Day 2 - Harbor Beach

Scott and I woke before the kids and enjoyed a cup of coffee in the calm of the morning.  I wrapped up my morning devotions and then took a shower - thoroughly enjoying the extra space and higher water pressure.

Scott worked on a few projects and confirmed an oil sensor alarm that we got yesterday was not an issue.  Then I woke up the kids to get them started and headed to the parking lot to scout out the trash situation.  We have a lot of boxes and packaging material from items we’ve purchased and need to find a place.  Luckily, the marina has carts for our use so I made it in just one trip.  

When I got back I made breakfast sandwiches and we prepped for our departure.  We pulled out at 10:50 am and got underway.  

Sammy worked on Legos while Tyler helped Scott customize the electronics.

Lake St Clair was very calm and we crossed in just over 30 minutes.  The St Clair River was a lot of fun - again allowing us to stay at cruising speed all the way up to the southern tip of Lake Huron.  

Around 12:30pm I served French Dip Sandwiches for lunch.  Around 1:05pm we made it to Lake Huron.  As we got out in open water again, we had a beautiful view of Port Huron behind us.

We continued north to Port Sanilac where we had a reservation for the night but decided to continue north to Harbor Beach.  We were underway 4:50 hrs but the time went fast.  Toward the end of the afternoon, Tyler took over the helm and allowed Scott some time to relax and just enjoy the ride.  

 

Once we arrived in Harbor Beach, we fueled up and chatted with the harbor master.  It is the largest man-made fresh water harbor in the world.  The marina is quite empty with most of its slip owners already out for the season.  We are the only boat on our entire dock.  

We pulled in and tied off by 3:40 pm.  Because town is a bit of a distance away, we decided to eat aboard tonight.  I started the oven and warmed Enchilada Pie for supper.  We ate out on the cockpit table.  Neither of our previous boats offered enough space for us to comfortably dine together so this was a great treat.

After dinner, Scott worked on adjusting the height of some hatches in the cockpit floor and then looked at our ice maker again.  Jen cleaned up from dinner and Tyler prepped the scooters for him and Jen to ride into town.  

It was a successful trip and we found everything we needed at a local gas station.  

After we got back, there were showers and blogs and more projects.  But overall, we just enjoyed the evening.  Tonight is a little cooler but it’s just the right temperature to sit on the back couch wrapped in a blanket with a cup of coffee to enjoy the evening sky. 

It was a perfect day!

Day 1 - Across Lake Erie

We started out early to get on the road for our 4 hour drive to Port Clinton.  We needed to stop for groceries and wanted to get on board and somewhat settled before noon when Kyle planned to arrive.  Kyle was the captain for the previous owner and agreed to take this first leg with us as we get used to the controls of the new boat.  

It took a little longer to unload the car and get aboard but we were ready to go around 12:30pm.  We untied the lines and fenders and Scott took us out to Lake Erie.

After we cleared the marina and got out in the lake, Scott brought her up to cruising speed and we were off.  It took about 45 minutes to cross the lake and enter the Detroit River.  

The lake was so calm.  It was a beautiful trip across with the Ohio shore barely out of sight before Canada came into view.  The Detroit River is nothing like I expected but so cool.  There are man-made berms on either side making a fairly narrow channel most of the way up to Lake St Claire.  This allows boats to travel at full speed without damaging the beautiful homes along the shores.  Its like a highway through the river.

 

While passing through Detroit, the kids and I sat on the bow.  This is new for us as our previous boats didn't offer safe seating up front while at cruising speeds.  It was lots of fun as we saw the buildings and crossed under many bridges including the new international bridge that's currently being built.  

At one point, a couple jet-skiers followed along to jump in our wake.  It was very entertaining to watch them do tricks.

It was 4:30 pm when we finally pulled into the marina in St Claire Shores.  As soon as we were tied off and connected power, Captain Kyle headed out to find his wife to begin the drive home.

The boys got started setting up our Starlink internet and Jen immediately made a plan for food.  We had missed lunch and it was nearing suppertime.  I ordered pizza from Buddy's but because we were on a dock wasn't sure where to have it delivered.  So I decided to grab a scooter and find a better place to meet the driver.  

First I had to figure out how to use the new scooter.  Then had to figure out how to get out of the marina... it's a big one.  Then needed to drop off some outgoing mail.  After finding a post box, I circled back and found a bench that I could wait for the pizza delivery.  As I chatted with some lovely ladies taking a smoke break from a nearby restaurant, I realized I would struggle to carry our large order home.  If I held the pizza box, I'd have to choose between having gas or the break.  Neither seemed wise, so I set the boxes on the 'floor' of the scooter, balanced on just one foot while using the other to keep the food from falling.  And off I went.  Scott spotted me coming down the dock and snapped a pic. 

After dinner, Scott and Jen worked on projects around the boat.  Jen got all of the food and dishes organized and changed the linens on all the beds while Scott unpacked some of things and addressed a sensor alarm that had gone off while underway.

Both kids love having a space to themselves.  Sammy calls her room "spacious" and has already found a place for all of her things.

It's almost 9:00 pm now and we are all pretty tired.  I think we are all ready to climb in bed and rest a bit.  But first, a few moments with a cup of coffee on the bow to enjoy the beautiful sunset.