Port Huron, MI

What fun we have had visiting with old friends and with family in Port Huron, a pretty little city at the entrance to Lake Huron. Last night we met up with Doug and Mary Kay Baribeau, Johns college roommate and Fraternity brother. We went out to dinner and relived old times. They were so gracious and lent us one of their cars for the week-end so that we could run errands.

This morning my nephew, Bob Hough and Vicki and their daughter (my grandniece) came over to our boat to visit us. After enjoying mimosas in the cockpit, we went out to lunch at the Thomas Edison Inn, where they were married nearly 11 years ago, and we had attended their wedding. We had a lovely lunch in the big restaurant overlooking the St. Clair River and the Blue Water Bridge to Canada. Giant tankers passed by frequently.

After that John & I drove 40 miles to Mt. Clemens & back to get some new oil filters for the engine. We have gone through several filters on this trip and think we may have gotten some fuel at the beginning of the trip that had not been filtered properly. Occasionly the gunk gets stirred up and clogs the filter, which essentially shuts down engine operations.

Then while John did boat maintenance I drove to a laundromat and a grocery store for those necessary chores -- then we had a late dinner on the boat.

Detroit, MI

We're in Michigan!! -- Still have a couple of weeks before we reach our destination. We left Put-In-Bay this morning under cloudy skies and light winds. After several hours, and after we had reached the south end of the Detroit River, the sun broke out into clear skies. It was such a welcome to Michigan. We have spend 6 days on Lake Erie, and we're glad to be out (mostly strong winds and cloudy skies)-- but who knows what the conditions Lake Huron will bring us.

Anyway, we reached Kean's Marina in Detroit around 4:00 -- tied up and had dinner on board. Tomorrow we head for Port Huron. The picture at above right is the entrance to Lake St. Clair, which we will cross tomorrow.

Put-In-Bay, OH

On Tuesday we motored from Cleveland under cloudy skies and very rough seas for 8 hours. We were very glad to get moored in Put-In-Bay. Even though it was protected, the boat still rocked through half of the night.

We stayed put on Wednesday and went ashore to see the island. This is a delightful place that is very popular with the summer crowd. High-speed ferry boats run frequently from several points in Ohio, and a ferry also runs from Ontario to the north. The town and island is filled with Victorian-era homes and buildings.

We had lunch at the restaurant (above left) overlooking the bay, then went for a tour around the island. We went back to the boat via the free water taxi and did some cleaning of the cockpit and other duties. Later we returned to the same restaurant where we ate lunch and had lobster bisque and salad (me), and John had salmon.

We wanted to go to the top of the Perry memorial (picture above) but it is closed for rennovations, so they can get ready for the bicentennial of the War of 1812 - Battle of Lake Erie -- festivities start in 2012.

Another rocky night at the mooring. Will be glad to get in the Detroit River tomorrow.

Cleveland, OH

We arrived in Cleveland mid-afternoon and pulled into the Whiskey Island Marina. The picture above right shows the Cleveland Browns stadium in the left side of the picture. The Rock & Roll Hall of fame is behind the stadium -- we had toured it two years ago.

Our friends from Herrington Harbor Sailing Association, John and Colleen Miller, arrived at 5:00. They live in Akron, keep their 47' Catalina at Herrington Harbor (MD), and take the boat to Florida in the winter. They gave us some much need equipment for the stepping of our mast early in the Spring.

After happy hour on board Island Time, they drove us to West Marine for needed supplies and to a grocery store so we could pick up some cereal that I had forgotten to get in Erie. Then we went to dinner at the "Stone Mad Pub" restaurant in Cleveland. We sat outside on stone slab booths surrounded by flowers and plants, and we all had an excellent meal.

Needless to say, we had a thoroughly wonderful time with the Millers, and we were thankful for all their hospitality.

Geneva State Park, OH

We left Erie this morning with rain and foggy conditions. This picture was taken just outside the marina where we were staying, and the Erie 1995 Bi-centennial tower is in the forefront.

After motoring through the drizzle and with light winds, we reached Geneva State Park Marina. We had left the rain behind, but it was still cloudy and damp. The marina was filled with friendly Ohioans enjoying the summer on their boats. We had dinner aboard. As we head eastward, the sunset is later, and now it is light until after 9:00. ...On to Cleveland tomorrow where we will meet up with friends.

Erie, PA

We reached Erie late Thursday afternoon on a sunny, warm day. We were able to sail for a few hours in the afternoon - winds were from the west/northwest, and we were headed west/southwest.

After we arrived, Gary took a taxi to the Hertz rental place to pick up their rental car. On our last evening together, the weather was delightful, and we ate dinner in the cockpit -- with grilled pork & chicken cooked with fresh herbs, and accompaniments.

The next morning Gary & Kathy left at around 9:30, and were home in Virginia by late afternoon. They have been a big help to us and also great company. The rest of the trip does not require extra help - alas we are on our own now.

On Friday we did various chores, including a grocery shopping trip to Wegmans. We cleaned the boat inside and out and did laundry on both days. Later in the afternoon yesterday, we rode the trolley car for a mini sight-seeing trip around Erie, and we also walked around the harbor front. The ship "Niagara" is home based here -- on Friday & Saturday we watched it going out and coming back in to the harbor with some of its sails raised. We had toured the Niagara when it was visiting Washington DC several years ago. This is a replica of Oliver Hazard Perry's flagship in which he defeated the British in the "Battle of Lake Erie" during the War of 1812. He is a distant relative of mine, which has been traced back to the 1700's by family members, so it has special meaning. In a few days we will be visiting Put-In-Bay where the battle occurred. The websiste is www.flagshipniagara.org .

Later we ate dinner at the "Smugglers Wharf" -- I had fried lake perch and John had walleye. It's great to be back on the great lakes to be able to eat freshwater fish. Can't wait to have some lake trout in Michigan!

Through the Welland Canal and Beyond

We left Youngstown at 6 a.m., arrived at the entrance of the Welland Canal around 8 a.m. and went through Canadian customs. We were told by the canal authorities that we would have to wait until noon to enter the first lock because there had been a breakdown, and they were backed up getting freighters through. Then one of the freighters had some kind of problem, so they told us that we could go next. We entered the first lock with two other "pleasure crafts" sometime before noon. These locks were much more difficult to handle than the ones in the Erie Canal. It took a lot of muscle power to hold on to the ropes as the water level rose 49 feet in each lock. The turbulance from the water pouring into each lock caused the boats to flail around (see picture above right). The great thing was that we went through the locks in 5 1/2 hours, which we are told is incredibly quick, and that norm is 12 hours+.

Also, we were blessed with perfect weather -- sunny & warm.

After going through the 8 locks we headed to our marina in Port Colburne, Ontario, arriving around 6:30 p.m. We were quite exhausted. I had made a chili casserole while underway, and we all gobbled it down after we were settled in our slip.

Pictures: Above left - Island Time on its way to the next lock following the 2 power boats; above right - the 3 boats in a lock. These two pictures were taken by an acquaintance of ours - a fellow Beneteau owner.

The next morning we woke up to stormy, rainy, & windy conditions. Since we only had 20 miles to go to Dunkirk, NY, we set out around 1:30 p.m. and made it to our destination late in the afternoon. It was a choppy & wet ride. Later we went to dinner at a restaurant near by. Tomorrow we head to Erie, PA.