Getting ready to cruise

We have been on the boat since last Thursday night after a quick trip home to get medicine refills.  Now we are preparing for a two week cruise and have to return home to get the heavy duty anchor and Sharon needs to bake some bread for a two week stay at sea.  We will return to PL tomorrow afternoon and I will get the anchor and come back either tomorrow night or in the morning early.  SAM will bring the other car so we have two here.  The proposed departure time will be 0800 Sunday morning.

I am experimenting with a integrated antenna from RealLabs out of California.  It works in this marina great.  The signal strength is banging the upper limits with a 92% link quality  This makes the internet here at the marina really usable.  The price is $169.00 and worth every penny.  I am picking up 13 stations from other areas of the city and this is amazing – about 1/2 mile away for the farthest reconizable station.  I can blog again before we shove off.

The sailing plan is to go up the Lake’s east coast to White Lake for a RON.  From there to Luddington the next day and then across the lake to Sturgeon Bay and into Door County.  This is in Sturgeon Bay and we will hop from marina to marina culmunating in re-crossing the lake to South Manitou Island east side for a few days in the undeveloped harbor of the state park.  From there we will hop down the coast again to our home marina.  Estimated trip time is two weeks.

Grandchildren

We picked up the three grandchildren last Sunday evening and took them to our home for the night.  The Monday we took them to the boat and had our first meal on board.  Well, not quite on board as we ate at the yacht club pavillion.  On the way up we stopped by the Kalamazoo Air Zoo and it was a lot of fun.  Everyone enjoyed the Space Ball and the Flight Simulator.

Tuesday morning we secured the ship and made our way to the open waters of Lake Michigan.  Seas were 1 – 3 ft and winds of 15 knots and beautiful sunshine.  It was a little cold and it did not take long for us to don our jackets.  Dave and Mitch went forward for a while and then headed below where they intermittantly poped their heads up and slept some.  Jake was in the cockpit reading.  The waves were just rough enough to cause the First Mate to become a little queasy so we went in at about 1500 hrs local time.  All in all itwas a great sailing day and I hope we generated some interest in  sailing.

Today we went to lookout sand dune and it was a windless just right temperature day.  We could see about 50 miles out into the lake and there were a few sailboats just sitting there on the flat seas with no wind.  The boys ran down the steps to the lake while we of little energy sat at the top of the hill.

We have take several photos and video of the various events and we are now back in PL where they are kayaking right now or maybe fishing.  Tomorrow we go down teh Pigeon Crick from Long Lake to Golden Lake takeout.

A day in Indiana

Arrived in NE IN last night and spent a full day doing “things”.  All these mundane tasks take time and a little time here and a little more there adds up to a Too Short day.  Here are some of the mundane things:

• Take two boat alternators to shope to be checked for Good or DOA – one good & one bad.
• Check models and prices of Weed Eaters – bought  Husqvarna @ $213 including tax.
• Use new weed whacker a little bit.
• Take car to have rear tire leak diagnosed.
• Go to True Value hardware to pick up #8 x 5/8″ & 1/2″ – return wrong screws and pick the 5/8 ” and BO the 1/2″.
• Do evening youth security patrol at church
• Pick up branches at church at noon
• Take short nap
• Make lots of calls on cell to friends & social security office.  Called guy to say I did not want his KZ650 bike.

That is all I can remember but there was more.  Tonight at church nephew Brandon shows up on a 750 Suzuki that looked like a GSRX & I spot him just as he was burning a patch on the rain covered asphalt driveway – bike wont last too long at this rate and it has 28K miles already.