DotcomTrip

Tough Finish, but a Great Trip

So we are home after an amazing trip and a tough last day...

We left Mackinac Island on Friday at 8:07 am and within an hour of our trip we passed two flybridge boats. Steve got out his binoculars and low and behold it was A Grand Time and Booms Away -- the Maddens and Booms who we met in Harbor Beach on the way to T. City! What are the chances of that??  Anyway, they followed us into Port Sanilac, where we spent the night and had dinner.

We left Port Sanilac around 9:40 am for the 5 hour trip home. About 40 minutes into the cruise our port engine went into idle and the alarms started going off. They said we had low hydraulic fluid in the pod drives -- or something like that. Steve went and checked, made some phone calls while we were floating in the middle of Lake Huron and decided to take the boat on one engine into Port Huron.

With the great help of two people from Desmond Marina, Steve docked the boat on one engine and did a darn good job of it. Then we found out that there was a Cummins mechanic (Ernie) in the Marina working on a tug boat.What are the chances of that?? He couldn't find a leak, so he checked everything out, still suspecting that we were slowly loosing the hydraulic fluid somewhere, but he thought we could make it home.

So off we went down the St. Clair River, through Lake St. Clair and down the Detroit River and once in Lake Erie, another alarm went off saying that there was water in the drive. After more phone calls, we decided to drive the final hour home, even though I had a meltdown...I was afraid of getting into the changing winds and finding ourselves in rough seas with one engine. Anyway, we made it! I did say that I was never getting on the damn boat again, but I suppose I was being a little hysterical -- me??

All in all it was a great trip and amazing experience. Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are so beautiful and there is so much to explore there. We haven't even begun!

Here are the final picture posts from Steve. Dotcomtrip.com is over and out until the next trip!

The Grand Hotel:

Mackinac Island Marina:

Fudge?

The sunset on our last leg home:

 

 

We are home. I'll post later about our exciting last day...

Wednesday Night Dinner On Mac Island

We went to dinner last night at Woods, a Grand Hotel property. It is a half hour carriage ride through the woods. The meal was wonderful, service was so-so. We had a much slower ride home --16 people pulled by two horses. I could have walked quicker!! I thought a few times we were going to have to get out and push :)

The entrance to the dining room:

My dinner companion:

Waiting for the "taxi" home:

 

There's The Dotcom at night -- the one on the left:

Looking from out boat, towards downtown:

Bike Tour Photos

A view just outside the marina into town:

Mission Point Inn. There is a great trail in front of it, right along the lake:

The water is very shallow on this side of the island. But you can tell by the beautiful deep blue that it doesn't stay that way.

 

I have no idea what this is...

 

Wednesday Report

Well, it's overcast and rainy today, so I decided to clean. It took me all of 45 minutes to thoroughly clean the cabin and cockpit. Ok, maybe it wasn't thoroughly cleaned, but I am on vacation.

We had dinner last night at the Carriage House dining room at the Iroquois Hotel. The gardens at the entrance are SPECTACULAR!

Before dinner we had cocktails with three other couples on Superior Lady out of Minnesota. Those Minnesotoans drink about like the Canadians. Rich and Nancy are taking their boat to the Bahamas for the winter! Can you imagine? I am so fascinated with the adventuresome spirit of some of these people. Another couple, sailors from Kalamazoo have been on their 36' sailboat since early spring. I couldn't do that. Too close for me. I was so tired at dinner, I almost fell asleep in my salad. Too much fresh air and exercise.

When we got back to the boat it was blowing like crazy and Dotcom was moving like crazy all night (I'm talking about the boat). Good thing I don't get seasick. I had a bit of a difficult time getting back on the boat with Izzy after her nightly walk.

We are definitely not getting out of here until Friday. Waves are predicted to be 4-6 feet on Lake Huron tomorrow with maximum waves of 9'. No thank you!! We could still make it back in two days if we need to, but should definitely be back by Sunday.

Mackinac Island Update and Photos

We arrived on Mackinac Island around 3pm yesterday, Monday after getting fuel at St. Ignace. We skirted a storm in the bay. I was nervous, but with 15 weather gadgets, radar, etc., Steve said he wasn't:

Waves jumped up to 2-4 feet, but the wind was with us, or to our port side, so it wasn't too bad.

The state marina here on Mackinac Island is very nice and the view is lovely. We took Izzy on our first walk yesterday downtown and she wasn't too sure of the horses. She acted afraid of them, but today she has regained her confidence and has decided to act tough and bark at them. I found a great spot and took her swimming this morning. And then Steve and I took a bike ride all the way around the island -- 8 miles.

It is supposed to storm this evening and tomorrow so we will probably be stuck here until Friday. Plus the winds are kicking up. We met two long haul boaters here. One couple is going to the Bahamas and they will leave their boat there for the winter and another is doing the Great Loop, which takes many months. The Bahama-bound couple have a young Springer Spaniel named Oliver. He looks like Daisy, Uncle Chris. We are having cocktails on their boat tonight.

Here are some of Steve's famous photos of M.I.:

Steve's next boat -- NOT:

Water Trial Photos

See the column at the right for water trial photos taken by Robin Burmeister on Saturday. Thanks for sending them, Robin!

More TC Pics:

Our hostess at Apache Trout Grill. This pic after Steve bribed her:

The night of the "Best Margarita of My Life." I do not know why the Stella is featured in this pic:

Red Mesa - awesome Mexican restaurant:

Traverse City Pictures

Here are some pictures Steve took in TC. I really wanted to post pics from the water trial, but he must have had too much Scotch last night.

I actually took this picture as we were coming into Traverse City in the West Bay. What a beautiful boat:

Swimmng on the beach...

Sunday in TC. It was windy and chilly:

The Clinch Marina. Our boat is not among this group.

Downtown TC:

 

Sunday in Traverse City

Well, the water trial is over, and I've stocked the fridge for our departure tomorrow morning. I also gave Izzy a bath after the trial. It's cool and very windy here, I would say winds at 25 knots out of the Southeast and party cloudy. It was 58 degrees at the water trial site at 7:30 this morning and then it started raining. Too cold!!

Izzy and I passed our Courier test yesterday for our second Courier pass. One more to go (hopefully at Nationals in Atlanta in September) and we will be CWDX - Courier Water Dog Excellent. We couldn't get our third leg today, because we got our first here last year, and the rules say you must have two different trial sites and two different judges. She was awesome yesterday and I'll have pictures to post soon. Some of the other passes:

• Jennifer Murray and Stormy
• Pat Heinzelman and Ruby
• Vicki Robinson and Mojo

There were others from Canada, most of whom I don't know. What a fun trial!

We ate dinner last night with Uncle David and Sean at Apache Grill, one of the most beautiful spots in TC, and one of my dad's favorites when he visited here. David had a Miller Lite or two in his honor :)

We are off to Macinac Island tomorrow morning and depending on weather will spend two nights there. Then we'll chart the rest of our trip home. Hopefully, Steve will give me some pics to post tonight or tomorrow.