Free Carnival ride, Courtesy of crappy forecasting!

 Monday, August 18:

    Our last day in Bay City...  Another normal day with me working and Wes doing boat projects getting things ready for our departure the next day.  We went out to dinner with Aunt Gay at Applebee's.  It was a nice dinner and visit.  We said our goodbyes and went back to the boat for a relaxing evening.

 

Tuesday, August 19:

Wes got up shortly after 0600 to get the final items done before departure.  We shoved off around 0700. Well, the weather forecast was WRONG. (Wes ADD) Great Lakes Portal site was even so bold to post "small craft advisories about halfway along and STILL show 1' waves for the afternoon forecast! (End Rant) We got out into the bay and to put it mildly, we had a rough ride all day.  The wind kept changing directions, it was raining on and off lightly and the waves were a constant 4-6 foot waves.  It was a long day fighting the waves, but we made it to East Tawas State Dock around 1530.  There was another looper couple, Chuck and Kim, at the marina.  They reached out to us as they saw we arrived (they were surprised to see us arrive given the weather), and the four of us had dinner at Mangos Mexican Cuisine and Tequila Bar.  It was a very enjoyable visit.  We walked back after dinner, then a quiet night on the boat. 

Wednesday, August 20:

We stayed at East Tawas for the day.  I worked and Wes did some boat projects.  We invited Chuck and Kim over for docktales.  We enjoyed a nice visit on the aft deck.  Then we had virtual docktales with the AGLCA.  Once that was done, we relaxed the rest of the evening watching baseball then off to bed.

Thursday, August 21:

The weather forecast looked good so we shoved off around 0800.  It was a much better ride than what we had on Tuesday!!  We arrived at Harrisville Harbor around 1300 and our friends Gary and Lynn were already there and greeted us when we arrived.  I still had work to do, but Wes visited with them while I finished working for the day.  Deb and Brownie arrived while I was still working.  When I was done, I joined everyone on Gary and Lynn's boat.  We visited for several hours, then decided we should eat dinner since it was already after 7pm.  So the 6 of us walked into town to a local bar and grill.  After dinner we all went to Deb and Brownie's boat for a nightcap.  It was well past our bedtime, so we all parted around 2330 and all went to bed.

 

Friday, August 22:

Wes was up at 0600 as usual.  I was a little slower moving (also as usual) 😂We went out a visited a little bit with Brownie, Gary and Lynn (Deb was still sleeping), then shoved off about 0800 on our way towards Presque Isle to anchor out in North Bay on the north side of the peninsula .  The lake was nice and calm!  We got to North Bay around 1600, just as I was getting on a work call, so Wes dropped the anchor and got us all set.  He then went down in the engine room to start the generator, but it wouldn't start.  He studied the manual and finally diagnosed the problem.  It was a faulty board where the relay kept coming disconnected.  He got it to work!  The weather didn't look promising for the next day, so Wes wanted to get going very early the next morning.

 

This was inside at Harrisville Harbor.

Saturday, August 23:

Wes was up at 0400 pulling the anchor and headed out in the dark (I was still in bed).  I got up around 0715.  The water wasn't bad yet, but the wind was building.  Once we started getting closer to shore, the waves were better, so Wes laid down and rested his eyes for about an hour.  The wind continued to build and change direction.  We got into Duncan Bay around 1100.  Our friends Rod and Sue worked it out to where we could use his neighbors slip at Duncan Bay Boat Club.  We got secured and visited with some locals and met another couple starting their loop Ron and Jess on the Blue Lobstah.  We hung out on Rod and Sue's boat and their friends Larry and Mike joined us.  We enjoyed docktales then all packed up and went to dinner at Mulligan's in Cheboygan.  We then went back to the boat for a nightcap then bed.

Sunday, August 24:

We got up and I grabbed my coffee while Wes filled his sweet tea and we went to Rod and Sue's boat for some coffee cake and visited.  We then walked over and took a tour of the Blue Lobstah (Ron and Jess) and visited with them for a bit.  Back to our boat to say goodbye to Rod and Sue as they were heading back home.  Wes spent some time in the engine room as we were leaving a sheen around our boat and he wanted to make sure we didn't have a leak.  He cleaned out the exhaust well and that seemed to do the trick, then he determined that he would change the trans coolers are well to be on the safe side.  We took a little walk around the marina, then back to our boat for dinner and a quiet night on the boat. 

 

Wes' favorite picture so far! And no it was not posted on a room containing hardware... :)

 

Christmas in August???

 Monday, August 11:

Not much today.  I worked while Wes did video work.  After dinner we went to a local store Jack's Fruit and Meat Market.  We did a little video stuff and got some meat at the meat counter.  I finally found smoked pork chops that look like my Uncle Rodger used to make them.  I hope that they taste as good or close.  Then we went back and had a relaxing evening on the boat.

Tuesday, August 12:

Another quiet day working on the boat.  We had Aunt Gay over for dinner on the aft deck then a relaxing evening.

Wednesday August 13:

I took the day off so we could have a girl's day in Frankenmuth, MI.  Aunt Gay and Sherri picked me up around 0930.  Our first stop was Bronner's Christmas Wonderland.  There are some pictures of the outside and one inside.  I've never seen so many Christmas ornaments in one place!  I got some decorations for some of my family an a little tree for us on the boat.  Then we stopped at Bavarian Inn Restaurant for a snack.  They also have a gift shop in the lower level, so we looked around there and I found a trinket for our wall and also got some chocolate.  We went across the street to a bakery, then to the "mall" area, where we checked out the Popcorn Wagon.  Then we finished our day with a stop at the Cheese Haus, where I picked up some spicey smoked cheeses for Wes and a couple smoked cheeses for me.  It is a very cute town!  The whole town's architecture is German based.  I would recommend stopping there if you're in the area.  They dropped me back at the boat, then shortly thereafter, we got in the car and headed to Bay Harbor to pick up a couple fellow loopers, Mike and Laurie for dinner at H2O's.  We had a nice dinner and visit, had a quick drink on our aft deck, then drove them back to their boat.  It was a long day, so we went to bed shortly after we got back to the boat. 

 

Thursday, August 14:

I had a busy day at work with taking the previous day off.  Wes was busy working on videos.  We just stayed at the boat and had dinner on the aft deck, then relaxed inside while watching some TV before heading to bed. 

 Friday, August 15:

We both worked during the day, then I went to treat myself to a pedicure and hair cut.  I ran a couple quick errands, then back to the boat to make shish kababs for dinner.  Dinner was delicious and of course I had too much.  😂  We hung out on the aft deck for a bit then went inside and had a quiet night.

Saturday, August 16:

It was a hot partly cloudy day.  I spent a little time on the bow in my anti-gravity chair reading, but it was too hot to stay out too long, so I went inside.  Did a little around the boat, then we had Aunt Gay and Sherri over for dinner.  Smoked pork chops, cheesy zucchini and corn on the cob.  Sherri wasn't feeling well so Gay took her home, then came back and visited with us for a bit.  After Gay left, we went inside and relaxed.

Sunday, August 17:

Based on weather, we decided we were going to leave Tuesday to head to Tawas.  We both had laundry to do, so we pack up our laundry and headed to Gay's house for the day.  We enjoyed a nice day with Gay doing laundry, relaxing and visiting.  We had an early dinner, so we stopped at Mama Lupo's on our way back to the boat for some ice cream.  We also did our provisioning, so once we got back to the boat, we got everything put away then relaxed the rest of the evening.