Brenda

And the loop continues… Before arriving in Door County, while still in the upper peninsula of Michigan, we stopped at Fayette Historic State Park, recommended by several locals we spoke to.  It was a great history lesson.  Fayette, in the late 1800’s was the site of a productive iron-smelting operation for over 24 years.   The […]

Ok, I need to acknowledge my ignorance in America’s geography.  I did not know Michigan had an Upper Peninsula “UP”, jutting out of the northern tip of Wisconsin.   I thought the state of Michigan was the mitten – I didn’t know it included the UP, which several “Yoopers” we met at a wine tasting noted

This week’s highlight was a stop at Mackinac Island near the northern tip of Michigan.   At first, we couldn’t get a slip reservation at the island’s marina, so we were staying 3 days at Mackinaw City Marina on the mainland and taking a ferry over to the island.   But Captain Dave scored a slip on

I’ve learned so much geography on this adventure.  I didn’t realize Lake Erie was connected to Lake Huron, first by the Detroit River, then Lake St. Clair and then the St. Clair River to Lake Huron.  Of course, the water all flows from the north (eventually over Niagara Falls), so we were battling currents as

As we conclude our tour of the US side of Lake Erie, our first stop this week was at Kelly’s Island (KI), just about 10 miles off the coast from Sandusky, OH.   As we were pulling in the marina, two of our fellow looper friends were departing and gave us great recommendations.   The friends we

This past week we departed Ashtabula, OH and headed for Geneva-on-the-Lake State Park, located… wait for it…yep, you got it, in Geneva-on-the-Lake (GOTL).  This historic harbor town is open year-round, with an amusement type atmosphere, and boasts it is home of American’s oldest continuous operating miniature golf course (from early 1920’s).  Unfortunately, it lightly rained

What are the odds that our friends from St. Petersburg, FL, who have been out cruising the last 3 years, from Florida, the Bahamas and all around the Chesapeake, would be in Erie, PA the same time we were?  John & Sharon traveled by land yacht to Erie for a family reunion and arrived a

This past week ended with a great treat – a trip to Niagara Falls.  Although many shared that in their opinion the view from the Canadian side is much better, we still greatly enjoyed the experience. Niagara Falls Dave Taking a Photo at Niagara Falls Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls Earlier in the

As we head west on the Erie Canal, there is a junction where loopers often head north along the Oswego Canal to Lake Ontario and north to explore Canadian waterways.  With the Canadian border still closed due to COVID, if a looper boat can sneak under several 15’ bridges, the most expeditious route is to

This last week has been another fun adventure – complete with transiting through 23 locks on the eastern end of the Erie Canal.   Whew!  The Erie Canal winds its way from the Hudson River near Albany, NY all of the way to Buffalo, NY on Lake Erie, over 350 miles with an elevation change of