Back on Catrina for the summer of 2026
Heavy rain and a real lightning show last night around 12:30 and then this morning. We've had 1 3/4" of rain the past 2 days.
Defrosted Catrina's freezer and took more stuff off and then organized that stuff on Flo. Claire and Kathy will stay on Catrina and Mark and I will sleep on Flo next week.
Mark got a haircut with Gina and I went to Coffee Express. On home. Very humid out and more storms could be coming - rain in the forecast for next several days. We've now had over 2" in 2 days, but Michael said tonight they got 2" in 30 minutes at Lake James!!!! 😧
More rain around 4. When it let up a bit, we went to Cabo Las Palmas for Mexican - popular place and our favorite here in Port Clinton - we even shared their fried ice cream....yummy!!!
Stormy last night and this morning - nasty thunder, lightning, strong winds, hail and heavy rain (think that about covers it)! 😃 More storms were predicted around 9:30 but they ended up going south of us!
Mark ran some errands and I started with the cleaning on Catrina preparing for my friends (Claire and Kathy) coming for a visit next week!
A retired heating/cooling guy (Denny) came to Catrina this morning to check our AC in the main salon. Occasionally on our trip, we had it "freeze" up. We would turn it off and let it "thaw" and then it worked fine. So Dave (dockmaster) gave us Denny's name and he was in the area so able to come today - a little low on freon and gave it some general maintenance - we are good to go!!!
Naps after lunch and then 4 loads of laundry - nice visit with Barbara Ann who keeps our favorite laundromat spic 'n span!!!
I went to "So Blessed" to visit with Donna (boat sister) and her sister Kathy, who is visiting this week. Lots to catch up on = much yakkin' 😉
Sunny warm Sunday....after breakfast, we started removing more stuff from Catrina to put on Flo, Big Red or in the storage building. Stuff, stuff, soo much stuff!
A very interesting statistic came out this week.....in the first 6 months of this year, over 200,000 new residents are making Florida their home applying for drivers' licenses. WOW.....10,000+ are in Lee County (Fort Myers).
Nine on zoom tonight - Sharon is enjoying her new grandbaby, Warren; Theresa is dealing with her badly injured arm (can't have home-health care any longer cause she's too healthy); discussed Sister's Weekend the end of September; Joan asked for prayers (neighbor Josh is going to court tomorrow regarding a fatal auto accident); Janet and Doris have enjoyed their grandchildren this summer but tired when they leave😉 Heavy rain in Dixon, Rockford and Chicago today - heading our way.
Have a great week ahead!
It's so good to be back in Port Clinton. We had a bunch of errands but first, breakfast at Ala Carte which is always a good hearty start to the day!
Another very warm sunny day.....we worked on our stuff - taking things off Catrina and starting to organize of what we don't need for rest of the season.
Mark put his stats for the trip together and here goes:
Cruised 1,466.4 miles (94.1 engine hours)
653 gallons of fuel
$3,622.68 cost of fuel
$5.55 average cost/gallon
48 days on the trip with 1 day less than 7 weeks
20 days were we were moving on Catrina; rest of time we were in port for multiple days
Some other tidbits to share (from me):
Best marinas (boater's lounge, bathrooms/showers) - Manistee, MI and Sturgeon Bay, WI
Several good coffee shops but funkiest: Red Cup on Washington Island, WI; 5 and J Sturgeon Bay, WI and The Coffee Factory (Muskegon, MI)
Best biking: Frankfort, MI
Best walking: Manistee, MI
Best shopping: Sturgeon Bay, WI;
Christmas shops (Tannenbaum in Sister Bay and Alpine Gift Haus in Cedarburg, WI)
Highlights:
Road trip to some favorite northern Michigan ports and visiting Dennis and Teri in Presque Isle, MI:
Family reunion in Menominee Falls, MI
Dinner with our nephew Steve and Lori in Marinette, WI; long-time boating friends Ron and Pat in Muskegon, MI and Leon (in the hospital) in Muskegon; CT friend, Linda in Muskegon; Allie and Owen in Muskegon and enjoying Grand Haven and the water fountain show + good eating, coffee and touring the LST boat (guys).
We went to 4:30 Mass with Father Jonathan at Immaculate Conception (another awesome homily). Then to The Orchard for a wonderful dinner (thanks to Anne, Liam, Connor, Gibson and Frankie) for my Mother's Day gift. Top notch!
Back home and went for a walk - I met Jeannie who is from SC and just brought her beautiful yacht from Hilton Head to Port Clinton where it will be stored for the winter. She also has a beautiful RV and living in that for now. Mark met her before we left on our trip and followed along in her boat (Magic Carpet) travels these past several weeks.
We are HOME!!! Came under the bridge at 3:30 and Donna (boat sister) and Dave (dockmaster) were there to grab our lines - thank you very much! Big hugs for these dear folks and so good to be back (1 day shy of 7 weeks)!!!
We left Port Sanilac at 6:40 AM and had nasty fog for almost 2 hours on Lake Huron. Then to the St. Clair River and tah dah....nice 'n clear; then Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River and finally, the last hurrah, Lake Erie and 2.5 hours to Port Clinton. 153 total miles today.
It's hot.....but no complaints - funny how much of this trip we were wearing long pants, hoodies, jackets, etc.....
Exactly 9 hours of travel time today - we left Rogers City at 6:18 and arrived in Port Sanilac at 3:18. 160 miles and pretty calm seas with sun, clouds, sun, clouds and then a surprise shower at 2:45! Just enough to make things messy.
I fixed breakfast along the way - cheesy eggs, fruit and cranberry walnut toast.
We are at the Port Sanilac Municipal Marina for our last night before "home sweet home"!
So thankful that our good friends, Leon and John are doing much better after serious health issues - Leon in Michigan and John in Florida.
Mark's sister Sharon has a new grandbaby - "Warren Thomas" was born to Sarah and Daniel weighing 7 lbs. 14 oz and 19". He has a big brother Mason, 2.
After settling in, we walked to the Stone Lodge - an old building with stone fireplace and lots of animal heads - like up in north country, We really enjoyed our meals - chicken pot pie for Mark and walleye for me - excellent! Busy place.
Tomorrow starts the 12th annual Blues festival here in Port Sanilac (less than 600 residents). It's a very big event and they are setting up tents tonight. One year ago when we were returning from our boating trip to Canada, we tried to get a slip for one night but it was this same time and nothing available.....glad it doesn't start till tomorrow when we'll be outta here.
We also heard that this weekend marks the annual garage sale which is along a busy highway and goes from town to town.
WHEW....one more day!
We had some light rain off and on during the night and this morning, but by 8:00, it was done, even though the forecast said "all day". So, my captain decided we should take off and get some more miles in towards home sweet home.
We left at 9:35 not sure where we would end up, but not the best conditions today - cloudy and dreary with some wobbling seas - not too bad, but not what we like. So, 38.5 miles later, we were in Rogers City again (last visit was June 24th - 3 days after we started this big trip and now into our 7th week)!!!
Had a familiar face greet us on the dock, got our routine done, Mark checked into the office and we walked downtown. I went to Cook's Coffee Nook for an iced latte and Mark went across the street to The Painted Lady for his iced Americano decaf. Gotta support these local businesses. Then to Save-a-Lot for some pasta salad. Had a light lunch on our way back to Catrina at the Pavilion Grille.
I made a batch of BBQ and we had a nice quiet afternoon. Liam called - can't believe he's down to his last 2 days of his internship in Minneapolis! He has sure enjoyed the work, family he stayed with and the wonderful recreational area. He biked 102 miles on Saturday from Minnetonka, MN to Hudson, WI. Holy moly!!!!!
The rain started around 5 and got heavier but was over by 6:20.
Maeve had a belated birthday party this past Saturday....
The Captain got me up at 5:45...UGH, but the plan was to leave early before the strong winds picked up. So we left the dock at the G. Marsten Dame Marina in Northport at 6:18. We had roly waves for several hours, but the wind was out of the south, we were headed north so the waves pushed us along.....WHAT A CRAZY RIDE....sometimes we went way left and then back and then to the right!!! Poor Autopilot didn't know what was going on!
We went under the Mackinac bridge at 10:30 and then left Lake Michigan for Lake Huron.
We arrived at the Cheboygan County Marina in Cheboygan, MI at 11:45. Stopped at the fuel dock for diesel and a pumpout. Strong winds and to grow as the day goes on. Happy to be here. Our ride today was 90 miles; the 169 miles we did yesterday was a record as the previous longest day was 159 on Catrina.
Peggy, a friend of our brother-in-law, Tom H told us Saturday at the reunion about "HOMES" and the Great Lakes? H (Lake Huron) O (Lake Ontario) M (Lake Michigan) E (Lake Erie) S (Lake Superior)! We had never heard this!
After lunch we walked downtown (1 mile) - some nice stores + coffee shop (closed) and then to "The Dipper" for some ice cream (chocolate for Mark and Tennessee Toffee for me).
Tomorrow's travel plans are very iffy with 95% chance of rain all day.
BIG day for we nomads cruising 169 miles and 10.5 hours on Lake Michigan. We left at 6:38 AM and crossed from Sheboygan, WI to Frankfort, MI for a fuel stop and kept on... arriving in Northport, MI at 6 PM. Back on the Eastern time zone and nice to have that extra hour of daylight
We had planned to stop in Leland for the night but they had no slips available (24 boats were arriving today). This was a shock as every marina we've gone to this summer has had plenty of space (maybe due to the high cost of fuel and not as many boaters are traveling???) So, it was very surprising that we couldn't stay in Leland. Oh well..... that meant we kept on going another 30 miles (all closer to "home" in Port Clinton).
We settled in along the wall here in Northport (we were last here July 16, 1997 with Ryan on Sail Catrina.) Walked downtown and got some groceries at Tom's Market and then to "Fingers Crossed" for dinner. It was ok, but Mark's ribs were not near as good as Rib City in Fort Myers.
Windy, cloudy and cool this morning.....this was to be a travel day but not with 5' waves on Lake Michigan. Seeing the big waves crashing over the rocks from our viewpoint - NO thank you! Hope and pray things calm down and we can leave tomorrow?
We went to St. Peter Claver for 10:00 Mass with Father Paul Fliss. There are several Catholic churches in Sheboygan, but they are consolidated with other parishes. Enjoyed this Mass with a great pianist and soloist. We had a special anointing of the sick - 40-50 members from the congregation were anointed by Father with the Chrism oils on their forehead and hands. Something new according to Father.
After Mass we headed out to The American Club in Kohler, WI (high-end plumbing fixtures). The Hotel and grounds are beautiful with the Green House (enjoyed our coffees and shared a rhubarb custard Danish), the Champagne Garden, etc. There are 4 golf courses on the property.
Then to WalMart for a few things and on home. The sun came out but winds are a'blowin!
Mark took the car back to Enterprise and then had a windy bike ride back to Catrina.
Our dock here at Harbor Centre has lots of charter fishing boats which come and go - 2:30-3 AM, and some that will come in late at night well after dark - quite something for these fishermen and their love of this sport.
A rainy Saturday (during the night and all day)! We left Catrina at 7:40 and headed to Cedarburg, a neat little town between Sheboygan and Milwaukee. We had coffee and breakfast at Fiddleheads downtown. Mark went back to the car and I walked 2 blocks to check out some shops, but not much fun with all the rain, dodging puddles amd bundled up from the cold and wind -ugleeee!
Back to the car and we drove around and found the Settlement shops which are in a very old building with several floors and but I was high and dry inside. Some nice stores which I remember from 15 years ago shopping with Claire and Kathy.
And then we were off to Menominee Falls (1/2 hour south). This is where we're having the Chamberlain reunion at Menominee Park. A lousy day to be outdoors but we were under a shelter and made the best of it - we all had rain gear of some sort, long pants, hoodies, etc. Not typical weather for August 1st. There were 26 present and we had a bountiful selection of delicious food. Some of us played games (Shanghai and Rummikub for me). Hard to play many card games cause of the wind. We appreciate our niece Hannah organizing and putting this together
The party broke up around 4:45 and folks were on their way home. Had some sprinkles along the way and then sunshine.
We are tired tonight - big day!!!
Cannot believe it's the last day of July and another month is gone just like that - POOF!!! Life needs to SLOW down!!!
We had a productive morning - I did 3 loads of laundry at the marina (very nice laundromat with 3 washers and 3 dryers, plenty of space to fold clothes, 2 sinks and even an ironing board and iron) and only $1.50 a load to wash and $1.25 to dry for 55 minutes - that is a real deal!!! Mark helped me get it all started and then left on his bike to ride the 3 miles to Enterprise to pick up our rental car for next 3 days. He came back with a dark gray Nissan Altima with IL plates. Helped me finish up the folding, took hanging clothes back to Catrina and then with our little wagon, we got rest of laundry to the boat. Weather is threatening today - much cooler and rain is coming this afternoon, continuing thru tomorrow (not good for our reunion activities)😔
Next stop was coffee.....several choices (along with the chains- Starbucks, Scooters and Biggby's), we went across the Black River (Sheboygan is divided into 2 parts separated by the river). Several shops/restaurants/coffee places, etc. along the riverwalk. We picked "Eb Flo" - a very nice coffee shop with a big menu for breakfast/lunch all day. We ate indoors but a big outdoor seating area with fires going. Along with our coffees, we shared a "Croffle" (never heard of this) - it's a combination of croissant and waffle and whatever you want in/on it. We had ham and cheese - different but really good!
We left Adelaide Pointe and Muskegon at 8:05 AM and enjoyed a nice smooth cruise across Muskegon Lake and then Lake Michigan. 12:45 we arrived at the Harbor Centre fuel docks in Sheboygan,WI (82.2 miles) and got to set our clocks back an hour! We had an hour wait at the fuel docks - 4 ahead of us. And then some issues getting into our slip - computers show one thing and 2x another boat was in the slip they assigned us but 3rd time was the charm! We were here at Harbor Centre in 1997 and 1999 (2x) and at that time, a very nice marina; however, the years have definitely taken a toll and it has slipped into disrepair. The 5-year plan is to totally renovate everything (they do have a nice boater's lounge).
We went for a walk in the afternoon and found BLAST for some ice cream (banana split for Mark and Heath bar crunch flurry for me). Back to Catrina walking along the riverwalk.
Tuesday - Cloudy and cool. We walked to The Coffee Factory; back to Catrina and Allie and Owen picked us up at 10:30 and we were off for a big day!!!
First stop was Ryke's Bakery which has been here since 1937 - they also have locations in Grand Haven and Holland. What a wonderful selection (CT friend Linda had brought us some thin butter cookies which were delicious)!!! Allie and I stocked up on muffins, apple fritter, cookies, etc. Oink!
Then downtown Muskegon to see the tiny businesses "Western Market" - unfortunately, they are not open till Thursday-Sunday, but we could at least see these cute little shops and the beautiful flowers. Drove around Lakeside and the beautiful Muskegon beach which is wide and long.
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Lunch was a big hit at BoDocks - great food with Lucy, our very attentive waitress.
Back on the road to Grand Haven. The 100th anniversary of the US Coast Guard is happening all week long here - we knew it would be busy and took a bit to find a parking spot (Allie is a very good chauffeur). It was very windy and 76. Large carnival was set up for the kiddos (not for us). The guys found a good spot to sit, visit, people watch, etc. Allie and I browsed the shops on Washington Avenue.
The plan was to stay until 10 when the water fountain show would begin (since 1962 a big-time tradition here) so we had hours to go....stays light up here much longer. We went to "Tip-a-Few", recommended by Pat and Ron. Sat outside and had drinks - so pleasant and watching all the people and goings on as we were across the street from the carnival food vendors. Outside they just have drinks and a food truck, so Mark put our name in for an inside table - 50 minute wait. Outside seating is large, but small inside - quite the place and we all had Mexican (per Pat's recommendation)! All very good. Walked to the car to get Mark's seat with a back as we would be sitting on concrete steps.
Allie and I dropped the guys off at the US393 (LST - Landing Ship Tank). It did 30 trips across the English Channel hauling troops and tanks for D-Day. It is 328' by 50' and there are only 2 of these ships remaining out of 1,052 that were constructed during WWII - the other one is in Evansville, IN which Owen has toured.
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Off to lunch at Fatty Lumpkin's - Ron had told us about this place and it was a winner - very good sandwiches in a funky old building in a residential building. They brought us back to Catrina and went to their hotel....naps for all coming up.
Rainy morning but didn't get that much despite what radar looked like. The sun came out and we went for a walk. Then more rain at 11:30. Then we were under a severe thunderstorm warning for several hours.
Our friends Owen and Allie arrived during the storm....we met them in the boat dealer area of where the restaurant and event center are located. We went upstairs to the event center and waited out the storm - thunder, lightning and rain (1/2"). We left around 3:45 and they dropped us off at Trinity Hospital to see our friend Leon. They went onto their hotel to check in which was pretty close by.
We had a great visit with Leon who was alert and chatted away. He is being transferred tonight to a rehab place in Grand Rapids. We wish him all the best with his health issues.
While we were at the hospital, our friends Ron and Pat stopped by - we all boated together in the 80s. What fun to be together and reminisce.
Mark and I said our good byes, I texted Allie, they picked us up and we went to The Lake House for dinner - very good and everyone happy with their meal. Back to Catrina in the sunshine for more visiting. Looking forward to a fun day tomorrow!
Started our day with online Mass with Father Jonathan in Port Clinton. St. Mary's here in Muskegon would be a little jaunt to walk, so as always, good to be back with one of our favorites!
Next up was wash Catrina - tah dah....she looks so good but we know the bugs/spiders will be back!
We went for a walk in the afternoon - very hazy today and humid. Nice walking/biking paved path that goes past the marina. After we got back we had a light supper at the Muskegon Brewing Co here at the marina.
The 4-day fishing tournament ended today - top prize was $10,000
Looking forward to tomorrow when our friends Allie and Owen arrive for a few days....
So happy our friend Leon is out of ICU - we talked to him today and he sounded good. Hopes to be going to a rehab place in Grand Rapids later this week.
Zoom tonight we were missing Janet, Tom C. Tom H, Marilyn - Discussed the family reunion next Saturday, health updates, Tom and Beth are in Alaska for 3 weeks, waiting for our niece Sarah to have her baby due the 17th.
Have a good week,
We walked to The Coffee Factory (15-minutes). The old Shaw.Walker furniture company from the 1800s (closed in 1989) is being converted into luxury condos after sitting empty all these years. What a massive project - some of the windows were installed this week. The Coffee Factory is in part of what has been renovated so far....it is in such an out-of-the way spot, but very popular and with many signs pointing to where it's at, coffee lovers are having no trouble finding this funky gem.
Back to Catrina and as I'm climbing up the steps, I noticed one of our cushions on the bridge was gone!!! WHAT???? Where could it be and how did it become unsnapped and fly out of the upper station. It was good size, too. That's a first in the 18 years we've had power Catrina. YIKES! Mark mentioned to some guys on the dock asking if they had seen a loose cushion? Nope....
We needed fuel and a pumpout, so undid all the lines and drove a short distance to the fuel dock only to be told their pumpout was out of order! UGH............Nick apologized and suggested we go to Great Lakes Marina across Lake Muskegon. So off we went - nice guys there took care of us and back across the lake to Adelaide Pointe. After getting all the lines secure, power cords and hose hooked up, we each went in a direction to look for our lost cushion. St. Anthony was obviously looking out for us, cause there it was on the dock leaning against a dockbox thanks to some good samaritan who found and brought to the fuel dock! Thank you.....it needed a good scrubbing but nothing soap/water and a little elbow grease won't clean!
Nick is one of the dockhands and been so nice since we arrived last week and now was the "keeper of the cushion." We knew it would float but with these strong winds, could've been across Lake Michigan!!! When Mark carried it back to Catrina, the folks cheered that lost cushion was found!!! End of story - AMEN!
Lunch and a quiet afternoon. We did check the calendar out for September and October when we're in IL, NC and FL and set some things up, including our reservation at Kamp Komfort.
Walked late afternoon - no weddings this weekend here at the marina, but a reception at the event center - lots and lots of pretty long dresses for the guests.
Along our walk came across lots of these pretty blooms with red center?
It's so nice to wake up to clear skies these past few mornings after all the smoke in the air.
Some of you have asked how my head is doing - much better and doing my vestibular exercises faithfully, I'm still "off" a little when I get up, but then head clears and I have a good day - just gotta watch the balance.
Mark took the car back to Enterprise and then our CT friend Linda brought him back to the marina.
We had lunch and Mark hosed down the boat - while we were gone a few days, the bugs came out to play!!!😠
Philip shared his big news this afternoon - he'll be flying for Fed Ex.....so happy for him. As he said many years ago "I can't believe they pay me for doing something I love so much"! Congratulations!!!
We walked downtown (1.2 miles) and had drinks and an appetizer at Carlisles (recommended by friend Linda). All good and then walked 2 more blocks to Hackley Park where they have concerts every Friday night - big crowd, lots of food trucks, etc. We stayed for a few songs and then walked back to Catrina.
Have a fun, safe weekend!
Tuesday - we had the car loaded with our stuff and ready to leave Catrina and Muskegon by 8:15. It was crazy windy and to continue thru tomorrow. We drove to Pentwater and had coffees and shared a cinnamon roll at Green Isaac's Coffee and Tea (no idea where these names come from?) I walked around the downtown - this little town only has a population of 890 regular residents, but swells big time in the summer. I was impressed with the nice variety of shops. And then, off to Ludington.
We drove around the marina and also where the Badger is docked (makes daily runs from Ludington to Manitowoc for cars/people.) With the strong winds, 2 of the trips were canceled as Lake Michigan was expecting up to 14' waves.....oh my!
We didn't stop here but sure admired the red/white/blue petunias that lined many streets - they could give some competition to Dixon, IL (Mark's hometown and the "Petunia Capital of the World".) Beautiful!!!
Back on the road with next stop Traverse City. We had gotten alerts on our phones about rain starting....we each went our own way with lots of shops and people. Found a nice bookstore and Mark came in. He got a coffee and we decided to head back to the car. It started to sprinkle, so we picked up the pace and the rain came harder....we were 2 very wet ducks by the time we got to the car. Nothing worse than wearing wet denim! The rain came fast and furious and the wind and cold - ugh! It had been so nice this morning....
We drove onto Charlevoix, (memories of being here on sail Catrina 20 years ago in August. Our friends, Paul, Kathy, Barb and Roger came for a few days. I had a nasty kidney stone episode and ended up in the hospital....all rooms have a view of the lake, but I was feeling miserable. So, this year it was not fun walking around....chilly (low 60's) and very windy. We walked on the main street up and back and said that was enough - lousy weather to be out in (even for a die-hard shopper)! 😊
Last stop of the day was Gaylord, MI (our base for the next 2 nights 1 hour away). Checked into our hotel and then had dinner at Timothy's Pub. What's with this chilly weather on July 22nd??? Slept well...
Wednesday - the sun was back and ready to take on the day. We had breakfast at "Rise 'n Dine" downtown Gaylord
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and then left for Petoskey. We remember these towns somewhat from 20 years ago by boat and in 2011 by car, but lots of new condos, more shopping, etc. It was still chilly and I bundled up and walked the streets in the historic district. Mark sat in the car with his I-pad.
And then, off to Harbor Springs - lots of $$$ in this beautiful town. Slowly warming up and more people out and about. The Farmer's Market was right there, too, with a nice variety of vendors. Met up with Mark who got a chocolate shake at Yummies and I got a latte at White Birch Coffee.
Our Port Clinton friends (Dennis and boat sister Teri) are spending 2 weeks at their Presque Isle cabin. We visited them last year with Catrina - such a quaint neat place. So, really good to see them and catch up. They are on Lake Huron which was pretty wild yesterday and several sailboats were returning from the Port Huron/Mackinac Island race. So fun to be with Dennis and Teri and then a good dinner at Woody's, the only restaurant in Presque Isle. We said our good byes and will see them back in Port Clinton later in August. Teri is having her first knee replacement on the 17th. She's hurting so much.
Mark and I headed back to Gaylord (1.5 hours). Long day but enjoyed it all and the highlight was being with Dennis and Teri.
Thursday - more sunshine, less wind - yeah!!! We checked out of the hotel, stopped at Brennan's for coffee and bagels and "on the road" again. 3-hour trip to Muskegon and since we brought our laundry with us when we left Tuesday, went straight to the laundromat and got that job done - 2 loads. Tomorrow we'll be turning in our rental car. Then to Catrina and unloaded all our stuff and clean clothes. Had lunch, put some things away and then off for my mani/pedi at Cindy's Nails and Spa. While I was getting pampered, Mark went to Wal-Mart for some groceries and 2 Rx and a treat at Cold Stone Creamery. We stopped for gas, ice and on home. Ready to just chill and of course, naptime!
Went for a walk after supper - there's a big fishing tournament here at Adelaide Pointe this weekend. It started today and there are lots of fishermen and women here. They can have up to 9 poles and catch 15 (keep best 5). They leave at 6 AM and must be in by 1:30 PM.
Hello from Gaylord, MI. No blog update tonight. I will catch up on Thursday when we return to Muskegon.
MAEVE is TEN
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Not only are we thinking of Maeve today, it's also the birthday of Mark's sister, Karen (Auntie), my good friend Allie and our neighbor for many years, Angie (who died in 2009).
After I got up and my head was more stable, we did the exercises (Mark is THEE best once again as my nurse, caregiver and exercise driller) and then off to another coffee shop (there are 11 in Muskegon)!!!
Today we went to Aldea - nice decor in a new building but made to look old with brick walls, tin ceiling, etc. But disappointed that they only had blueberry muffins and cookies for food; the muffin was very good, but no microwave to warm up! We remember only one other place (Crafted in Bloomington) that does not have a microwave and Mark and I can't figure out what it would take to add a small microwave to heat up the food and make their customers "happy"! It's the little things.....
Then we drove all around Muskegon checking out various things including our friends Leon and Helen's home. We were there a few times several years ago - it is now on the market. Helen passed away November 5, 2024 and Leon is in ICU very ill. Yesterday, Mark had a long chat with their boys (Ian and Andy). We have so many happy memories of boating times with them....
Leon and Helen graduated from Catholic Central here in Muskegon - we have Central Catholic in Bloomington.
Back to Catrina at 11:45 - lunch and then our obligatory naps. 😀
It's really hazy again today but can't smell the smoke.
Tonight our friend from CT who was born and raised in Muskegon picked us up at the marina and took us on a very enjoyable tour of her hometown of which she's so proud. We had dinner at BoDocks - great food and nice place on Muskegon Lake. Then we drove around some more, into North Muskegon where she lives and back home! FUN outing!
I play euchre and canasta with Linda.
Did facetime with the birthday girl when we got home.
Mark and I are taking a little road trip tomorrow and visit some of our favorite Lake Michigan ports we haven't been to in many years. He's getting antsy to go somewhere + get me off the boat! 😉
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKE
Another family birthday (3rd so far in July with 2 more coming) - today it's all about Brooke, our dear daughter-in-law (wife to Michael and Mom to Drew, Davis, Brady and Blair). So thankful to have her in the family for almost 28 years!!! She's a Keeper!
Tah dah...clear skies today and no smoke smell. It's very windy though.
Mornings continue to be weird for me....wake up and always fearful for how it's gonna be getting out of bed and on with the day. Head just seems to be discombobulated but with Mark's help, I'm up and going. I cannot imagine having this "vestibular dysfunction" and being by myself...............no way!!!!!!!
We drove around the Lakeside area where the 11th Annual Fresh Coast Fitness Festival is going on in Marquette Park today and tomorrow- packed place at 8 AM and involves weight lifting and other competitions finding the fittest and freshest individuals and teams in the Midwest.
Kept on driving and downtown Muskegon is host to Rebel Road, Muskegon's Biker Rally, a 4-day event drawing 100,000 visitors and 70,000 bikes. Downtown had several streets blocked off with many food trucks, vendors and porta potties!!!
We found the Exchange Coffee Bar and enjoyed our coffee and white chocolate cherry scone (me) and breakfast sandwich (Mark) sitting outside. Back to the car and Mark wanted to check out West Marine as he had a gift card from Father's Day. Several of these stores are closing including this one but he found several things marked down and they had a good-size inventory.
Then we drove south 20 minutes to Grand Haven, a very nice town that was busy busy this Saturday - the downtown was bustling with families, dogs and people everywhere enjoying the nice day. We were last here June 8-9, 2006 and remember refurbished old buildings converted into shops, condos, etc. Downtown is really neat with so many shops, restaurants, etc. We walked and walked along the waterfront with so many boats and today was the big Rock the Coast Poker Run attracting dozens of cigarette (go-fast boats) from all over (we saw one from Las Vegas).
Got some ice cream at Temptations and then stopped at the West Marine in Grand Haven and Mark did a little more shopping. Back to Muskegon and Catrina. I did some of my vestibular exercises and then nap time.
Another wedding on the pier today - smaller with just 3 bridesmaids in green - yesterday had the smoke, today, the strong wind.
We had an early dinner at the Muskegon Brewing Co. which is here at the marina - Mark had the beet salad with smoked pork and I had the walleye tacos - all delish! Walked around the marina but so crazy windy! Around 5ish we noticed the haze moving in over the water and the smell of smoke - more alerts on our phones. UGH!
Tonight Connor and friends made their musical debut at the "Make Music Normal" festival in Uptown Normal. Wish we could've been there and so glad the show went on after some heavy rain!
