Exploring The City

After lunch we decided to take a walk down to Navy Pier. Well some of us did. One of the group decided that she had better go back to our room and study for her PE test. Responsible kid. Where did she come from? The four of us minus one made our way down to the lake. I should say we slowly made our way. Lunch was good but wow. It was sitting heavy in our stomachs. Dinner was looking less and less appealing.

On our way we spotted this sign.




I couldn't agree more. It was cold that weekend. Winter scarves and coat cold.

Much to Katie's delight we were almost there. I think I heard the word "cab" more than once on our walk down to the Pier.




Navy Pier is a fun place to visit. Fun if it's summer and a tad bit warmer. There wasn't much going on that cold October afternoon. To their credit the swings and ferris wheel were operating.




We did neither. Swinging on a full stomach didn't seem like a good idea and going up in the ferris wheel on a cold windy day wasn't any more appealing.

We did let Katie do this.




We like to live on the edge.

Fortunately there is an inside mall. We went inside and enjoyed some hot drinks and a couple of shows. We caught the end of a magic show and saw a musical involving pirates. That was a hit with the younger set.

Katie decided she wanted to go back so we slowly made our way back to the hotel.

Isn't the city pretty?




Well, we did make one little detour. We spotted an interesting grocery store on our way back and decided we should check it out. When the entrance of the store looks like this




you know you are in for a treat. And a treat it was. We found all kinds of interesting things. This, my friends, was no Wal Mart. If only I could live near a store like this.

Once we had Katie comfortably in bed with the remote and Sarah comfortably at her desk with her calculator my not that much younger sister and I decided to go out and do some more exploring.

Michigan Ave was one level up from the street our hotel was on so we decided to go up the stairway to see what all the full was about. I'm not kidding when I say it was like being in another world when we got to the top of those steps. The people! The cars! The shopping!

I love the old mixed with the new.




Some day I am going to take a boat ride on this river.




I don't think they are in Kansas any more.




Did I mention the shopping? There was every store you could think of on that street. Here is one that would appeal to the punks of the family. Needless to say it was packed.




Well, look what we found! The reason for our visit.




I have to admit we did go in and look around. I'm glad we did because the store was overwhelming. There is a lot to look at. That short visit would come in handy when we took Katie the next day.

Since we were still recovering from lunch we decided to pick up some salads and sandwiches from a local grocery store and made our way back to our hotel.

Tomorrow was going to be a full day.

Don't Come Back, Giggles!

As most of you know my not that much younger sister and I took our youngest daughters to Chicago. One daughter was there to choose her first American Girl doll and one daughter was there to choose a wedding dress. Talk about contrasts.

We all met in St Joe on Thursday evening and enjoyed a night of Survivor before going to bed. We had a full day planned on Friday.

Friday dawned and found us here




waiting for our ride. Needless to say one of our group was quite excited about her first train ride.

We arrived safely in Chicago, hailed a cab (another first for one of our group) and made our way to our hotel. Thanks to Dave and his points we had snagged a hotel two blocks off of Michigan Avenue. Thanks, Dave!

We settled in and decided to find some lunch. The hotel had given us a list of restaurants that were within walking distance. I scanned the list and I found the perfect place to take an almost nine-year-old. It was a place we had taken Sarah to many years ago. She had found the diner highly entertaining and I thought Katie would enjoy eating here also.




Orchestrated '50s mayhem recalls the diner in the old television series "Happy Days." Ed's is jam-packed with action: period decor and memorabilia, deejays spinning gems from the '50s-'70s ("Tutti Frutti," "The Twist") and gum-cracking waitstaff, who shtick it up by dishing out rude comments to all -- don't worry; the sass is all in good fun and part of the joint's appeal .

It is all in good fun. They insulted us when we walked in the door and insulted us as we walked out. As soon as we walked in and had been seated the wait staff got up on the counters and danced and sang much to Katie's delight.




I don't think she had ever seen anything like this before.




We had a very funny waitress who gave Katie the nickname of "Giggles". I don't know where she got that name from. Maybe because Katie giggled when she threw the straws at her or maybe because Katie giggled at her silly glasses. Katie found our waitress quite amusing and did a lot of giggling.




Look at my not that much younger sister's response to the mayhem going on around us.




I guess this view can do that to a person.




It was a fun way to start our weekend. I think both the youngsters and somewhat older enjoyed our visit to Ed Debevic's.

If you ever find yourself in Chicago you should definitely ....




Even if the last words you hear walking out the door are, "Don't come back, Giggles!"

This is Fun?

We woke up to cloudy skies Sunday morning. It wasn't raining and for that we were grateful. After another hot breakfast it was time to put up the sails and pull the anchor.

First things first. Sails must go up. Because we had Lee, a folk singer, on board the sails were raised every morning while we sang "Haul Away Joe". The song is a traditional Irish tack and sheet, short haul shantey.




Way haul away, we'll haul for better weather.
Away haul away, we'll haul away Joe.

We hauled every morning but never seemed to see better weather. Maybe today would be different. Or maybe not.

Some people were born for watching




and some were born for hauling.




We had dropped anchor the previous day so that meant we had to pull that anchor back up. A 500 pound anchor. That is a four person job with people rotating in and out. Dave is getting his instructions before he takes his turn.




Push, Dave, push!




I have to give Brendan and Cara credit. They didn't get to rotate out. They were in for the duration.

Dave did rotate out and decided he would go back to the stern and help Captain Dave out. This sailing business is hard work.




Are the Daves expecting rain because they both are wearing their rain pants? I don't like the direction this could be going.

Now that the anchor is at the water line it is time to winch it up to the side of the boat so it can be tied down. It looks like Brendan is ready.




Look who is back. Cara is pulling and Dave is in charge of the line. Don't let go, Dave! I don't think Cara wants to do this twice.




Good job. He didn't let go. A final tie down and another job is done.




I don't want you to think I didn't do anything but watch. Some mornings I did help pull the big sails up. This morning I was in charge of one of the jib sails. I got it up but wasn't strong enough to tighten it. I tried but Brendan had to take over.




Dave still wasn't done. It was time to tighten up the large sails. He was one busy boy this morning.




It wasn't all work. There was a lot of mud on the anchor and chain when it was hauled up and some of the crew couldn't resist having a little bit of fun with it. Youth.




All of the sails and anchor were up. We had a nice breeze and it was time to make out way out of the harbor of Beaver Island and into Lake Michigan. Look who's been promoted from deck hand to captain.




We made our way out to Lake Michigan and this is what we found in front of us. There would be no avoiding that. It was full steam ahead. What lay ahead for our journey across the lake? Only time would tell.




Hang on, Cheyenne! This boat is really starting to roll.




to be continued...

The Big Lake, part two

Dave was exhausted from all of that looking up and decided a nap on deck would be just the thing. That guy can sleep anywhere.




Look at all of those lines. I hope Brendan and Cara know what they are for because I sure don't.




Cara decided to make a trip to the top of the mast too. She couldn't let Brendan have all of the fun now could she?




Notice the blue skies. You, not Cara. Cara needs to keep her eyes on where she is going.




Now it's Brendan's turn.







See he really is tied off once he gets to the top.




The rain had moved back in and we were approaching Beaver Island; It was time for Cara to bring in one of the smaller sails on the bow the boat.




Dave's up just in time to bring the big sails down.




Our destination for this day was Beaver Island. It is the largest island on Lake Michigan and is thirteen miles long and three to six miles wide. It was a year round population of approximately 300 people.

Beaver Island was at one time a Mormon kingdom. The island's association with the Mormonism began with the death of Joseph Smith, founder of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most Mormons considered Brigham Young to be Smith's successor, but many others followed James J. Strang. Strang founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite), claiming it to be the sole legitimate continuation of the church "restored" by Joseph Smith. Strang moved his followers to Beaver Island in 1848. In 1850 Strang proclaimed himself king, but not of the island itself. Rather, he claimed to be king over his church, which at that time contained most of the island's inhabitants. While Beaver Island's would-be monarch held many progressive ideas (such as the conservation of woodlands), his autocratic style of rule came to be seen by many as intolerable. Eventually there was a rebellion and Strang was killed. The followers of Strang were then driven off of the island.

Irish fishermen from Gull Island, Mackinac Island, various port cities on the mainland, and County Donegal in Ireland quickly replaced the Strangites on Beaver Island. Their community, increased by more Irish immigration, would develop a unique identity that was enhanced by the island's isolation from the mainland. Church services and even ordinary conversations were conducted in Gaelic for many years.

Now Beaver Island is a favorite vacation spot of people around the Great Lakes.




The marina doesn't have a dock big enough to accommodate the Manitou so Captain Dave threw the anchor in the harbor. It turns out it is much easier to throw the anchor out than it is to bring it back in. Dave would realize that the next morning. Our transportation to town would be a dinghy that was lashed at the stern of the boat. The most important thing about that is to know the dingy schedule. You don't want to miss the last dingy ride back to the boat.




We enjoyed another dinner cooked by Wendy and D, took the dingy into town to explore and then made our way back to enjoy more stories and songs by Lee.

The Big Lake, part one

Part one? Don't panic. Lots of pictures and little talking.

Saturday dawned cloudy with no wind and no rain. Quite a change from Friday's weather of 25 mph winds and a temperature that barely broke 50 degrees. Look how calm the marina looked that morning.




I took a walk up to the marina bathroom to collect my now dry clothes and snapped a couple of photos of the Manitou as she sat at the dock.







Every morning at eight o'clock we enjoyed a hot drink and freshly baked muffin or scone on the deck while breakfast was being prepared. At nine o'clock breakfast was served in the galley and shortly after we would leave our port for that day's destination. Today we were headed to Beaver Island which was approximately 40 or so miles away. That seems like a long way on a boat with sails.

Speaking of sails it was time to tighten the lines.




Once the two main sails were up Brendan climbed up the rope steps to raise one of the smaller sails at the top of the mast.




That sure is a long way to the top.




For you people who worry about safety, yes he does tie himself off once he gets to the top.




I see there are lots of lookers but few volunteers.




Can you blame them?




The crew is always busy with something.




Dave is still amazed at how high Brendan has climbed. So am I.




In case you're concerned he did make it safely back to the boat deck.




Is that a little bit of blue sky peaking through the clouds? I think it is. Though the day was a bit warmer and the lake much calmer than the day before it also meant less wind. Less wind means the sails aren't very effective. In fact, there was so little wind that we ended up using the engines most of the way across the lake. Some days are like that.




This is Cheyenne. She is part Cherokee and a full-blooded sailer. She is the captain of the boat on many of the day sails throughout the summer. For this trip she was a deck hand but she was okay with that. She didn't mind letting Captain Dave shoulder the responsibility of this trip. I don't blame her. Being the captain isn't an easy job.




Because we were under power there wasn't a whole lot for the crew to do. Brendan kept himself busy working on this. Many times we would find the crew reading with an occasional trip down to the galley to look up a work in the dictionary. This crew was really smart and very interesting to talk to. The crew said they enjoyed these longer trips because it gave them a chance to talk to the guests on board and get to really know them. We felt the same way about them. They have led such interesting lives.




to be continued....