Day 339, "on the loop", 9/13/2023
- boisselle13
- Sep 13, 2023
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 2
*Next post will be October 6th, we are taking a break from the loop*
*Links included in the post*
Saturday, 9/9 - 5 hours of travel time (by boat), we arrived in South Haven, MI. The marina is large with all sorts of boats (large and small). Seems the tourist crowds are dwindling down as the summer comes to a close; however, the weather is beautiful and some people are out enjoying the weather (as it should be).
Joel and I arrived around 2pm (ish), docked ourselves and prepped the boat for the evening before walking to the town. The town is small in comparison to Ludington and Grand Haven, MI or at least from what we can tell in the short time we were there.
We ate at a place called "Taste," the food was really good. "Taste" was recommended by multiple sources and it did not disappoint. Plus, we wanted to eat at place near the boat (that was fast) so we could return in time to see the 2nd half of the Arkansas game. Kylie B. sent pictures, THIS MADE MY DAY!, THANK YOU KYLIE.
1st pic was during theArkansas game, look at the shaven J - so handsome! Kylie is cute as a button too!
2nd pic was after the Arkansas win: Kylie B, Colton & Jonathan
Some pictures while in South Haven, MI:
Captain Lou's: The funny thing about this place is: there was a sign on the door "tentatively opens at 4pm". Guess if their staff doesn't show up, they don't open. It's the end of the season and apparently these Michigan harbor towns have a hard time keeping their employees at the end of the summer season. Side note: Most places close down around end of September and re-open late April, early May.
A boutique called "The Farmer's Daughter" was really cool, had some unique bar ideas. I really enjoyed walking through this store.
The Evelyn S - shout out to my friend named Evelyn... I found a boat with your name "all over it"... LITERALLY! Check link out (above) if interested to learn more about this tug boat.
Evelyn S. was built in 1939 by Sturgeon Bay Boat Works. She fits the typical wooden gill net fish tug design (prevalent on the waters during this period). Measuring 50 feet long with a 13-foot beam, In 1943, Evelyn S. was sold to a commercial fishing company in Frankfort, Michigan.
Random pictures of South Haven (taken while we walked around):
Sunday, 9/10 - First off... Happy Birthday, to a dear friend, Mandy Hosfeld. I hope you have / had a wonderful birthday and party... my wish is that everyone spoiled you and you have the best year EVER.
Picture below is the layout of the Washington Park marina:
Sunday we made the LONG run to Michigan City, IN, took us about 6 hours.
When we pulled in the Washington Park marina, we were surprised and thankful for the help with docking the boat. That was a nice change, fellow boaters jumped into action to grab our lines! The last 3 marinas, Joel and I docked ourselves. Glad this happed now vs. the beginning of our trip since I feel more confident in my first mate abilities :-)
Due to the winter weather here, all boats are required to be "out of the water" by the end of October. They store their boats in dry stacks (enclosed buildings w/ heat).
Michigan City attracts thousands of visitors to the Indiana Dunes and the Lake Michigan shoreline, this lakeside city boasts many attractions and other things to do, including breweries and winery, galleries, boat tours, beaches, gardens, shopping, casino and even a zoo!
Unfortunately, we only stayed one night so we weren't able to take advantage of the attractions. I hope to come back in a couple of years when we can take about 3 months off from our home responsibilities and enjoy some of the Michigan towns we missed.
Monday, 9/11 - & a Happy Birthday to Mark Weavil, hope you have / had an awesome day! We had so much fun visiting you and Judy in Southport, NC. Still looking for a boat name for you!
Arrived in Hammond, Indiana earlier than expected, originally estimated our arrival to be 9/18. This time of year, the winds pick up on Lake Michigan causing delays. We were held up in Ludington and Grand Haven longer than we would have liked due to weather delays.
The day started out with rain and random down pours throughout the day. Luckily the rain let up just long enough for us to get fuel and a pump out. We left our slip around 10:30am, pulled into the fuel dock (docked ourselves) where Captain Joel took care of the pump out and I handled the fuel (Teamwork)! Of course, it was a drizzly rain so by the time we finished, we were soaked. I changed clothes and then we were on our 3 hour run to Hammond from Michigan City.
This picture was our view for the 3 hour cruise ("all day").
Although it was a rainy day, the waves on Lake Michigan were less than 1 ft, the next few days waves are expected to be 3+ ft (which would have delayed us had we waited). Side note: Our preference for travel is 2 ft or less (ideally less than 1 ft).
While in Ludington, we made a decision to travel 50 or 60 miles on good weather days to put us further down Lake Michigan. As we loopers say, you make this trip your own and we wanted to have time for a quick trip to St. Louis. By arriving on this day, 9/11, we will be home for approx. 2 weeks.
By pushing ahead, some people may feel this is a disadvantage because we missed a few towns we may have enjoyed. I listed those towns below with links in case you are interested.
The city is best known for its Dutch heritage, which serves not only as a part of the city's cultural identity, but the local economy as well: the Tulip Time Festival in May and various Dutch-themed attractions augment the nearby Lake Michigan shoreline in attracting thousands of tourists annually.
One notable attraction for this area is the Windmill Island Gardens which is a municipal park located in the city of Holland, Michigan. It is home to the 251-year-old windmill De Zwaan, the only authentic, working Dutch windmill in the United States.
New Buffalo is a popular resort town due to its location along the Lake Michigan shoreline and its proximity to the Chicago Metropolitan Area.
Four Winds Casino Resort New Buffalo opened on August 2, 2007, and brought more than 2,000 jobs to the New Buffalo area. The casino includes over 3,000 slot machines and 100 gaming tables. The Four Winds is the main competition for the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, Indiana.
Saugatuck's primary source of revenue stems from tourism: although only about 1,000 individuals call Saugatuck their year-round home, the population of the town swells to nearly 3,000 in the summer.
Piers A - X (both pictures below provided to show how big this marina is).
Now, back on topic, Hammond marina: It is HUGE! Our slip # is X4, the marina has over 900 boat slips. The big deal now is "waiting on the Chicago locks to open". When checking in at the marina office, they told us the water will be turned off on 9/15 (it's gets cold here in Chicago). Since the water will be shut off, we received a 25% discount for the 3 weeks and 2 days the boat will be here.
The AGLCA is working with Corp of Engineers making arrangements for loopers to travel through the locks in an organized manner. Most loopers will follow the guidelines provided by the AGLCA; but, there will be some that will lock through as they prefer (they may not be AGLCA members).
A couple of weeks ago, the AGLCA sent a survey to "AGLCA members" asking for their preference (3 choices) of passage. We selected Oct 4th, 5th or 6th which are a few days after the lock opens on October 1. To be honest, we feel it will be a little chaotic the first couple of days, maybe even the first week.
The current plan is to schedule 16 loopers per day (I think there could be 20 looper boats lock through at one time); but, perhaps the 4 unscheduled slots are for urgent and/or unplanned situations. Yes, more folks can go through but there are 265 looper boats, in addition to non AGLCA members, normal recreational and commercial traffic.
My guess is 25% of the loopers will cross their wake (finish the loop) between Chicago and Tennessee; While others are starting their loop and making their way down south (Florida) for the winter. With that said, there will be a lot of boat traffic over the next few weeks.
The AGLCA is also trying to prevent the marinas from being booked solid. If the loopers are staggered there should be more opportunities for marina space as the loopers travel through the river system. Side note: Our back up plan is to anchor if we are unable to find a marina spot. Port-A-Gee shared their past routes that included marina and good anchorages.Thank you, Loral!!!
Tuesday, 9/12 - The sun is out! Took the day and prepared the boat for us to leave for 15 days. We are going home (to St. Louis). Since we are driving home, we are taking things we don't need or haven't used, etc. You want believe it.... But we took too many clothes! I am sure Eric H. will be happy to get his fishing equipment back too! Originally, he had planned to do some of the trip with us. Side note: Eric & Kellye had grand babies, can't blame them for wanting time with those cuties!
Although the water will be turned off on 9/15 at Hammond. The marina staff stated there are other laundry and showers available closer to the marina office (which feels like a 1/2 mile walk).
We met a couple of loopers we haven't met, yet: Hattitude and their buddy boat (didn't catch the name), both Canadians. They started their loop back in July. Super nice. We also met Peace & Chill from Texas (Kristin & Devon) they are planning on taking 2 years to do the loop.
I took some pictures while we had a nice day to do so.
Pic 1: Laundry Room (you can tell it's end of season, the spider webs were horrible!)
Pic 2 - 5: Gives you an idea of how long the dock is to the piers
This marina has a casino in its backdoor, when you leave the marina gate, the parking lot to the casino is to the left. Yes! Couldn't help ourselves, deposited a little money there. The casino is called HORSESHOE.
Wednesday, 9/13 - We rented a car to drive home (St. Louis). We will use our time at home to check mail, manage house chores and work in a few annual exams (dentist, eyes, etc). Plus we will SPY on Grampy (Ray) or at least that is what he thinks - LOL! Until we return, be safe and THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING OUR GREAT LOOP ADVENTURE!
This will be our last post until our return on October 6, 2023 or shortly thereafter. We hope to cross our wake by mid-October, currently estimated October 17 - 25. Stay tuned.
Random Information & Miscellaneous Stuff:
"Most" marinas on Lake Michigan have these entry ways (aka channels) between the "big water" and the marinas that are called Pier Heads. The channels lead into other bodies of water (some have good anchorages).
Fisherman fish in the channels, making it hard for powerboats (houseboats) to navigate through.
Technically, boaters coming / going have the "right of way"; however, we were surprised as the fisherman "screamed" at us to get out of the way... it's not that easy!
>This friendly fisherman was fishing in the channel. I am using this pictures as a visual and effort to show you what a fisherman in the channel looks like.
Now imagine about 15 - 30 of these boats spread out in the channel. NOT FUN to navigate around them (and some of them shout at us). The picture below was taken the day we entered the Ludington, MI channel (on the way to the marina).
Superman Ice-cream:
There is NO shortage of ice-cream in Michigan. One of their popular flavors is the Superman ice cream made by Kilwin's.
It is a Michigan thing involving three flavors (in shades of blue, red, and yellow—your standard Superman colors) working together, sort of like Neapolitan.
While the most common combination includes blue moon, cherry, and vanilla ice cream, many different versions of Superman Ice Cream are sprinkled around Michigan and the Midwest.
While in South Haven, MI Joel spotted a car from his old stomping grounds: NorthEastern. Joel is very observant; however, at home he can't find his belt, shoes, etc (even if he is standing on it) - LOL.
Kilwins, also known as Kilwins Chocolates, is an American company, specializing in confectioneries such as candy, ice cream, and fudge. In 1947, Katy and Don Kilwin opened the first location in Petoskey, Michigan and the company is still headquartered there to this day. Kilwin's can be found in 25 states.
Maps of the Trip:
Saturday, 9/9/2023
Grand Haven Municipal Marina (Grand Haven, MI) to South Haven Municipal Marina (S. Haven, MI)
Sunday, 9/10
South Haven Municipal Marina (S. Haven, MI) to Washington Park Marina (Michigan City, IN)
Monday, 9/11
Washington Park Marina (Michigan City, IN) to Hammond Port Authority Municipal Marina (Hammond, IN)
Summer Place will not leave Hammond Port Authority Municipal Marina (Hammond, IN) until 10/3/2023.
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