Lorenzo & Delois Johnson

We are back home.  Our trip home was enjoyable;  it was good to visit with family and friends.

My daughter’s graduation was a happy yet emotional event for me.  I am afraid that I have lost my baby.  We have had a great time together, and I must force myself to turn loose and let Her be the Woman we have raised Her to be.  I have probably lost my Daddy’s Girl, but I have gained a woman who is the best friend I have ever had. 

We left Charlotte on Saturday around noon, and drove back to the boat at Traverse City , Mi.  We arrived at 2 AM Sunday morning,.  The gate on the dock was locked, keeping us from going to the boat.  I climbed the fence, went to the boat and found enough tools to disassemble the gate and let Lois in also.  I reassembled the gate in the unlocked position, allowing us to go and come from the parking lot.

We were shocked when We saw the boat.  The spiders had taken over.  We spent an hour or so cleaning spiders before we went to bed. 

At o7oo on Sunday morning, we started unloading the car.  I was amazed at how much STUFF we had brought back with us.  We found a grocery store, and replenished our fresh food supplies.  We delivered the rental car at the airport at 0930, and took a Taxi back to the boat.  Sunday was spent cleaning  spiders and their residue from the exterior and the aft deck.  Very few spiders found their way inside.

Today, Monday, I got an early start and reassembled the port engine.  I installed the injectors and performed a complete tuneup, completing all of the 500 hours checks.  At 1 pm, we left East Bay Marina, and had a good trip to the Northport Marina.  The first hour was a little tense;  I had just completed some very significant maintenance on the port engine;  the boat had been sitting idle for more than 2 weeks, and this was the first time it had been run since the grounding incident.  The East Bay Marina is located  on the Grand Traverse Bay, approximately 30 miles from Lake Michigan, and the Northgate Marina is located on the shore of Lake Michigan.  We will wait here until Gary and Judy arrives from Drummond Island, approximately 100 miles North of us.  When they arrive, We will continue to travel South on Lake Michigan to reach Chicago Ill  as soon as we can.  The weather is changing rapidly, and will continue to degrade as temperatures start to drop.  The rule of thumb is to be off the lake by Labor Day.

Once we reach Chicago, we will enter the Illinois River, and all concerns about wind and waves will go away.  From then on, it is merely a matter of avoiding the cold by maintaining a steady pace toward the Southern Latitudes.

Travel on the Inland River System will be entirely different from what we have seen thus far.  Marinas will be few and far between, and the swank marinas will not be seen again until we reach Mobile Alabama.  

A special Thank You to Phyllis and Larry for the gift of sweets that they sent us.  We really enjoyed the sweets, but we are very grateful for Your concerns and well wishes.  We are very glad that we  have Your Prayers for our safety and success.  Again, thank You.

Lorenzo and Lois