Sightseeting Chicago

A giant crawfish at the field museum

Our first full day in Chicago, we decided to take in some of the more famous attractions. We chose to stay at Burnham Harbor, Chicago's largest marina, partly because of its proximity to the city's more famous attractions, and also because Capt. Larry was more familiar with the area and transportation system on the south side. While Burnham Harbor is a good choice for these reasons, it is also rather short on the amenities. The marina has over 1100 slips, but only one men's and ladies' restrooms and with a couple of showers and toilets each, and these facilities are sorely in need of upgrading. For the marina fee that is charged, one would expect better accommodations.



The major attractions that we wanted to see while we were here were the famous Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium, the Adler Planetarium, and possibly a ride to the top of the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower). We also wanted to take in a major league baseball game at one of the city's two teams. Admittance to these attractions are not cheap, but Chicago has a package deal called City Pass that allows you admission to 5 of the city's top attractions for $76. We purchased two of these packages and started with the Field Museum on day one. The museum was about a one-half mile walk from the boat.

Jane and the pachyderms

A T. Rex named SUE

Capt. Larry and Bushman

We arrived at the museum but had no idea where to start. The number of exhibits was overwhelming and we only had a day to do this. We sat down with a pamphlet and planned the day's activities. First up would be the "Underground Adventure." This exhibit dramatically enlarges the tiny to microscopic features of soil and gives the viewer the impression that you are passing through living soil that relates to your "shrunken" size. The exhibit covered all aspects of soil ecology and the important role it plays in things we take for granted. While Jane was not too fond of the bugs and worms that were "living" in the soil, she did enjoy the educational aspects of the exhibit. She gave it a thumbs up and thought the grandkids would love it.


The next exhibit was "Inside Ancient Egypt." This is a permanent exhibit at the museum and one that is supported by Egyptian artifacts that were brought to the museum years ago. There were collections that dealt with all aspects of everyday Egyptian life which were represented over a several periods of Egyptian history.

Who's your mummy?

When we got to the Egyptian funeral and burial customs, and saw exhibits of mummies and mummification, we got an unsettling feeling that years ago representatives of the museum were robbing Egyptian graves of their treasures and bringing them to this country. Of course, this was probably no different than that done by a number of other respected institutions, but still there was a nagging question of propriety as we viewed the exhibit. The mummies made us hungry, so we broke for lunch!


Next up was "Traveling the Pacific." This exhibit detailed how the Pacific islands were inhabited and settled and the conditions that were faced by the initial inhabitants. Since many of these islands were the last places on Earth to be inhabited, it was interesting to learn of their navigational skills and obstacles these explorer/settlers had to encounter. After a segment on Papua New Guinea and a description of their foods and how they prepared them, we started to get hungry again! So many delicacies.....so little time......


We finished up our day by touring the exhibits on "The Ancient Americas," the "Northwest Coast and Arctic Peoples," and the "North American Indians." "The Ancient Americas" exhibit chronicled Indian cultures that inhabited North and South America, their rise and fall, and contributions.

Northwest totems

Titles of the other two exhibits are self-explanatory and all three were excellent, although the "North American Indian" exhibit could have been improved if the collection were attributed to specific tribes rather than generalized regions they represented. While these were the major exhibits we visited, we also briefly wandered through other museum offerings. Overall, we thought the Field Museum was excellent and would recommend it to anyone visiting Chicago. Just be sure to give yourself as much time as possible.

The dolphins perform at the Shedd

Jellies!

Beluga whales

Penguins on display

Coral reef fish

With the Klassers for dinner and jazz

Happy birthday, Jane!

The next day, Jane's birthday, we headed to the Shedd Aquarium. Like the Field Museum, the aquarium has a number of varying exhibits that covers oceans, local and major foreign rivers, coral reefs. One of the exhibits focused on the Amazon and all of the weird fish and animals associated with it. The Carribbean Reef was a huge tank that displayed all types of tropical fish and rays. Most mesmerizing was a display of jellyfish, but the most beautiful was all of the brightly colored or oddly adapted fish in the coral reef exhibit. We also watched a dolphin show and went to a 4-D movie, "Happy Feet." Around closing time we noticed that the staff were setting up dining and serving tables. Turns out we were there when they were having "The Shedd and Jazz" night. Capt. Larry was going to take Jane out for dinner, but we decided to stay and have dinner at the aquarium. Various vendors had a variety of menu items and it was great. While we were waiting for the event to begin we me Allan and Tanya Klasser. We had such nice conversation that we all decided to dine together, and we ate, talked, and listened to a jazz group for a couple of hours. It was a delightful evening. Allan and Tanya offered to take us anywhere we needed to go, but there was no place pressing that we needed to go. We returned to the boat and watched fireworks from the cockpit of the boat. Capt. Larry told Jane that he had arranged this for her birthday, but she didn't buy it.

Going to Wrigley Field

NASCAR's Jimmy Johnson throws a pitch

The Cubs looking valiant

Jane with Cubby Bear

The next day Capt. Larry took Jane to her first MLB game. Unfortunately this was a Cubs game. There's a story in Chicago that Jesus said to the Cubs, "...don't do anything until I get back." And the Cubs apparently embrace this request. Today they were playing the Atlanta Braves. We left the marina early and caught the subway that dropped us off right at the Wrigley Field entrance. We walked around the neighborhood for a while then went into Cubby Bear's sports bar. Jane had an Italian beef and Capt. Larry had a Cubby Burger and we split an order of elotes (a Greek dish of grilled corn, mayonnaise, lime, and chili powder- it's good!). We left the bar and went into Wrigley Field and found our seats. It wasn't long into the game (1st inning) when things were getting out of hand. And yes, the Cubs remained behind and lost the game. We returned to the boat and had dinner aboard.

Hey Madison, that's your street!

Mmmmmm, Chicago-style deep dish

On Friday we caught a bus and rode it downtown to the area where many of the large retailers are located so Jane could do some shopping. We went to the former Marshall Field nine-story (now a Macy's) main store on State and Washington. Jane was really impressed with how big it was and the huge inventory it had. She bought as pair of shoes there that she said was the most expensive shoes she had ever purchased. We left and went to a couple of other retailers where she got some perfume and a leather jacket. Then we hopped a bus and rode a few blocks for lunch at a Chicago institution- Lou Malnati's which features Chicago-style deep dish pizza. It was delicious and different, but not necessarily better than Capt. Larry's deep dish pizza. We left the restaurant and went to a hardware store, then returned to the boat. We had happy hour out on the dock with our new found boat neighbors.

Brunch with Joann and Hadiye

In the Clark historic district

Starry-eyed at the planetarium

On Saturday two of our new dock buddies Joann Murphy and Hadyie Steward invited us to a brunch in a nearby historic district. It was delicious and a really interesting area that has been restored. We finished our brunch and walked around the neighborhood. Hadyie walked with us over the the Adler Planetarium. We viewed several space and celestial exhibits at the planetarium and a couple of 3-D movies about space imaging. The planetarium was nice, but not nearly as interesting as the field museum or the aquarium. We left the planetarium and made our way back to the boat. We had dinner on the boat and were invited for a nightcap aboard Joann's boat Midnight Fox. We viewed some more fireworks around 9:30 p.m. and visited with her and another dock buddy, Frankie Quartullo until almost midnight! What a day!

P-dock going for brunch

Brunch at the yacht club

Joann, Jane, and Hadiye

Well it's Sunday, the day before we leave. But things are really just getting cooking! The group from P-dock (the dock we are moored on) decides to go to a brunch at the Burnham Park Harbor Yacht Club. The yacht club tender picked us up at P-dock and took us to the club. The brunch was delicious and the blood marys and mimosas were great. After a tender ride back to the dock everyone sat out on the dock and whiled away the afternoon. P-dock is a great close-knit group that has a lot of fun and is known by the entire Burnham Harbor marina. We had supper on the boat and said goodbye to some of the P-dock boaters that were returning home after the weekend.


The people we met and the things we did made our Chicago visit absolutely awesome! It couldn't have been better.

Chicago skyline over Burnham Harbor at night

We End Our Great Lakes Adventure and Go to Chicago

Little Sable light

Grand Haven lights

Grand Haven sidewalk days

We left Ludington with Joysea heading for Grand Haven, MI. About one-half hour underway Capt. Larry noticed that we didn't have any power to the computer used for navigation or the ice maker. Going below to troubleshoot the problem he noticed a familiar burnt smell. The inverter was out again. Since we use this equipment to power the refrigerators, navigation computer, and ice maker while underway, this was a major concern. After several attempts to reset the inverter, we started the generator to get everything running.

Grand Haven fountain show

However, after a few hours it became apparent that we needed a new inverter. Fortunately, the one that failed was under warranty and we called the company to arrange for a replacement. We pulled into Grand Haven and announced at happy hour aboard Joysea that, although the next day would be a good day for continuing our run, we had to remain in Grand Haven to get a new inverter.

Grand Haven historical mural with southern touch

One of the Grand Haven highlights is a fountain and light music show each evening during the summer, and we enjoyed to shows immensely. Joysea left early the next morning and we received our inverter around noon. Capt. Larry installed the new one and shipped the defective one back to the company for credit. Grand Haven was celebrating sidewalk sales, an art on the river show, and a farmer's market, so we visited all three events.

Grand Haven light in the morning

Benton Harbor/St. Joseph lights

After spending an extra day in Grand Haven for weather, we left to make our way down to Benton Harbor/ St. Joseph, MI. At our marina in St. Joseph we topped off with diesel fuel so we wouldn't have to pay top dollar for fuel near Chicago. We got secured in our slip and did some visiting with some of the local boaters and fellow loopers Mary and John Leatherman aboard Mary Francis IV. The Leathermans had just begun the loop leaving from Mackinaw City just a couple of weeks ago. We had dinner at a popular local restaurant called Clementine's then turned in for the night.

Benton Harbor lights in the morning

Chicago on the horizon

Jane with General Grant in Grant Park

Larry at the former PHS clinic

We had planned to spend a couple of days in St. Joseph, but the weather forecasts indicated that a lake crossing would not be good two days out. The next day we got an early start to head across the lake to Chicago. The weather and conditions were good and about 15 miles into the 60 mile run, we spotted the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) and the John Hancock town on the horizon. We were surprised that we could see these landmarks so far out. We got into our Chicago marina and got the bikes down for a ride. Capt. Larry, having worked in downtown Chicago for 5 years, took Jane to some sites near the marina. One of the stops was the Public Health Service clinic site he served at on south Michigan Avenue. The building that the clinic had occupied had been converted into a condo, but was also placed on the national register of historic places. We returned to the boat and had dinner and then watched to skyline light up from our cockpit in the marina. It's all good in Chicago!

Winding our Way Toward Chicago- Leland, Frankfort, and Luddington

Lake Michigan's eastern shore dunes

A football field deep!

Grand Traverse Bay light

We did leave Charlevoix the next day. The weather was forecast to be light winds with waves 2 feet or less. About one mile from the Charlevoix inlet we had our doubts. We were being hit with 4-6 foot waves and all sorts of things were crashing around down below. Jane went below to secure the cabin and salon. About 3 miles from the inlet Capt. Larry tried to signal Jane to see if she wanted to turn back, but she apparently didn't hear the signal. She was below getting seasick and was laid out on the sofa. So we continued on hoping that the forecasts calling for better conditions later in the day would materialize. They did improve, but not before we had about 3 hours of really rough conditions. We had a relatively short leg to the Leland Township Harbor and arrived right around noon. It could not have come soon enough!

One of the Leland fishing boats

One of the more clever boat names

Lunch by the Carp River in Leland

Leland, MI is a delightful little community. The entire business district is only about one block large and a short walk from the marina. But it had everything we needed and then some. Jane got to go off to several of the shops and boutiques and Capt. Larry tried to keep up as best he could. We had planned on staying here 3 days so we wouldn't have to travel during the early part of the weekend. Leland readily lends itself to biking, so we got the bikes down and explored downtown and the outskirts. After a bike ride/exercise workout on Friday, our second day, we had lunch at a restaurant that overlooks a waterfall and river that empties into Lake Michigan. Leland retains its rustic charm in an area called historic "Fishtown" which served the fishermen in years past. Located on the water, there are several shops and eateries in this area, all geared for tourists. At the end of our second day, we saw another looper boat, Joysea, come into the marina. We went over to talk to them and learned that they had had a really long ride in miserable conditions from St. Ignace that day. We had met Dave and Joyce Johnson in Sylvan Beach, NY and rode across Lake Oneida with them the following day.

Happy hour with crew of Joysea

Dave and Joyce went to Oswego and did the Trent Severn route in Canada until Joyce experienced a fall and suffered a broken hip. She returned home to Indiana for care and recuperation while Dave continued the journey with the help of friends and family. In Leland he was taking on a new crew for the next leg of his trip. Since we had had happy hour aboard Joysea in Sylvan Beach, we reciprocated and invited Dave and his crew of Bob and Linda Wolter from Hastings, MN for docktails on Bavarian Cream. Everyone had a great time doing lies and libations and the smoked whitefish sausage that Jane bought in Fishtown for the occasion was an absolute hit.

The Sleeping Bear, elev. 1044 ft.

Point Betsie light

Downtown Frankfort

Frankfort entrance light

Big Sable Point light

After spending an extra "weather day" in Leland we made our way with Joysea to Frankfort. It looked like we would have two consecutive good days for travel before the next front moved through, so Frankfort was going to be a one night stand. Fortunately, we got an early start from Leland and arrived in Frankfort a little before noon which gave us a full day in this port. This stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline is very scenic and passes along the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. A recent survey ranked the Sleeping Bear Dunes as one of the most beautiful sites in America. We walked through town and Jane did some shopping while Capt. Larry found a grocery store to pick up a few things. Frankfort rolls out the red carpet to welcome tourists and is a quaint little community. We enjoyed happy hour aboard Joysea then had some freshly grilled fish for our dinner.

Bowriding into Ludington

Our deepest water yet

Ludington, MI, was our next stop. A cold front was forecast to pass through the region after we arrived at Ludington, so we would likely be spending at least one extra day in this port. When we left Frankfort, we were amazed at all of the fishing boats that were out on the lake. Granted the weather was great for fishing, but the real reason for so many boats was the running of the Chinook or King salmon. The main technique for catching these beauties is trolling with downriggers. This meant that we would be passing through throngs of boats that were constantly moving and likely wouldn't be following the "rules of the road." In fact by following the "rules" we caused one fishing boat a lot of consternation. We were on a collision course with a boat that must have been on autopilot, as there wasn't anyone at the helm. We were also in close proximity to other boats that limited our maneuvering options. Capt. Larry knew that he was the "give way" vessel and would have to yield in this situation, but usually in a crossing situation both boats alter course slightly for added safety. When it was obvious the other boat was not going to alter its course, Capt. Larry turned to starboard to avoid a collision. However, this brought Bavarian Cream close to stern of the boat which was trolling with downriggers.

The morning run to Manitowac

The Badger at the Lundington inlet

Pasta on Bavarian Cream

Everyone started gesturing that we were too close to their fishing gear. Sorry boys! If you want to protect your fishing gear then pay attention to what's going on around you. By altering their course just a few degrees we would have passed starboard to starboard and not have come close to their fishing gear. Our first priority is to avoid a collision which is what we did. Aside from this incident, we had a good run to Ludington. We arrived at the Ludington Municipal Marina which is a first class operation and got the boat secured in her slip. We then took off to scout out the town, and yes, it is really a charmer (honestly, we'd say something negative about all of these places if it just were true!). One of the interesting attractions is the S.S. Badger carferry which homeports in Ludington. This ship has been providing regularly scheduled ferry service between Ludington and Manitowac, WI, since 1959. Built in 1952, the Badger is a coal-fired, steam driven ship. For two days we got to see this fine ship come and go. On our second evening in Ludington we invited the crew of Joysea over for a pasta dinner. We had a great time dining and trading stories, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The storms that were forecast for the area apparently fizzled out with only a sprinkling of rain and not terribly impressive winds. So, the next morning we topped off with cheap ($3.85/gal.) diesel fuel and followed Joysea to Grand Haven.

Sunset over Lake Michigan at Leland