The summer rocketed by and now September is over and its
halfway through October. We’ve had a very busy time month since our last update
and its time to fill everyone in on our travels and other adventures.
In the last update we were traveling with Eldon and Dianne
on Maine Visions and had just reached Detour Village, Michigan. From Detour, we
headed out the next morning, traveling through the Le Chenneaux islands to
Hessel. The first couple of hours were rough as there was a strong westerly
wind which was kicking up 3 to 5 foot waves in
Lake Huron. Once we got behind the islands things settled down and it
was a good trip through the islands to Hessel.
Hessel is a pretty little town which turned out to be very
busy as they were hosting a sailboat regatta and the harbor was full of Pearson
Ensigns. However due to the strong winds they were not sailing that day. The
full harbor meant that they had to scramble around to find space for us. They
did, partially by moving the committee boat. Eldon went over to say thank you
and we were invited to the dinner cruise that night. Amazing what a little rum
can do! The dinner cruise was fun and we got a chance to talk with a number of
the sailors who were from all over both countries.
 |
| Grand Hotel - Mackinac Island |
 |
| Harbor at Mackinac from the air |
 |
| Straits of Mackinac Bridge |
It was time for us to go so Jean and I headed south,
stopping for the evening in Frankenmuth, MI, a town we’d never heard of. It
turned out to be very interesting. The town had been founded mostly by German
immigrants and they had retained their
Bavarian heritage and the downtown was primarily done in a Bavarian theme which
was quite nice. We had a good German
meal there that evening.
The next day we drove through Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky,
stopping for the evening at another interesting find, the Cumberland Inn. The
Inn is owned by the University of the Cumberland and is quite nice. It was
advertised as having a museum attached but no word on what the museum was
about. We got there in time to tour it and found it was a private collection of
stuffed animals from all over the world. It was quite interesting. After a swim
in the pool, we found the problem. It was hard to find a decent restaurant
nearby. The picture below is an example of the museum exhibits.
The next day we traveled to Hilton Head. The scenery on I-40
between Knoxville, TN and Ashville, NC was outstanding as the road ran along a
river and through several tunnels. We
arrived at the boat about 4 PM and found Sun Cat had endured the summer nicely.
The dehumidifier had done its job and there was no mold anywhere. The boat was
dirty but otherwise in good shape. It was very warm with temperatures over 90.
The weather stayed that way for several weeks.
 |
| Scenery of I-40 |
At Hilton Head, we’ve mixed trips to the pool and beach with
working on the boat. Among the many boat projects we’ve replaced the radio
antenna and main GPS as well as several lights, the refrigerator and the
injectors on one engine. In the process I’ve rewired a good deal of the bridge,
removing several hundred feet of no longer used wire in the process and
eliminating a negative ground strip that wasn’t attached to anything. I’ve also
done a great deal of routine maintenance including topping the batteries, and
changing all of the filters and the oil in the engines and generator.
We’ve also been fortunate to be visited by our friends and
relatives. Alan and Susan on Kaos
stopped by for a few days as did Phil and Alice on Wonderland. We also had a
couple of visits with Chuck and Claria of Odyssee. In addition, Ken and Sharon on Dockers Inn spent a month here and my brother and sister and their
families also visited for a long weekend and more. During their visit we again attended attended
the Jazz and Brew Festival here in
Shelter Cove. Son Bill stopped on his way back to Florida and we visited one of
Jean’s high school classmates.
 |
| Dockmasters office at Sunset - Shelter Cove Marina |
To give one a feel for how things go for us on a daily
basis, this was what today was like. We had breakfast and coffee in the morning
sun out on the sundeck and then went to work on the boat. I’ve had a persistent
leak around the starboard electrical connection box so we put the dinghy down
and proceeded to clean out the old sealant and add new. Of course this meant
turning off the power and sealing both the inside and outside of the box. This
wound up taking about 2 hours. We then took a dinghy trip about 2 miles to a
restaurant at another marina for lunch. Then we came back, secured the dinghy
and took the bikes to the pool where I did some laps and we enjoyed the
sun. Then it was back to the boat where
I fixed the head yet again. This was followed by happy hour on the sundeck
where we enjoyed the live music from the outside restaurant about 200 feet
away. After dinner, we took a walk around the marina, a distance of about a
mile. Now I’m watching football and writing this after corresponding with
several of our friends.
Still having a great time.
Steve and Jean
