Friday 21 August 2015

Frankfort - Manistee anchorage - Whitelake Marina waiting out wind

 Stayed a couple of nights in Frankfort.  There was a large grocery store there which allowed us to restock at good prices.  Steve and I walked up and after everything I put in the cart Steve would say "OK that's enough we have to carry this stuff back."  But then we would see something else we needed or wanted.  We took a nap sack and some larger bags so the walk back to the Marina was a good work out.  We took a little detour to the end of town and sat by the beach for a while.  The beach sand was like silk between our toes.  Good thing the grocery transport was a good work out because we had to stop for ice cream on the way. 

There were probably 3 other Looper boats in the Marina so at about 4:30 one of the other Loopers came to our boat and asked us to join them for drinks on the lawn at 5:30.  "Velomer," Bob and PM Amidon, "Kat in The Hatt," Richard and Katherine.  Also another American boat "Navigator."  The third boat were not Loopers, just very knowledgeable boaters.   We had some appetizers and drinks and some very good conversation.  So much in common when you meet someone with the same dream as yours so conversation was very easy!  Looking forward to meeting up with this group again, along the way.
Left Frankfort on Monday August 17th.  Had a nice ride to our next destination where we decided to anchor for the night.  Just stayed one night and didn't do much exploring.  Just stayed on the boat and played with the Kayak, Dexter and watched the fisherman.  There were many in this area.  Dexter needs his exercise so we threw a ball off of the boat and he continued to retrieve.  He loves his swimming.

There is a ship museum here but we didn't go ashore.  Very interesting to get up close and check out the boats by water.
We were up early....with the fisherman.  They start at about 5am and they didn't go slow past our boat because we were sleeping.  We decided to be on our way to our next destination.  We decided, once it got to be a half decent hour of day that we should probably reserve at the Marina in Chicago.  The only tough thing about that is you just can't predict when you may be held up with wind.  Lake Michigan is a huge body of water and can kick up quickly. We have downloaded probably 3 or 4 weather apps that we check daily, more than once. Wind Alert seems to be very good and very accurate.  This app gives you hourly winds and waves.

We headed toward our next destination, White Lake, Michigan.  For you land lovers it is close to Grand Rapids, Michigan.  We were about 1/2 way there when the clouds rolled in and we were in heavy rain.  The visibility was poor so we decided not to go quite so far and tucked in to Pentwater.  Just as we pulled in to Pentwater the skies opened and the clouds were gone.  I looked at Steve and said "wanna keep going to White Lake?"  he was in so we carried on.  We knew the next few days were going to be wind days where we wouldn't be going anywhere.

Waiting out the wind in White Lake and man is it windy.  White Lake is a small Lake with access to Lake Michigan so it is not a rough lake in winds but there have been white caps on this lake the past couple of days.  The flags on the Marina boat house have been straight out most of the time we have been here.
 Steve took the day today to do some maintenance on the boat.  There is a Napa Auto Parts just across the street from the Marina.  We went there yesterday and they were so accommodating.  We purchasing some oil so Steve could change the oil on both engines as well as the generator.  They offered to deliver the oil and also pick up our old oil and dispose of it. 
There are two towns here.  White Hall and Montegue, we took a walk up to White Hall yesterday and are about to go check out Montague.  Dexter will make this walk with us.  If he doesn't get his exercise he is like a spoiled 2 year old.  Right about now my sulking, pouty puppy needs to move.

7:30am on Friday August 21st.  Woke to calm winds so we are off to our next destination....."One Bay at a Time"......



No comments:

Post a Comment