Dinner last night was at Fancy’s Southern Food (out near the airport for you locals). The chicken pot pie and the meatloaf were wonderful. It’s a pretty unique place, lots of rough wood and pictures of old southern buildings. Highly recommended to bring an appetite, the portions are embarrassing large.

We talked about it, posted about it, thought about it but today we released our earthly (watery?) bounds and slipped like a ninja from Mangrove Marina.

Well that is after lifting the dink to powerwash it, load 110 gals of fuel, load water, pump and backwash the holding tank and pay the last set of bills.

People came and hugged Susan bye-bye and since I was such a grubby mess did that “eye hug thing” that transmits zero germs. Going to miss these guys.

And with that we are off in dead calm water heading along the ICW. We clear the 300 dock and Susan blows one last conch blast to bid adieu.

We cruised up the ICW, through the mangrove cuts, the cuts through the coral reefs and about 3PM end up at Sands Key in Biscayne Bay. Weather says “10 knots”, and we tried three times to anchor in the actual 15-17 knot winds. Thin sand over coral was a failure.

The fine white sand wasn’t holding us at all So rather that become a strip miner we headed to Boca Chita Key National park. The crew of our Tavernier slipmates on “Shady Lady” had recommended it. So we did the change in plans (Always have a plan B) and we motored in.

It’s a very nice, very well protected basin. We found a spot on the wall and Susan’s resurrected docking skills had us along side in moments.

A docked gold looper “Shingebiss” said that it’s a popular Miami destination, but many loopers don’t know about it. Worked out well for us, Shady Lady arrived and we had docktails. Susan blew the sunset horn that was answered by a nearby boat.

For a place to go for overnight or day its great. Nice docks, bath houses, beaches, etc. to make the day fly by.

Dinner was classic Susan snack dinner with rolled meats, cheese, fruit, etc. Before dinner she got some quality lounge chair time with her book and that made her happy.

If you are slow looping, this is like being at Snailshell, but lots warmer. I’m able to access the net via the hotspot. It’s a little slow, but it does work.

After we ring in the new year, we’ll be heading back down to our winter home, and taking Dave with us.  Foster’s son Mike will also join us for beach, fishing, and other assorted adventures.

Hope everyone has a great holiday!

Enjoy!

We got out of the marina at Waukegan at a few mins to 7AM. There was rain in the forecast for after 10AM so I wanted to try to make it to Chicago before it really rained.

The water was pretty flat for Lake Michigan standards so we had a pretty easy ride. As we pulled into the harbor there was a fire boat spraying water everywhere. I’m not sure what they were doing, but I’m going to go with “Welcome Quo Vadimus to Chicago!”

Susan had made roasted cauliflower soup from the veggies the night before, we had it for lunch today. It had a great taste and warmed us both up.

We trekked across town to the DuSable bridge. This is the second bridge we would have come to on our trip up the Chicago river. But it’s fixed into position and has a 17′ clearance. We need 17’2 inches to make it under and the water levels are up some due to the rain. We will use the Calumet waterway to the south.

You can tour the Northwest tower. We walked to the ground level with the motor (50HP) and the gears that lift the bridge. My roboteers would have been impressed at the 8 levels of gearing that are used to allow such a small motor open the bridge. Well there is a huge counterweight so it really only needs to lift just over 2000 pounds.

The tower has a history of the river from the bottom up. Back in the 1800′s and early 1900′s the river was a mess. It was full of trash, fecal material, rotting animals, etc. At one point it caught fire and badly burned two bridges. They decided to fix the problem by digging a canal from Chicago to the Mississippi river. This would allow water to flow from Lake Michigan (where they got their drinking water) downstream and flush all the “effluent” down the Mississippi. They started work on the canal and pretty soon the State of Missouri figured out what was about to happen.

A lawsuit happened, but Chicago kept digging. Their theory was that once the canal was open and the water flowing there was no way that the government would be able to close it. Turns out they were right.

As we climbed higher we learned that Chicago tried to become better stewards of the river and have implemented a sophisticated storm water runoff system to keep the sewer system from over flowing. At this point in time the river is as clear as it was before the settlers came.

From the tower we walked down Michigan avenue to the Art Museum. We got there about 3:30 and they close at 5PM. We looked at the guide and the place is huge, there was no way that we could see it all (or even most of it) in 90 minutes. We decided to postpone for another day when we would have more time.

We walked back to Millennium Park that has some pretty amazing outdoor sculptures. My favorite is “Cloud Gate” the giant silver bean shaped mirror. WOW. I had seen pictures of it but it’s much more impressive in person. We got lots of pictures of both of us with it. When you look at it, it appears to be seamless. Later on in the park are two interior views and I could see that it’s made up of panels. I’ll need to try to remember to Google it later on.

There is a set of four heads that are very thin, but have been sculpted to show the face and the back of the head. When viewed at the right angle they look like full heads. A pretty good example on how perspective works in art.

Along the front of the park are two four story tall blocks that face each other across a reflecting pool. The blocks show faces that look, smile and then purse their lips and spit. When they do that a giant firehose sized stream comes shooting out. It’s fun to watch and I’d guess that in the summer time it’s a great place for little kids to get soaked and play.

We had stuffed pizza at Giordano’s. Susan remembered it from when she worked here years and years ago. It was very good, the crust is more of a pastry like crust with layers, vs pizza at home that is more bread like. It was very filling, we got the small pizza and still brought home two slices.

We got back to the boat early. Because neither of us slept well and the early start we were both in bed by 8PM.

Well pay up on your bet my man!  Here’s my 33” northern pike that I caught less than 20 minutes later… from the swim platform of our boat.

I even have a picture of me holding the fish with the guy’s sailboat in the background.

It was close going getting it into the boat – my tackle is really too light for such a heavy fish, and our nets are not big enough!  Foster tried using 2 nets, and they still weren’t big enough!  Fortunately the lure tangled in the net and we were finally able to get it into the cockpit.  After some mild hysteria and trophy photos, it went back in the water – too pretty to eat.

Tuesday was a rain day for us. We did get a chance to walk up the town to see what was there. First was a store with all sorts of Canadian outerwear. They had on-site embroidery, so I got a new hat. It’s one of those with the cloth flap in the back to protect my neck. I had Quo Vadimus stitched into the brim. It has a clip on it, so in theory it should be harder lose. But I think I’ll look like a dork (yea, so what else is new), so it will be boat only wear.

Next was the Farmer’s Market in the town square. It was small but we did get some great smoked meat and new butter tart vendor to try. With our new found love for real paper books we hit the library book sale and pick up some more pulp fiction.

The sky’s looked like they were about to open up so we went to “Don Cherry’s”, an eatery run by the famous Canadian Hockey broadcaster. While we ate great sandwiches, we were entertained by the sales guy in the next booth selling the latest in hot water heaters to a new cottage owner. “Don’t want to sell you something you don’t need but with teenage girls you will appreciate the extra 15 gallons of hot water in the tank”.

Once the sandwiches and the rain was gone we headed down the street. We purchased a shirt for me (I’ve been good, this was the third so far on the entire trip), yet more pulp fiction from a used bookstore, and two more butter tarts. We decided to head back and do interweb related things to take advantage of the Wifi.

Dinner was at “The Bistro by the Bay”. We were seated next to some Canadian boaters we had met, he suggested the mussels. We had the “Thai Curry” broth, it ended up being more of a luxurious soup. It was also a huge portion, we were starting to reconsider our choice of main courses. Susan’s filet came, it was cooked exactly like she likes it with mushrooms on top. Her veggie medley contained white beets, an unusual item but it’s one of her favorites. I had the bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, stuffed with sautéed spinach and apricots, topped with a grainy mustard reduction. Super tender with just a touch of pink. We both had the garlic mashed potatoes, creamy with just a touch of garlic. It was one of the better meals we had this trip.

As we passed the Stockey Centre on the way to dinner we saw a crowd forming. I’d asked what was going on and was told it was “Bands by the Bay” and that it ran from 7 to sunset. Since it was not sunset yet we decided to go check it out. The trio Gin Lane was playing. The room was packed but there was room on the deck. Tun, the woman I had talked to was sitting out there. We sat next to Dan, the other Dan, Darla and Tun. We chatted, one of the band members was a family friend. We talked about the band, Parry Sound, a really good pig roast that Darla and Dan help host for 10 years (drat, the last one was this year) and our boat. They were really nice people, it’s like we had been friends for years. Tun is quite the character, but she did say her name was easy to remember, just spell it backwards.

It had cleared off when we got back to the boat and the sun was doing it’s last glow.

On Wednesday we decided to head to Sobey’s market and Canadian tire to return the bike bags. Due to trying to interweb things we got a late start, it put is at “The Bistro by the Bay” at lunch time. Since there were 5 flavors of the mussels we hadn’t gotten to, we decided to stop in.

We had the “White wine cream sauce” once again it was thick and full and flavorful. We had made the smart move of ordering extra toasted bread. We also got the roast beef sandwiches served on Yorkshire puddings. The mussels were as good as the night before and the Yorkshire puddings reminded us of the “Proper English Sunday Dinner” we had in Toronto.

After lunch we headed to Sobey’s. On the way we found great bike bags for Susan’s bike so it was worth what turned out to be a very long walk. We restocked on the essentials (food, cat litter) and caught a taxi ride home.

Unpacking our provisions and getting them stowed away took a long time. We did some more interwebs to get caught up on our postings.

We decided to try “Boston Pizza” that was only a five minute walk away. We sat on the deck and I had a really great small steak and fries. Susan’s half of a house salad was bigger than most house salads that I’ve seen. Afterward we walked and had ice cream, it was Bordon’s, we are out of the Kawartha Lakes area.

Thursday open up cloudy and windy. I walked into town to mail letters for Susan and drop off some of our used books at the library for them to resell.

Around 11AM, Terry a friend from the Bayliner’s Owner Group came over in a 20′ runabout. We got a guided tour of Parry Sound for the next two hours. We ate lunch outside of some of the prettiest places that we have seen on the trip.

Along the way he took us to the abandoned Depot Harbor a town that at one time had 30,000 people. It’s presently just the management offices for a lake trout fish farm that is out in the Harbor and along the side of the island.

I also got great behind the scenes on cottage infrastructure. How they get electric (hydro), propane, fresh water systems, removal of black water, etc. Lots of great stories on what has to be done to meet code. Putting in docks and cairns in the water. Lots of cool stuff.

With all the sun and fun we were pretty beat, so it was a small dinner and some more interwebs. We have decided that Parry Sound wins the best sunset picture award.

I’ve got the List of all the bays and their services for next two weeks.

At this point we are caught up on the blogs and pictures. We will be off in the morning to our next location.

Tuesday was a rain day for us. We did get a chance to walk up the town to see what was there. First was a store with all sorts of Canadian outerwear. They had on-site embroidery, so I got a new hat. It’s one of those with the cloth flap in the back to protect my neck. I had Quo Vadimus stitched into the brim. It has a clip on it, so in theory it should be harder lose. But I think I’ll look like a dork (yea, so what else is new), so it will be boat only wear.

Next was the Farmer’s Market in the town square. It was small but we did get some great smoked meat and new butter tart vendor to try. With our new found love for real paper books we hit the library book sale and pick up some more pulp fiction.

The sky’s looked like they were about to open up so we went to “Don Cherry’s”, an eatery run by the famous Canadian Hockey broadcaster. While we ate great sandwiches, we were entertained by the sales guy in the next booth selling the latest in hot water heaters to a new cottage owner. “Don’t want to sell you something you don’t need but with teenage girls you will appreciate the extra 15 gallons of hot water in the tank”.

Once the sandwiches and the rain was gone we headed down the street. We purchased a shirt for me (I’ve been good, this was the third so far on the entire trip), yet more pulp fiction from a used bookstore, and two more butter tarts. We decided to head back and do interweb related things to take advantage of the Wifi.

Dinner was at “The Bistro by the Bay”. We were seated next to some Canadian boaters we had met, he suggested the mussels. We had the “Thai Curry” broth, it ended up being more of a luxurious soup. It was also a huge portion, we were starting to reconsider our choice of main courses. Susan’s filet came, it was cooked exactly like she likes it with mushrooms on top. Her veggie medley contained white beets, an unusual item but it’s one of her favorites. I had the bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, stuffed with sautéed spinach and apricots, topped with a grainy mustard reduction. Super tender with just a touch of pink. We both had the garlic mashed potatoes, creamy with just a touch of garlic. It was one of the better meals we had this trip.

As we passed the Stockey Centre on the way to dinner we saw a crowd forming. I’d asked what was going on and was told it was “Bands by the Bay” and that it ran from 7 to sunset. Since it was not sunset yet we decided to go check it out. The trio Gin Lane was playing. The room was packed but there was room on the deck. Tun, the woman I had talked to was sitting out there. We sat next to Dan, the other Dan, Darla and Tun. We chatted, one of the band members was a family friend. We talked about the band, Parry Sound, a really good pig roast that Darla and Dan help host for 10 years (drat, the last one was this year) and our boat. They were really nice people, it’s like we had been friends for years. Tun is quite the character, but she did say her name was easy to remember, just spell it backwards.

It had cleared off when we got back to the boat and the sun was doing it’s last glow.

On Wednesday we decided to head to Sobey’s market and Canadian tire to return the bike bags. Due to trying to interweb things we got a late start, it put is at “The Bistro by the Bay” at lunch time. Since there were 5 flavors of the mussels we hadn’t gotten to, we decided to stop in.

We had the “White wine cream sauce” once again it was thick and full and flavorful. We had made the smart move of ordering extra toasted bread. We also got the roast beef sandwiches served on Yorkshire puddings. The mussels were as good as the night before and the Yorkshire puddings reminded us of the “Proper English Sunday Dinner” we had in Toronto.

After lunch we headed to Sobey’s. On the way we found great bike bags for Susan’s bike so it was worth what turned out to be a very long walk. We restocked on the essentials (food, cat litter) and caught a taxi ride home.

Unpacking our provisions and getting them stowed away took a long time. We did some more interwebs to get caught up on our postings.

We decided to try “Boston Pizza” that was only a five minute walk away. We sat on the deck and I had a really great small steak and fries. Susan’s half of a house salad was bigger than most house salads that I’ve seen. Afterward we walked and had ice cream, it was Bordon’s, we are out of the Kawartha Lakes area.

Thursday open up cloudy and windy. I walked into town to mail letters for Susan and drop off some of our used books at the library for them to resell.

Around 11PM, Terry a friend from the Bayliner’s Owner Group came over in a 20′ runabout. We got a guided tour of Parry Sound for the next two hours. We ate lunch outside of some of the prettiest places that we have seen on the trip.

Along the way he took us to the abandoned Depot Harbor a town that at one time had 30,000 people. It’s presently just the management offices for a lake trout fish farm that is out in the Harbor and along the side of the island.

I also got great behind the scenes on cottage infrastructure. How they get electric (hydro), propane, fresh water systems, removal of black water, etc. Lots of great stories on what has to be done to meet code. Putting in docks an cairns in the water. Lots of cool stuff.

With all the sun and fun we were pretty beat, so it was a small dinner and some more interwebs. We have decided that Parry Sound wins the best sunset picture award.

I’ve got the List of all the marinas on the bays and their services for next week. So I should be good.

At this point we are caught up on the blogs and pictures. We will be off in the morning to our next location.

After the great Wednesday of touring town, Thursday was a rest day for us. I cleaned the outside of the boat and did some odds and ends of maintenance items. Having a fully stocked store at the end of the dock was great, Kim and Tammy were very patient with my 2.3 million trips in an out as I completed one project and started another.

I had such great success with my Ham radio the last two times, I thought I’d try the other radio and antenna that I had brought. Last time I had used it was over 5 years ago so I was excited to see it work again. Much to my unhappiness, the antenna didn’t work. As you switch frequency, the antenna expands and contracts to make the antenna the right length. I’m guessing that there is a corroded contact on the board. I’m thinking I can repair it, but I have limited parts aboard (no matter what Susan says about all the stuff I brought aboard). To mitigate the risk, I ended up ordering a new one, it should end up in Rochester on Wednesday.

On Friday I got caught up on the Internet postings I had pending (you may notice that the ships logs appear in sequence, but I back post the trip reports). We borrowed the marina car and did some shopping and had a great BBQ dinner.

Saturday dawned clear and bright and at 9AM we heard this huge clatter on our starboard side. Ran out to find Gary the fiberglass guy removing the rubrail with an impact screwdriver. I helped remove some of the rail since, Bayliner through hole bolts some of the sections. No idea how they think I’ll get to them later. So I had to put pressure on the screw while Gary drilled them out. Then cut the excess off and punch the nut / stub into the hull. I’ll search for them the next time I’m down there.

It didn’t take Gary long to grind down and glass up the sections. He was going to be away for a few hours, so Susan and I took our bicycles into Brewerton. The last time I did any biking was when the kids were little, over 15 years ago. My knees were not happy with the entire concept. But we made it back into town and had wonderful Ruben sandwiches for lunch.

Emboldened by her successful ride Tour de France Susan decided to ride some more. I on the other hand had spied the latest JD Robb mystery at the library. So while she was riding, I was solving a mystery in 2065! Going half way to the library, reading for 2.5 hours and riding home did make my knees happier.

Since we had the bikes off the boat we spent some time moving heavy things that were under the port side to starboard side to balance the boat out. It also gave me a chance to clean the deck under the bikes.

While we were gone, Gary had come back and finished off the fiberglass work. Unless you knew the spots, you would not be able to tell the old from the new. All that need to happen is for the new rails to arrive in the last UPS delivery of the day. Which didn’t happen.

After going to bed on Saturday with our hopes of new rails dashed, on Sunday Gary and Ethan were able to twist and bang the old rail into serviceable condition to get us through the next locks. So it was on to Oswego!

Just a quick note of thanks to Kim, Tammy and Ethan of Ess-Kay Yards for making our stay so great. They were very nice, helped us out, and were able to get Gary, a top notch ‘glass guy to come with no notice at all. THANKS!