover are all ready for the main salon and forward berth.  Yea!

Pictures -- when I can get them.  In typical fashion, I carefully arranged everything for my 6:30 a.m. departure on Monday, and it was only 'til I looked out the window at a lovely scene of horses in pastures at Ocala Florida, that it dawned on me that my cameras were both still at home :(

My friend Susan will pack them up and ship them to Michigan later this week!!

It is Spring Here, but Up North???

Sophie contemplating a small plastic duck in the pool -- not certain she approves of mom's crazy ideas -- but the sun is warm, the sky is clear, and there is nothing like watching the world go by from the safety of the lanai.  In the meantime, I'm beginning to collect all the "stuff" that has to travel north with me -- and there is an awful lot of it to collect and organize.

This is all assuming that the Irish Ferry Marina in Charlevoix doesn't continue to look like this!!

Lazy Blogger, Crazy Summer Weather and Other Excuses!

Well, here I am beginning the work of cleaning and clearing the boat for winter storage...and just looked back at my last blog entry.  Bad, bad.

On the 14th of August, Susan and I had a delightful brunch with her friends in Harbor Springs, and then a quiet night on Sonador.  The next morning, we took off for the run back to Charlevoix -- and found that the westerly winds of the last several days had created some impressive swells on our bow for almost three full hours.  Sophie was not a happy camper...and I wasn't exactly ecstatic.  But, with throttles full we made the bridge along with several other boats seeking the refuge of Charlevoix's Round Lake.

The next day, Susan moved over to stay with her friends on Walloon Lake, and I settled into another lazy couple of days of hanging around with friends on the dock.  Saturday, I drove over to Cheboygan to say farewell to friends who have been convinced by family and fellow boaters that they should give up boating.  A sad, sweet evening of remembrance and fellowship with about twenty friends.  Stayed overnight on Moku Hale...Sophie liked the spacious interior and room to stretch out, but she doesn't have the money for a larger boat, so we are staying with Sonador.

At the end of the next week, I took Susan and other friends up visiting from Florida for a day out on Lake Charlevoix, including anchoring for lunch in Horton's Bay -- and then they treated us to dinner at a local eatery.  The next several days are notable for the amount of eating out and partying around Charlevoix with boating friends -- seems that we could never quite put together two consecutive days of good weather for a short overnight in the area. 

Wednesday, the 28th, good friends Jay and Phillip joined Susan and I for a trip back down to Horton's Bay and an afternoon of special fun -- even spent some considerable time swimming (or what passes for swimming for me) in the warmish waters.  We really had a good time, and hated to pull up anchor around 6 p.m., but we were turning into prunes and running out of wine at the same time, so back to the dock.

Over the Labor Day Weekend, I drove down to Elk Rapids to spend the night with Jo and Ron at her parents' wonderful home right on the beach of Grand Traverse Bay.  Sophie alerted to a rock awash just off the beach, entertaining all of us with her ferocity...it took a second alarm before she determined it was harmless.

Sunday, I returned to Irish just in time for the annual Labor Day party on shore...as is custom in the boating world, we all brought food to share and our own drinks.  The rain and wind didn't deter us as we took shelter at Ferry Beach in one of the large covered picnic areas.  Nothing would do, but we planned to get together the next night at Robin and Laura's home just up the hill from the marina for more pot luck.

In the interim, on Monday, Charlevoix held the 25th annual bridge walk for the benefit of one of the local charities.  Starting to gather a the Town Bar for Bloody Marys around 11:30, the crowd grew to a couple hundred people including Jay and Phillip before we set off with much pomp to walk the short block across the draw bridge and assemble on the other side.  At 1:30, the bridge tender closed the vehicle gates, the high school band assembled, and after the pledge to the flag and remarks by the mayor (thankfully very short and cheerful), the crowd marched out into the traffic lanes and sauntered back across the bridge.  I'm pretty sure the cars and motor homes that were trying to make their way down state by the only road along this side of Michigan didn't appreciate our frivolity, but...

Last evening was a lovely night visiting with Susan and her friends on Walloon.

And, this morning I've been digging thru lockers, throwing out old paint cans, lots of unidentifiable bottles of possible cleaners and waxes, and trying to make a plan for finishing all the cleaning that must be done.  We need some sun shine to make this really work...and it looks like tomorrow might be okay for some serious scrubbing.

Doesn't sound like prior summers, does it?  Well, I am convinced that barring unforeseen circumstances I am returning to the North Channel next year, and the adventures that go with that part of the world.