9/2/15 – 9/12/15          Chicago, IL. and Hammond, IN.

9/2/15 – 9/3/15                        Chicago

The trip down to Chicago was the end of our travels on Lake Michigan. We had spent some good days and some not so good days, but we were glad be done with it before it started to really get unpredictable.

It seems that the realy big cities like New York and Chicago look to be fogged in when approaching them by water.

Once we got close to the breakwater, things started to look clearer and I could get some good shots as we headed into DuSable Marina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we got settled in we headed for Navy Pier. This is a very large pier that has been converted into a tourist complex somewhat like the Inner harbor of Baltimore. It has lots of Eateries and a few shops. But they also have a huge two story Chicago Children’s Museum right at the front. And there are numerous boat tours that start out from the pier.

 

We did the Architectural Tour Boat so we could see the Chicago River and the route we would not be able to take to leave Chicago. Most of the bridges through Chicago do not open and they are only 17 ft. and we didn’t want to try it. So here are some shots from the tour.
 

 

 

Chicago is also in the process of building up it’s River Walk.

 

After the boat ride we decided to find a place to eat over at the River Walk. For those of you from JHHC, you may recognize the gentleman I almost ran over with my bike. I was totally shocked to see him walking our way. For those who aren’t JHHC, this is Jeff Joy, the former COO at JHHC. He now lives in Chicago right on the walk where we ran into him.

 While we enjoyed our dinner we got to watch the fountain along the walk cascade the River with a beautiful waterfall which created a lovely rainbow.
 

 

9/4/15 – 9/12/15          Hammond, IN.

We had planned the short stay in Chicago and a longer stay in Hammond so that we could get to a convenient Walmart to get some necessary medications renewed. We also needed to restock the boat before we started down the inland river system. This was by far the largest marina I have been in. We stayed on U pier and the walk to land was about ¼ mile. The very large building you see in the picture is Binion’s Horseshoe Casino. So we had great places to eat and got to spend some money.
 

 While the casino was right there and the Walmart was about a mile away, it was not very convenient and there was nothing else around. It is also not considered a good area to walk around. We wound up renting a car to do our shopping, etc. We drove 40 minutes to get to the Costco and AT&T store etc. This was in a very nice area and it had every store imaginable along with a large mall.

 

Come back next week for that posting.

 

8/26/15 – 9/1/15                      Lake Michigan

 8/26/15                                    Charlevoix, MI.

When we left Mackinaw Island, we headed down the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. We didn’t see much but fishing boats and open water on our way. We did pass several light houses, but I won’t boar you with those. Our first stop was Charlevoix. We traveled about 60 miles. There was a very long fairway entering the port and there were sidewalks on both sides. All of the stops in Michigan have these impressive entrance jettys complete with a lighthouse.

The water really is this beautiful!
 

 

 

 

We stayed at a municipal Marina and these places are really nice. They are very near the downtown areas and even have some places right across the street.  They even had a farmer’s market right on the street.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We met with Alex and Sharon from Moon Glow and had a very nice dinner right beside the entrance way. They had to fly home to take care of some business and will go back to their boat and finish their loop here in Michigan.

 

8/27/15                                    Frankfort, MI.

From Charlevoix we again headed south to Frankfort. Unfortunately, the weather report was not very accurate. They called for 2 foot waves and 10 knot winds. The waves wound up being more like 4 foot, so it was pretty rough. We had to slow it down.

Check out the waves. These were before it got really bad.

After getting beat up for several hours we got closer to shore and the waves got a little better. Michigan has some impressive sand dunes along this coast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No this isn’t a dune. This beach is part of the Municipal Park. There are people in the water and I am in capris and a sweatshirt.

Another  impressive entrance way, and this picture is a little clearer, since it is not cloudy and foggy today..

 

This is another municipal marina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8/28/15            - 8/29/15         Ludington, MI.          

Today we started out with the sunrise. This is to be another 60 mile day and we had a good forecast, “Waves 1 to 2 feet’’ Not true, we got pounded again, so we don’t have many pictures..                               

 

Ludington had another long entrance way 



Check out the couple sitting below the lighthouse (front wall)

 

Ludington was also a Municipal marina and park.

Yep, there was a wedding going on

The city was a bike ride away with lots of shopping and restaurants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out the below shots of the S. S. Badger. The Badger is a car ferry which is 410 ft. long. It travels between Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin. It is the largest car ferry to sail lake Michigan, and the only coal fired steamship in operation in the U.S. The pictures below are when it enters the harbor in Ludington, It lowers one anchor and pivots on that to turn 180 degrees and back into its dock.

 

 

 

8/30/15                                    Grand Haven, MI.

This trip was cloudy and foggy, but the waves were less than 1 foot. It was a pleasant ride, but there was nothing to take pictures of until we got to the port. There was water, water everywhere!

This was a Sunday afternoon and the weather was actually getting warm again. I guess that is why there were so many people at the beach and out on boats. Check them out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These shots were taken on the way in.

How’s this for an American Legion!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We went to dinner with Jane and Jack from the “Spirit”  and Patty and Jack from “Nearly Perfect”.

When we returned from dinner we enjoyed a nightcap and watched the light show across the harbor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8/31/15 – 9/1/15          Benton Harbor, MI                 

We travelled another 60 mile down Lake Michigan in clouds and a slight fog to get to Benton Harbor, MI., where we stayed at the Harbor Shores Inn. Here are some sights entering the harbor.



Jetty under repair

Lighthouse under repair (It still lights)

Lot's of folks in the water. It is starting to warm back up.

Check out the garages! Skidoo's and boats.

This is the Harbor Shores Marina and Hotel.

We planned to stay 2 days since they had an indoor and outdoor pool and a hot tub. Time to relax! Just after we docked the sun came out and the temperature got into the 80’s. Yeah! We had drinks at the tiki bar with Brian and Janice from the ‘Fugitive’. We also enjoyed dinner at the hotel that night. Unfortunately the pools were green.  Not a good sign. The morning dawned warm and sunny. We rode the bikes into town to go to the Michigan's largest Marine Store.  It was truly huge.  The pools were closed for cleaning and so was the tiki bar. We headed back to the boat, had dinner and then just relaxed.

Next stop Chicago IL. and Hammond IN., so come back next week for that posting.