Homecoming in Michigan

We are currently docked in downtown Port Huron, on the Black River. Here are some of the views we see every day.

In the dinghy.

Canadian Geese, they go past every night, 26-28 of them.

The squirrels here are black!

 Parties on the boat...with Robbie's sister-in-law, Barb, brother Dale, and old friends, Frannie and Al.

And classmates from the class of 1964.

Parties at his sister's house...

From left: Dale, (Robbie's brother)  Judy, (Barb's sister), Barb, (Dale's wife), Robbie, Lynne, (Robbie's sister), Amy, (Lynne's daughter)

Stuart (Robbie's brother-in-law) and his friend, Pat,  made this for our boat. The center of the wheel has a painting of our boat.

Reuions at the lake house that Tom and Mary are renting...Robbie, Tom (old friend, was Robbie's partner on Sheriff's Dept, here from Arizona), Ray, (also was a deputy), Dale, Robbie's brother, here from Arizona, and old friend, Victor.

We took Dale and Barb on a boat ride down the St. Clair River.

We passed the infamous pole that Robbie used to do back flips off of when he was too young to be swimming in this current!

Tom and Mary had a party at the lake house, and the wind was at least 30 mph, maybe more.

View from the lake house, would not want to be out there in a boat.

Happy Hour on the boat with my friend, Kay, who drove down from Traverse City..

Maggie sleeping up on the fly bridge. 

We had a "docktails" party on the dock with a couple we met in Maryland who just crossed their wake, or finished the Loop, just two days ago. They were from this area of  Michigan, the other couple, who are also on the Loop, was from Anchorage, Alaska.

Toasting to Ken and Donna for "crossing their wake" or completing the Loop.

Great sunset Friday night. Monday, we are moving the boat to a marina in St. Clair. We will probably be here at least two more weeks before we put the boat in storage. We have to recover from all these parties before we drive back to Florida!

Home Stretch

July 21, 2016, Robbie and Stuart left Wyandotte and headed up the Detroit River toward Stuart's  home, and where Robbie grew up: Marysville and Port Huron, Michigan.

Detroit City!

After crossing Lake St. Clair, they went into the St. Clair River.

Arriving in Port Huron, Michigan, on the Black River

They had to wait for two bridges to open, this is the Military Street Bridge.

Downtown Port Huron, view from the boat.

 This is as far as we plan to go for now. We will stay here for a few weeks, seeing friends and family, then we will store the boat for the winter, and return to Florida.

West on Lake Erie

Tuesday, July 19, 2016, the winds died down and Robbie and Stuart headed West on Lake Erie toward Cleveland. My sister-in-law, Lynne and I drove to Port Huron, Michigan to wait for them.

Off they go.

Entering Lake Erie

Cleveland

 They made a reservation at a marina in Vermilion, Ohio. It was about an 85 mile run.

Vermilion Harbor, Ohio
Robbie said it was one of prettiest places he's seen. The whole city was full of canals, a boating community.

Next stop, Wyandotte, Michigan.

Back in the USA

July 16th, 2016, Robbie, Stu and Lynne left Canada to head across Lake Erie to Erie, Pennsylvania. Erie was hosting a motorcycle rally called Roar on the Shore.

They entertained themselves by playing putt putt golf.

Lynne and Stu

These are fishing boats on Lake Erie. They cluster in groups where the fishing is good.

Meanwhile, I've been in Buffalo, staying with Marilyn and Terry, who I met in Spain in the 80's. Marilyn was a special ed teacher, Terry was in the Navy. They married on Gibraltar in 1986.

Buffalo has a weekly bike ride called Slow Roll. Marilyn and I went, and rode 9 miles through the city with about 1000 other bikers. It was fun.

Sunday night, July 17, I left Buffalo and met the boat in Geneva, Ohio at the Geneva State Park Marina.

Waiting for the sun to set on the lake. 

Not a bad sunset Sunday night! Monday looks too windy, so the plan right now is to head West on Lake Erie on Tuesday. 

The Welland Canal

 July 13, 2016, Robbie, his sister, Lynne; his brother-in-law, Stuart; and Roger, a hired lockmaster, tackled the Welland Canal. It starts in St. Katherine's, Ontario and ends in Port Colborne.

Entering Lock #1

Locks averaged between 45-48 ft rise.

The owners of that sailboat just sent us photos they took of our boat, so I am revising this post to add them.

Stuart and Lynne

Lift Bridge, it moves up and down to open and close.

Locks 4, 5 and 6 took them up the height of Niagara Falls.

Some of the locks were connected, out of one into another.

This was in the locks with them.

Three in a row.