September 24, 2009

Well two weeks have passed since the last post and much has happened. We are on our way back down the Cumberland River from Nashville with Frank & Bridget Bryson on our way to Chattanooga, TN.

We left Clarksville, TN this AM after spending two nights. We spent 4 nights in Nashville, touring the downtown C & W places and generally watching the local wild life.

We went to the “Grand Ole Opry” with Danny and Susan (Potest Fieri) and had a great time. The average age of the performers is ~ 80 which fit well with the blue hair audience. This is worth going once as a cultural experience.

While we were going up the Cumberland it poured for two days straight and when we arrived in Nashville all sorts of debris was rushing down the river including large trees. The river rises fast after a rain. The debris has been so heavy I have been constantly cleaning
the strainers on the AC and refrigeration as they can clog up fast.

We have now gone over 2800 NM and are about 500 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico. As I mentioned earlier we are bound for Chattanooga where Frank & Bridgett will disembark and pick up their car in Nashville. We will then mosey around Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi until November 1st (Insurance restrictions) then head south towards the Panhandle of Florida.

The weather has been the hottest the last few days as it has been the entire trip.

Life is good and I see how one could become very comfortable with this life style.

Sept 10, 2009

Since the last post we have traversed the Illinois River to the Mississippi River and are now at anchor outside Cairo (Pronounced Kay-row), IL ready to enter then Ohio River up to the Tennessee River. Our current plan is to go east to Nashville on the Cumberland, meet up with Frank & Bridgett Bryson and spend some time exploring the upper Cumberland before returning to Nashville and spending some time with Judi’s family in Murfreesboro.

We will then return down the Cumberland and eventually head south towards Mobile, AL.

The lower Illinois and the Mississippi are very remote areas although the rivers are completely different. The Illinois is controlled by locks and dams therefore the water level is controlled. From St. Louis to New Orleans the Mississippi runs free therefore the water levels can rise and fall rapidly based on the runoff from rainfall. You have to be careful anchoring because if you do not allow for a drop in water you could be high and dry in the morning. We have been anchoring more as there are fewer places to visit along the river. However, as you can see from the pictures, I am able to find the best 5-star accommodations along the river.

The scenery has been spectacular and the weather has been very nice, hot and some days humid and this continues as the trip of a lifetime.

Much has happened since the last post from Manistee, MI. We got out of Manistee on Sunday, 8/22/2009 and went to Grand Haven, MI in 4-5 foot quartering seas. Not a very comfortable ride for an 80 NM trip. Monday we left with “Potest Fieri” for South Haven, MI but, because of the weather window we went across Lake Michigan to Kenosha, WI. Tuesday we arrived in Chicago, and picked up a mooring in Monroe Harbor. A great spot right downtown, or so we thought. The wind came in from the east at 15-20 knots on the second and third night and it was like sleeping in a washing machine. We decided to get out of Dodge. We left Friday and went down the Chicago River right through the heart of Chicago. This was a great experience.

We had fun in Chicago during the day and saw many interesting things. We had dinner at Morton’s one night and a very nice dinner the second night at the Columbia Yacht Club, a reciprocal privilege.

The next hurdle we have had to deal with is the Corps of Engineers (COE) “Fish Barrier”. This engineering marvel is designed to keep “Asian Carp” out of the Great Lakes. It was to be “tested” on August 17th. They then, without any notice, decided to keep it up and running while doubling the current flow.

The effect of this was the COE banned transit through the barrier for any boat that was not made of steel or some other metal. Fiberglass boats are banned from crossing the barrier for fear of “Injury or Death”. Of course you can get through if you disconnect all your batteries and are brought through by a commercial tug. This tug is under contract with the COE and the transit cost is $600.00. We are presently tied to a river barge above the barrier awaiting our turn to be ripped off.

While we visited some great harbors in the lake and meet many great people we are glad to be out of Lake Michigan as the weather and wave action is was tough.

We are now proceeding to the Mississippi River. This is a downhill ride till we get to the Ohio River. This will be relaxing as opposed to all the conditions we encountered in Lake Michigan.

Stay tuned.

Latest Update

Well the end of August is fast approaching and we are still on Lake Michigan. We are presently huddled down in Manistee waiting for the weather to calm down so that we can continue our trek to Chicago. With a bit of luck we can get to Chicago before the lake freezes over.

We arrived here on Wednesday evening and will be lucky to get moving again by Sunday. The wind has remained above 15 with gusts over 30 and the Lake is running over 6 feet. We are doing this for fun not survival.

August has been a very exciting month for us as Julia and Evan presented us with our third grandchild, Isabelle Marcele Campbell, who arrived on the 11th at 6:41 AM. Isabelle was Evan’s grandmothers’ name and Marcele was Julia’s grandmothers’ name. All three are doing great.

We drove back to Massachusetts on the 11th to meet the newest member of our family and we arrived back in Michigan on Monday. Tuesday we were delayed again by weather in Leland and were not able to leave until Wednesday morning.

Stay tuned for progress updates.

It has been 11 days since the last update and we have been to several interesting places. We spent a few days on the Canadian North Channel at a couple of spectacular anchorages.

We returned to the US on July 30th and cleared customs at Drummond Island, MI, Since then we have been to DeTour, MI, Cedarville, MI, Hessel, MI, St. Igance, MI, Mackinac Island, MI, Harbor Springs, MI and now are in Petoskey, MI. All of these northern Michigan towns are summer resort communities similar to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. While the Massachusetts resorts have homes from the 1700’s Michigan’s date from the 1800’s.

We have found out that the eastern shore of Lake Michigan has few natural harbors however the State has built “Harbor’s of Refuge” about every 30 miles along the coast. The marinas are first class and charge $1.20 per foot.

The lake is very impressive and the waves can come up very quickly giving you a nasty chop. The weather has been chilly with rain today and predicted for tomorrow. They are calling this the year of no summer up here. Where is Al Gore when you really need him?

We finally have a new computer so here are some pictures, in no particular order of places we have been. We have traveled 1637 NM, about 25% of the trip so far. All is well