Whitehall / Montague, July 14, 2009 We planned to move the boat today and as we were thinking about leaving Whitehall and Montague, we thought about the people and the places we would miss the most. Our favorite place in Montague is called the “Book Nook”. It is a book store/coffee house that we discovered last year when we were readying the boat for winter storage. It is very cozy, has great coffee, hot tea and pastries and an amazing array of books, both new and older. Debra is the owner and she and Tim seem to know everyone in town. They have a very smart and cute dog named “Dude” who frequently greets people who come in the door. He is in charge of obtaining treats from willing customers and is quite good at it. Outside on nice days, there is a musician named Richard Ballard who plays guitar and sings. There is another musician who plays when Richard is not there, also. We have really enjoyed listening to them both, but have visited with Richard more often. We even went to a jazz concert in Muskegon that he recommended at the Westside Lounge and Inn. “Truth in Jazz” was playing, a fifteen to seventeen piece group composed of well-known area musicians, a college president playing trombone the night we were there and a college junior who sat in a couple of numbers, playing tenor sax. They were absolutely great. Richard was playing today and we wanted pictures of the “Book Nook” to use in the web-site. We planned to dash down, take a few pictures and then get the boat ready to move down the lake toward Lake Michigan in preparation for our trip across the Lake. When we got to the “Book Nook”, everyone was so friendly and we met so many interesting people that we visited with everyone for a long time. We met a very cute, nice man, Byron, who claimed to be eighty-nine, although he certainly did not look it nor did he act like he was that age. We chatted with a retired fire-fighter from Arizona, who recently got injured by a wild chain-saw while thirty feet up a tree. The fall did not hurt him, but he is in rehab for his arm which the chain-saw attacked. We also met four very interesting women, Joyce, Diane, Susie and Muriel, Susie’s mother. We had so much fun, visiting with them! They invited us to go to lunch with them at Michillinda Lodge, a beautiful old resort with a wonderful restaurant which overlooks Lake Michigan. We sat on the patio and had a panoramic view of the Lake. It was a glorious day, sunny and cool. It was such an enjoyable lunch, we decided we had not had that much fun nor laughed that hard in a long time! They were charming, delightful and enchanting women. And, if there is ever a question about whether flying saucers are real or not, Muriel will be glad to share her personal experience with you! We did not get the boat moved that day. We took the boat to Crosswinds Marina, next door to Moxie, to get fuel. Another friend, Jan, who has a big sailboat at Moxie, volunteered to go with us the next day to White Lake Yacht Club. Wednesday morning dawned with lightening, thunder and wind. We stayed at Moxie Marine where we had been, tied up against a bulkhead with some work boats by a closed down restaurant. We were very protected and could park the car very near the boat. It was a rather difficult place to get in and out of when docking, but Phil was as skillful (he says lucky) as ever and it was not a problem. The difficulty in that marina is the algae and sea weed which grow everywhere. The seaweed is very tall and gets in all the intakes on the boat. We did not run our air conditioners, even when it got a little warm, because we did not want to clog up the intakes. The heads suffered also because of the sea-weed. It is a mess and there is no attempt made to control the algae or the seaweed. WHITEHALL TO MAINTOWOC, WISCONSIN ~ JULY 15-16 By late afternoon on Wednesday, July 15th, the sun crept out and the winds abated. We, including Jan, took “Harmony” to the White Lake Yacht Club. It is just inside the inlet to White Lake. We had been at Moxie Marine which is seven miles further down White Lake. We wanted to be near the entrance to Lake Michigan, so that if we got a weather window we could immediately start our crossing, instead of having an hour’s ride down White Lake from Moxie. After much discussion and thinking, Jan said that she would go with Phil to take the boat across and I would drive the car to Ludington, about 25 miles and cross the Lake on the car ferry, the SS Badger. Thursday looked like the best day until next week, so we decided it was a go. They planned to leave the next morning, Thursday, at eight o’clock. Jan’s friend, Larry, came to the boat and we all went to dinner at the Chamber Bar behind Gary’s Restaurant in Whitehall. It is a great sports bar and our cheese burgers tasted like gourmet food! Jan arrived early the next morning and the weather still looked good. About 8:30 am, we threw off the lines and they started out into Lake Michigan. It was seventy-four miles to Manitowoc and about sixty –eight to Sheboygan. The decision about where to go would depend on the waves and the wind. It felt so strange to me to watch the “Harmony” and Phil pull away from the dock without me aboard! I was glad I was not going. . . I had enough of Lake Michigan last year. At the same time, it felt like I should have gone. Someone had to bring the car over, though, and it was going to be me. Phil and I talked many times until he was out of range. He said he thought I had made the right decision – it was really rough, just like last year. The thing about Lake Michigan is that there is no rhythm or pattern to the wave action. Most large, open bodies of water have a rhythm. It may be rough, but you know what to expect it. This lake has waves and wind from all sides, causing an uncomfortable, rocky, rolly ride. Once again, things moved and fell over that usually ride just fine. About half way, it eased up and from then on was an okay trip. Most Loopers come down the Michigan side and few come to the Wisconsin side. It is much calmer on the Wisconsin side and the marinas are good. The SS Badger did not leave until 7:00 pm, so I had the day to do the washing, visit the “Book Nook” one more time and have lunch at Pekadill’s, an excellent sandwich/soup/ice cream place in Whitehall, drive to Ludington and have a great dinner at P.M.Steamer’s, our favorite restaurant, near the Ludington Marina. My trip on the SS Badger was uneventful, which was nice! The Badger is the last remaining coal-powered steamship car ferry on the Great Lakes. It is in its 56th year. It is the largest car ferry ever built for Great Lakes service. Her mission has changed, from carrying railroad cars to passengers and their vehicles, including eighteen wheelers and buses. There are many things to do during the four hour trip, from movies to bingo. The Badger staff drives your vehicle onto and off the ship. The stern of the ship raises as it comes into port and lowers as it leaves. By the time it is docked, the stern is completely raised and the staff is ready to start driving the vehicles out of the Badger. It is really efficient and works quite well, with little delay. Phil and Jan arrived in Manitowoc about five o’clock. The marina is the nicest we have stayed at on our whole trip. It is very secure, great bathrooms, very nice lounge area, laundry and ship store. As an added plus for us, we can even get TV, only 4 or 5 channels, but that is 4 or 5 more than we had at Moxie. They walked into town and had dinner at the Elbow Room, which they said was very good. I arrived in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, on the Badger a few minutes past its scheduled 10:55 pm arrival time. The marina was right next door, so I had no trouble driving there. MANITOWOC, WISCONSIN ~ JULY 16 – 22 Jan spent the night with us and the next morning, we headed downtown to Warren’s Café for a late breakfast. It was excellent, a place where locals go to eat. We drove through the town of Manitowoc. There are beautiful old homes, a zoo, a quaint historic section within walking distance of the marina with shops and restaurants, further away are the usual Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, etc. and a great grocery store, Festival, which has good prices and as good a selection as Central Market in Houston. Budweiser beer has a huge plant here. The building has three giant beer bottles pictured on the front of it that are visible on one of the main streets that dead ends into the building. We put Jan on the 1:00 Badger, bound for Ludington, Michigan where her friend, Larry, was going to meet her. She had her life-vest on because she had worn it when we moved the boat to the Yacht Club, as well as when she and Phil crossed Lake Michigan. It did not exactly instill a lot of confidence in Captain Phil! I am sure the other passengers on the Badger were a little concerned about it, also, but she had to wear it because it would not fit in her duffle bag! She was the only one on the ship in a life vest… We drove around some more and went to the Courthouse Pub, across the street from the beautiful old 1906 Courthouse for an early dinner. When the Pub is open, it is “In Session”. They had live music that night, but it did not start until 10:00 and we were too tired to wait two and a half hours! We are enjoying our time in Manitowoc. The Maritime Museum here is part of the Smithsonian Institute and we would highly recommend it. It has examples of some beautiful wooden boats, built over a hundred years ago and in beautiful condition. One of the exhibits is a collection of wood models of ships. They are very well done with a lot of detail. There is a mural on one of the walls that is a map of America’s Great Loop. We were so surprised and thrilled to see what we were doing recognized by the museum. It is an excellent depiction of our route. Many submarines were manufactured in Manitowoc during the Second World War. Although the SS Cobia, a World War II submarine, was not made in Manitowoc, it is docked here at the museum. During the war, the Cobia sank many enemy ships and is thought to have sunk a ship carrying tanks and arms that were going to be used against our troops during the D-Day Invasion. It has been designated a historic submarine by the Navy and, as such, is maintained by Navy Reservists. It is in excellent condition with all systems in working order and because of its designation is supposed to be maintained so that it can be combat ready in two years time. It was very interesting to tour. It is over 400 feet long. We were fascinated to think that all the equipment on it still works. Phil and I have toured many submarines in Europe, but none that were as long as the Cobia or as well maintained. One day we drove to Two Rivers, a small town six miles from Manitowoc. While we were watching the river, a mother duck and her nine babies waddled over to the edge and plunged into the water. There were many seagulls in the area, the usual kind that we see on the coast. There was also one seagull which was dark in color. It flew down and dove at the family of ducks. Apparently, it grabbed a baby duck because the mother went into attack mode. She went after that seagull, flapping her wings and quacking so viciously, the sea gull dropped the baby and flew away, glad to escape with all his limbs intact! There were other ducks close by and they all came out to help, flapping and quacking, should she need any assistance. The other babies practically ran on top of the water to get close to their mother and safety. It was quite a scene. We have never seen a sea gull go after a baby duck. The white ones in the area just ignored them. We had the pleasure of going to lunch with some old friends, Gladys and her son, Jay, from Sheboygan. They had been vacationing in Door County and stopped on their way home. We enjoyed visiting with them. Then it was back to work, doing washing and packing for our trip home tomorrow, Thursday, July 23, 2009. |
Whitehall / Montague, MI and Manitowoc, WI
Harmony Log 2009
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USS Coba
Phil's favorite shirt found in the Book Nook. He wanted to get
on for son in law, Bill, but they were out of large sizes. Bill
often frequents Starbucks for a "fix". The coffee here is just
great and the goodies are really yummy!