FROM THE BRIDGE
3 OCTOBER 2021
Our month long tour of Lake Michigan is over and I think Annie has captured the feeling tone of that part of the adventure well. Lake Michigan is the second largest fresh water lake in the world and truly an inland sea. We saw all the faces of what the locals call The Big Lake. And because we have no real schedule we can stay in port any day we find less than perfect.
Most of you know that my Grandson Eldon helped me move the boat from Grafton, Illinois to Grand Haven, Michigan in May. After some repair items were resolved, Annie and I started our circumnavigation of The Big Lake. We traveled north up the Michigan coast to Mackinac Island, and that is the official starting place of our America’s Great Loop adventure. We then traveled down the Wisconsin side of the lake to Chicago where the river portion starts.
Here is the Lake portion by the numbers:
States 3
Cities, Towns and Villages 22
MICHIGAN:
Spring Lake
Muskegon
Manistee
Frankfort
Leland
Charlevoix
Mackinac Island
Beaver Island
Escanaba
Menominee
WISCONSIN:
Washington Island
Egg Harbor
Sturgeon Bay
Kewaunee
Manitowoc
Sheboygan
Port Washington
Milwaukee
Kenosha
ILLINOIS
Waukegan
Chicago
,In our 30 days on the Big Lake we traveled 665 miles, we were under way for 76 hours for an average of 8.75 miles per hour. Seeing the world at that speed takes a little getting used to, but seeing the world around you more deeply is indeed the gift of traveling America’s Great Loop.
Many writers demean Lake Michigan with terms like “Lake Washing Machine.” It is certainly an inland sea to be taken seriously, but we had only 5 days that weather caused us to stay in port. We found it a beautiful place to boat, with interesting towns and people filled with Midwestern hospitality.
It is now on to the Great River System, with river names like Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee, all the way down to Mobile, Alabama.
Here are a few images from the trip through downtown Chicago on the river.
Cruising with Gary & Annie 
We are so happy for you both. What a wonderful experience! I am sure you will have lots of stories to share when we get together again. And, we are both looking forward to hearing all about it!! In the meantime keep the journal and photos coming. We love you both.
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Hi there! First of all, thank you for your patience! We totally forgot and hadn’t taken time to figure out how to respond to our blog comments until this afternoon….and you are our first try at it. In fact, in reviewing all the comments, you two were also our first peeps to comment.
Thanks for that too! Sounds like you are doing some adventuring of your own….boat to Newport (awesome!) and soon a 2-week trip to Mission Bay with your new truck. Can’t wait to hear how all that works out. We plan to call you soon. We continue to have a grand time and are so glad we are doing this…and that you are cruising along with us! Love you oh so much and looking forward to hearing your voices soon!! xoxoxo
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