TIM PATTI RILEY BIG ADVENTURE

9/1/2017

We are in Michigan City, IN, but will start where we left off.

Saturday 8/26 we landed in Muskegon, MI. Stayed the weekend. It was a nice day & an uneventful run. What we did see were go fast boats running north along the shore. I stopped counting after 20. Just a line of rooster tails. Very cool. Tim was guessing maybe a poker run. The stress mounted when we got into Muskegon Lake. It was VERY busy, with sailboats, under sail, (for those of you who don't know, under sail always has the right of way), pontoon boats, kayaks, paddle boards & power boats all going in different directions. Many marinas, so there were many channels to watch for & stay in. We were looking for one marina to fuel & another to dock. All of that took the best part of an hour. We were met at Muskegon Municipal by out friends Denise & Henry. They drove from home to visit us. We were very glad to see them & had a great time. It was the night of the Mayweather & McGregor fight. Dockers close to us planned to show it on a big screen on the dock.. Denise was instrumental in setting up & adding to the screen. She just happened to have a dark sheet to put behind their white sheet & that is what makes it work. Did I mention Denise also happens to be my hairdresser? Good thing she brought her scissors 💇& magic potions, because I was in need! She worked her magic while I sat at the picnic table. All is well for another 4 weeks.

Monday 8/28 we left for Grand Haven. What a difference on a Monday. We were alone on the lake that was so busy on Saturday when we arrived.
The Grand Haven docks ran along the south side of the Grand River. Just get off the boat & we were on land.
The Grand is a busy river with freighters in & out night & day. To see one of those huge ships run past you at night all lit up is an amazing sight. Also saw a tug pushing a barge loaded with cement trucks & workers. They were working on the break wall at the end of the river.
The Coast Guard has a big presence in Grand Haven. Tim was surprised it was not a group, but a station.
Across the river it was sand dunes & trees, but with a surprise. A platform for a nightly synchronized water, light & music show. We were able to sit on the boat & watch. Sorry, as hard as I tried, I was not able to get video that would do it justice.
We met loopers from MS & TN. It is too bad they are near the end of their run, because they would be fun to run with.

Tuesday 8/29 we ran to South Haven. It was a nice lake, but the fog hanging over the land almost completely obscured the shore line. What I did see flying by our boat was Monarch butterflies. What I couldn't figure out was why they were headed north???
Tim's brother & sister in law, Paul & Carole, made another visit. A good time was had by all. I hope.
We planned to stay 2-3 days, but weather dictates travel plans & Wednesday had fair winds & after that, not so much. We made the decision to run that day.

Wednesday 8/30 we left for Michigan City, IN. It was a good run & a good decision. We plan to stay here thru Labor Day.