The Wielhouwers met us at the boat a little after 9:00 am. We got them settled into their stateroom and then prepped to leave. By 9:30 am, we were pulling out of our slip in Grand Haven. We needed to stop for a full up before the trip, but there wasn't a line so we made good time. By 10:30 we were passing the lighthouse and leaving the channel.
We set course for a straight line straight to Chicago, estimating it would take approximately 4 hours to make the trip.
We lost sight of shore a little south of Holland. It was a beautiful day on the water with waves under 1 foot and a clear sky. The winds are 5-8 mph so we aren't concerned about the seas for the trip.
Around 12:30 pm, I prepped tacos for lunch. We stayed on course and up at speed so we didn't lose a second.
It was a gorgeous ride down.
We caught sight of the tops of the buildings about 35 mins from shore. I called ahead to see if we could get into our slip early and they were happy to accommodate us.
The marina is brand new this year with slips directly off the north side of Navy Pier. Each slip is 180' long and can hold several boats our size. When we arrived another boat was in the back spot so we had to slide in to get ahead of them.
As we were pulling through the break wall, we were greeted with the sudden roar of planes overhead, practicing for the airshow. It scared me so badly. I couldn't even hear Scott's voice as he spoke through our headsets. It made docking really challenging - partly because of the sound, the startle but also the distraction. They were so close!
We were in slip 6E and connected to power by 2:45 pm and were all gathered on back of the boat to watch the planes over head. It was so cool! If this is the practice, we cannot wait for the airshow!
We hung out on the back of the boat all afternoon. It was comfortable temps and had a nice breeze. The planes quieted down around 3:30 pm. but our conversation continued.
We had reservations at Offshore Rooftop, a restaurant on the end of the pier. It was a beautiful spot with a view of the water and boats in all directions. The food was good, the music was loud but we had a great meal together.
Afterwards we walked up Navy Pier to the stores and got Kilwins ice cream, Tyler's favorite, for dessert. Then we walked back to the boat. Tyler headed down to his stateroom for work while the rest of us relaxed on the boat and enjoyed the night air.
We grabbed some blankets as the sun went down and enjoyed the stories and laughter. We did our best to stay awake til Tyler got done with work (10 pm) and soon after headed in for bed.
It was a fabulous day in so many ways!
