See ya later, Lake Michigan
Hello my family and friends. Jim and I are doing well. We are in Hammond, Indiana. We are, for the most part, off Lake Michigan. At least the big part. We survived. It wasn’t much fun. We were talking about our 20 day trip today, and I think the worst part about being on Lake Michigan was the uncertainty of the weather. We have been used to plotting a chart and making it happen. Yes, we have had some weather hiccups along this journey, but this Lake and it’s trials, made us feel trapped. We couldn’t move forward, and that pissed me off!
One thing is for sure. When we first started this Great Loop Adventure, I wrote about the number one thing you just can’t have when you are on this journey. A schedule. You should never have a hard timeline. It is difficult to say, “yes, we will be here, or there, on Tuesday of next week”. We have had to make a few of those hard timelines, and I think that definitely added to the stress of being trapped by the weather on Lake Michigan. On Wednesday, September 5, we are picking Jennifer up at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. That is a set in stone date. Tickets purchased, she’s coming. So as Jim and I sat helplessly, bobbing like a cork, in Holland last week, I for one was worried we’d never make it.
We were lucky. We got a good weather day and high tailed it to Indiana. The marina we are in now is about 15 miles from Chicago! I can see the Chicago Skyline from where we are, and I can’t wait to get there!
Hammond Port Authority Marina and Casino, is a 500 + boat marina. We are here on Labor Day Weekend. It is bustling with people. Everyone getting in their last long weekend of boating time with their friends and families. There is music, and laughter and the smell of food being barbecued is tantalizing! These are boaters who spend there whole summer here. This weekend, in particular, is the weekend most of them will say farewell to their friends, because soon they will be pulling their boats out of the water for the winter. It blows my mind that this marina will be empty soon.
The dock we are on is full of really nice people who welcomed us with open arms. They invited us to share a meal with them, and were truly interested in our Great Loop Adventure. Many of these boaters have the same dream Jim and I had. They want to hear all about our life and how we got here. It makes my heart smile to explain to people just how far we have come, and what it takes to make this happen. I get goosebumps when I tell my story, because really, it is pretty god damn amazing! I’m so blessed. I love to see the little sparkle in their eyes as they tell me that the Great Loop is their dream. Their Bucket List. Dreams come true - clearly. One of the couples we met are on a 40 foot sailing vessel. Kim, Mike, and their 7 year old, Mia. The boating community is special. They will drop everything they are doing to catch your lines when docking, offer you a meal, and in our case, Mike handed us the keys to his car so we could get some groceries and make a hardware store run. Jim and I are grateful for these kinds of people, and like I’ve said before, when I get through with this Loop, and get settled somewhere, I will Pay It Forward to other boaters who need a helpful hand.
Here are a few photos of our time spent here. It’s raining today, there are cool lightning strikes, and it is quiet. I’ve done our laundry, Jim has done the monthly maintenance on the Happy Destiny, we’ve been to the Casino, ( a few times) and we are gearing up for a busy few weeks ahead of us.
Chicago is the next big adventure and then we start the River System, which will ultimately take us down to the Gulf of Mexico, and then back to Florida. This part of our journey should be very, very interesting.
Stay Tuned!
I’ll leave you with this video of the kind of day we had.
Peace and our love ❤️
