January 2008 Finish the Great Loop

We went home for the holidays, always good to go home, regroup, see friends and family. A great Christmas with the boys and Jan's parents.

We flew into Birmingham, AL on Jan 20th, ready to resume our trip. The boat in great shape, waiting for us in tiny Pickinsville, AL.
This is the view from the little marina where we left the boat over Christmas. We spent just a couple of days restocking the larder, anxious to get going down the Tombigbee and Black Warrior Rivers. The weather is cool, cloudy, and rainy, so we are ready to get to the Gulf coast for some sunshine.

We had to anchor out a lot on the Tombigbee and Black Warrior Rivers, as we headed south in Alabama. Here is my main anchor man.This was our last lock on the rivers. We tied up next to this barge full of wood chips.
January 28, 2008 we crossed our wake in Mobile Bay at Bon Secour. Just a spot on the intercoastal, but a monument for us. We have traveled over 6000 miles to get to this dot on the map. We are still amazed that we could do this trip. We have completed the Great Loop!!
This has been a dream come true and sensational trip. The highlight of this trip has been meeting some wonderful people and seeing great and beautiful parts of our country (and Canada).

Now what do we do? Well we have loved traveling on the Lucky Star, our little home on the water, so we are going to spend this winter in the Florida coast.

We were boarded by the Coast Guard just as we got to Pensacola Bay. First time for us, they just walked through the boat to make sure we have all the safety equipment required, and that the boat is safe. They were very nice and courteous. Always something new to experience.

Sept. 17- Nov 10, 2007 The Rivers

Bob's cousin Harry from Victoria, British Columbia was with us for a week.


Jan, roping onto a bollard in a lock.


Beautiful sunset on the Illinois River.






We finally started down the Illinois River from Chicago the middle of September. We had cousin Harry with us down the Illinois, through Peoria (had to stop a few days for Bob to show us his alma mater at Bradley U).
We entered the Mississippi River just north of St. Louis, left the boat there for a few weeks while we traveled back to Chicago, then Denver for a quick home leave.




Once we got back to St. Louis, Jerry and Cristina Kemper joined us for the thrilling ride down the Mississippi. We passed tows with up to 35 barges (5 wide by 7 long). I do not know how the tow captains keep these all together.










This is a mooring cell used by the tow boats and barges on the larger rivers. We had to tie up to it one night. No marinas in sight that day.






We left the Mississippi and took a short trip up the Ohio River to the Tennessee. We stayed at a beautiful area on Lake Barclay at Green Rivers, KY. A quick trip to Nashville was in order. We got to hear a little country music, and visit the Opryland Hotel, then said goodby to Jerry and Cristina. Bob took a fast trip back to Denver for the World Series (go Rockies).
We headed down the Tennessee river to some very nice spots. A Jack Nicklaus golf course in the tiny town of Clifton TN

Grand Harbor Marina and Resort at Fulton MS, with a side trip to the Shiloh Civil War sight.









This is an 84' lock on the Tombigbee River, we just hang on tight while they let the water out.





We are now in a calm and quiet area of the Tombigbee on the Alabama side. We will leave the boat here for a couple of months while we go home for the holidays. We are only 300 miles from completing the loop in Mobile Bay. We have traveled over 5000 miles on these waterways.

We still have to pinch ourselves to believe that we have made this journey. Just will hate to see it end.

Sept 13-16, 2007 Chicago

We made it to Chicago on a big wave, we stayed a marina in the downtown area, was wonderful to be able to bike the beautiful path along the water. Chicago has the most wonderful shore of any city. We were lucky to be able to take advantage of the great weather and all the city has to offer.
We had a lot of company on the boat while in the city. Some of Bob's school friends, Bill Clifford, spent an afternoon.Then came Bob's cousin Harold, some of his kids, and grandkids. We had a wonderful time having all of them aboard. The kids had a great game of hide and seek throughout the boat.









Our time in the city was too short, we need to keep moving south down the rivers, as fall is fast approaching.

Sept 3-11, 2007 Lake Michigan

As we traveled down the east coast of Lake Michigan, we keep meeting up with many friends we have met on the loop. In Pentwater, MI we had dinner with Jack and Judy from Tennessee, and Jim and Trish from Michigan. We are all doing the loop, and meet up with each other in various ports along the way. These are friends with a common interest and goals, so we will keep in touch and find them in another place at another day. This is one of the great things about this trip, the wonderful people we have gotten to know.
We stopped in Grand Haven, MI and spent time with Bob's High School buddy, Scott Fowler and wife Karen. We had a wonderful time with them and seeing their beautiful town. They traveled with us for the day, from Grand Haven to Holland, MI. It was a glorious day, wild swans in the bay, and a regatta on the way.








Once in Holland, Bob's sister, Carol and good friend Ann met up with us. Holland is a lovely town with great shops and restaurants. It was fun to have everyone with us. We had to keep moving south, to get closer to a point that we could cut across the lake to Chicago. Lake Michigan can be quite rough, so picking a good day can cause some delay.
We spent two extra days in South Haven, MI before we could go on. These pictures show the storm we tried to venture out in, then had to go back into the channel to get out of the lake.
Even in a storm there is beauty.

August 30-Sept 3, 2007 Traverse City to Frankfort, MI

We had some good friends join us, Jim and Dale Gallagher flew into Chicago, then drove up the Michigan west coast to find us in Traverse City, a very nice town, renovated downtown area, with great shops and eateries. We met up with some looper friends from Traverse City and had dinner with them. We went on to Northport, then Leland, once again very picturesque towns, with a lot of summer homes and lots of little lakes and waterways. This east side of Lake Michigan also has beautiful sandy beaches all along the coast. I did not expect to find that at all. Our friends from Traverse City, came and picked us up in Leland and took us back to the rental car. (These are the type of great people we have met while boating). We spent the day driving around Sleeping Bear National Park, a beautiful area with huge sand dunes.
Bob and Jim took the boat on to Frankfort, so Dale and I drove the car to meet them (we did manage to get in some shopping and lunch).
Frankfort, another delightful town, is where the Gallaghers left us to head back to Chicago and fly back to Denver. We sure enjoyed having them, as we do all our visiting passengers. They did a lot of driving just to spend a few days with us. Next time we hope they can stay longer.

August 27-30, 2007 Petoskey to Charlevoix, MI

The northern part of Michigan is just beautiful, Lake Michigan is clean and clear and the towns are very quaint. The ports are 20-30 miles apart for easy access, in case of bad weather. We found the Michigan marinas of the highest quality, very new and clean.
We rented a car in Petoskey, so we toured around to see some of the summer homes, then spent a day at Harbor Springs, just across the bay. Another beautiful village, with wonderful summer homes, shops, and places to eat. An evening view from the marina...We went on to Charlevoix, met up with some friends, Charley and Bonnie, fellow loopers. We had a nice bike ride and dinner with them. This is the bridge entry to Charleviox, and some of the beautiful "mushroom" houses. Charlevoix and Petoskey are some of the many charming Lake Michigan towns. I feel like a tour guide, we sure are enjoying all the sights along the way.

August 25-26 Mackinac Island

We decided to spend a few days on Mackinac Island, just across the water from the mainland in upper Michigan. We found the marina to be right in the middle of town, so we had easy access to everything. Mackinac is like paradise, no motorized vehicles of any kind are allowed, all transportation is by bicycle or horse drawn. There is a fort, Grand Hotel, lots of shops and wonderful restaurants. There are golf courses and bike trails all around the island.
We rode our bikes and took horse drawn carriages to brunch and sunset drinks on the veranda of the Grand Hotel. We will definitely come back here some day, as this is one of our favorite places.