Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

March 17-April 11 Time in Ft. Lauderdale & Palm Beach

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

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We really enjoyed our time at Las Olas Marina in Ft. Lauderdale.  It has a great location, just a block from the beach.  We entertained Patrick & Lawrence (friends from Saugatuck), Doug & Gregg (friends from Atlanta) as well as local friends, Daniel, Rob, Jordan, Stephane, Shawn, Greg & Mark.  After a few days we moved on to Palm Beach where Tally-Ho spent 5 days in the Palm Beach Boat Show. While there we spent time with an old Key West friend, Jeannie McIntosh.  We also drove over to the Wellington Show Grounds and attended the $500,000 Grand Prix as guest of friends, Roger & Jennifer Smith from Tryon & Wellington.  On May 29 Tally-Ho moved to Cable Marine on the New River in Ft. Lauderdale where she will remain until sold.  After getting us settled in Steve & Summer moved on to another chapter in their lives.  We reflect on the year that the 4 of us spent onboard.  What great times we had.  We wish them all the best with new endeavors.  We also enjoyed a week living onboard with just the 2 of us & Dugan & Dylan.  The privacy was great.  During that time we attended polo matches in Wellington, the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, a rodeo in Ft. Lauderdale as well as dinners onboard and off with friends and on our own.  It felt kind of good to start looking after ourselves again.  While there we hired Captain Bill to look in on Tally-Ho daily and keep her ready to show to prospective buyers.  On April 11 we moved off and drove to Savannah and on to Tryon the next day.  What a year & a half we had!  One of the most memorable & enjoyable periods in our lives.  Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

February 14-March 16 A month on South Beach

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

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After leaving the Ocean Reef Club we spent a wonderful month rediscovering Miami’s South Beach.  We docked at Sunset Harbour Yacht Club, just a 5 minute walk to the beginning of Lincoln Road.  We thoroughly enjoyed a visit from our good friends Peter & Gussy who joined us for the Miami Boat Show.  We were fortunate to have our friends Jeff, with Sea Loafers III, and Stephane & Shawn, with WOLO (we only live once), docked near us.  We had lots of wonderful venues aboard all 3 yachts.  It was very special.  Our Canadian friends, Rick & John with their friends Don & Karen, came down for the boat show & joined us for a fun party on Jeff’s boat.  Jeff also included our friends, Jonathan, Adam, Natalie & Daniel, along with our crew, Steve & Summer.  Too much fun!  We also spent a special day with Daniel who hosted us at the PGA tournament at the Doral Country Club ( Blue Monster) , sponsored by Cadillac.  We were 10′ away from Tiger Woods!  We enjoyed a week on land with a trip to Tryon, during which we celebrated Trip’s birthday (at friends John and Cindy’s) and went to the Tryon Hounds annual Hunt Ball with a group of our Foxhunting friends.  Wonderful evenings on Lincoln Road and sunny afternoons on Miami Beach capped off a great time and a new appreciation for South Beach!

February 9-13 The Annual Burger Rendezvous

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

img_0690.JPGimg_0682.JPGimg_0678.JPGimg_0680.JPGimg_0681.JPGimg_0685.JPGOcean Reef Club off Key Largo was the setting for the rendezvous.  20 Burgers of a variety of sizes attended from all over the US.  It was a great time to meet fellow boaters who are proud to own what many feel is “the Rolls Royce of yachts”.  The weekend was kicked off with a cocktail party aboard the owner of the Burger Company’s private mega-yacht, Ingot.  Seminars were held during the day & each evening was a dinner party for all the attendees.  The final night capped off the weekend with the “yacht hop”, a chance to tour most of the yachts.  Burger no longer builds 81′ yachts such as Tally-Ho.  Now they are all over 100′ so, once again, we were one of the smaller boats in the harbor.  It was an eye opening & informative weekend.

February 1-8 Current Island, Paradise Island & Bimini, Bahamas

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

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January 16-31 Spanish Wells & Harbour Island, Bahamas

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

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We sadly left Key West & spent the first night in Islamorada & then on to Coconut Grove for a night with friends before crossing the Gulfstream.  It was intesting passing the “stilt houses” in Biscayne Bay on our way to the marina.  The next day we cruised on passing Bimini with relatively calm seas to the Berry Islands & spent the night at Chub Cay.  In this area lobster are very plentiful so we celebrated our first evening with a lobster dinner, grilled to perfection by Captain Steve.  The next day we passed more dolphin and tortoises on our way to Spanish Wells, part of Eleuthera.  Here we were joined by Stephen & Jonathan, 2 friends from Key West.  Together we all cruised with a special Pilot we brought aboard to take us through “The Devils Backbone” on to Harbour Island, one of our favorite places, where we spent 10 days at Valentine’s Marina, in the heart of the action in HI.  We all got around by golf cart & enjoyed some great restaurants & fun night spots.  Conch is the seafood of choice & we enjoyed it as chowder, ceviche, fritters, etc.  HI is famous for it’s pink sand beaches & we spent numerous days enjoying it & the “people watching”.  Zulu Dancers, horseback riding, dog walkers, etc. make the beach very interesting.  Dylan & Dugan loved their time shredding coconuts in the sand and basking in the sunshine.  Fortunately our time in HI also overlapped with our fun friends Carol & Bart from Lake Forest and Saugatuck along with 4 of their friends (George, Suzie, John and Crinnie). We had alot of good laughs…  Our friend Daniel from Sao Paulo, Brazil flew in to spend our last few days in HI with us. More beach, great food and “Goombay Smashes”…  At the end of his weekend stay we cruised with our same Pilot “Bandit” and his homemade “Bahama Johnnycakes” back to Spanish Wells where Daniel took a water taxi back to the North Eleuthera airport & flew home.  He was our first guest brave enough to dive off the flybridge of Tally-Ho. On to some “Out Islands” and Nassau…

Yacht Shots

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

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Several of you have mentioned that we need some exterior & interior photos of Tally-Ho on the blog.  So here they are.  Enjoy!

December 15-January 16 A Month in Key West. Just the Best!

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

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Our month in Key West was as enjoyable a time as we’ve had there in a long time ( after living there for over 25 years).  So many great memories!  We had visits from Trip’s parents, Bud & Joann for Christmas, Virginia friends, Alan & Keith, Trip’s brother Rick from New York, our friend Sam from Saugatuck, our boat broker/friend Jonathan from Newport, RI & Alan’s neice Chris & her husband, Tony from Naples.  Great memories include morning walks at Smather’s Beach with our friend Barb, a wonderful Christmas dinner with Barb & Peggy, a tour of all the Key West Christmas lights, Trip’s sister Kate & husband Jamie in town with their 4 children, New Year’s eve with Sushi dropping in her ruby slipper on Duval Street, a party hosted by Claude & Paul, a friend’s 50th birthday celebration weekend with 55 of his best friends from around the country, movies at Tropic Cinema, a day of “fishing” aboard Peter & Gussy’s boat, a fun party hosted by Jonathon & Stephen, a dinner party hosted by Kent & Guillermo, La Te Da tea dances, etc., etc.  Whew!  It was very special having our old friend Jeff on his yacht, Sea Loafer  III, docked near us and the good times we had onboard as well as meeting new friends, Albert, Brandon & Glen, on Jonathan III, docked a few slips down from us.  In addition we had lunches, brunches, dinners & many cocktail parties aboard Tally-Ho entertaining over 150 great old & new friends. It was the Best Of Times In “CAYO HUESO”!!!  Now on to the Bahamas…

January 14-December 15 We finish the Great Loop

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

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Arriving in Key West after 11 months was the end of our Great Loop Journey.  It was an amazing part of our lives.  Great memories of people, places, sights & adventures.  We will never forget it.  We now plan to be in Key West for a month & then on to the Bahamas & South Florida for a few months.  Then we will see where the water takes us.

November 18-December 15 Cruising Florida’s Gulf Coast

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

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We always enjoy time in Tarpon Springs.  It’s “Old Florida” with a Greek influence.  Actually the spongeing industry moved from Key West to Tarpon Springs many years ago & brought in the influence.  There are some great Greek churches & restaurants with an interesting waterfront.  From there we moved on to Clearwater with it’s beautiful beach & sunsets.  The next day we passed Tampa Bay, entered Sarasota Bay & docked at Longboat Key Marina.  Our friends from Tryon, Frank & Ann, graciously gave us the use of their slip for 10 days while we flew to Annapolis, MD to join Trip’s family for Thanksgiving.  22 people for dinner is quite an effort but his sister Kate & her husband Jamie made it seem effortless.  While in Longboat we explored Sarasota & St. Armand’s.  Great shops & restaurants.  We continued down the Gulf Coast ICW passing one of the last turning bridges in existence.  Our first stop was Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island, a beautiful island town with streets going under a canopy of banyan trees.  Then it was on to a weekend in Punta Gorda where we were docked in a position to have front row center seats for their annual Lighted Christmas Boat Parade.  Punta Gorda was devistated by a hurricane several years ago & is finishing up rebuilding so almost everything is new.  Historic markers only make mention of a historic building that “used to be” in this location.  Fisherman’s Village still resembles “old Gulf Coast Florida”.  After that it was on to Cabbage Key, one of the most fascinating stops on our entire trip.  It is only accessible by boat & has 3 private homes & a marina with a great old club.  The restaurant/bar walls & ceiling are covered with 50,000 autographed dollar bills, inlcuding one signed by JFK, Jr.    Then it was on to Fort Myers where we docked right next to many old shrimp boats.  Alan’s neice, Chris, who lives in Naples, drove over & took us for a tour of Sanibel & Captiva.  While leaving the boat there we flew to New York City for a long weekend to enjoy the Christmas store windows, Rockefeller Center, great restaurants, shopping, theatre, etc.  We spent the weekend with our friends, Stephen & Jonathan, from Key West and Trip’s Brother Rick.  Once back on board we picked a good day to do the crossing to Key West.  We left at sunrise and cruised in rough seas reaching Key West late afternoon.  Cruise ships in the harbor are the first thing you can spot when approaching.  Arriving in Key West was the finish of our 11 month, 6,000 mile, 66 Locks, 108 Ports of Call and Anchorages  “Great Loop Adventure”.  WE DID IT!  It was a sureal adventure and the trip of a lifetime! The memories will last forever, especially all of the Great Friends and Family we saw along our 6,000 mile voyage!!!

November 8-17 Cruising the Florida Panhandle

Saturday, November 20th, 2010

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We left Mobile, Alabama behind & spent the first 3 hours just crossing Mobile Bay, a big shallow body of water.  Heading east on the Gulf ICW we crossed back into Florida, a state we had left 7 months ago.  The “Redneck Riviera” turned out to be very enjoyable, especially by water, which we’ve learned can create an entire new picture.  We had heard of some of the most beautiful beaches in America, but we also discovered some very interesting history & great fishing villages.  Pensacola seems like a town with all the infrastructure in place, ready for the next economic boom & hoping it will be sooner rather than later…  Settlement there first occured before even Jamestown & St. Augustine were established.  Continuing through the “Grand Canyon” part of the ICW we ran into our dolphin friends again.  Dugan & Dylan were captivated on the edge of the fly bridge watching as many as 6 of them put on an amazing show…  After a night in Fort Walton Beach we cruised on to Panama City where we were fortunate to dock right downtown.  Fun town with good energy & very few empty shops, something we had not seen very often.  Downtown had parks & fountains & great places to walk the pups.  We saw one of the most beautiful sunsets of the trip right at the marina!  After more dolphin shows along the way we arrived in Apalachicola, in the middle of what they refer to as Florida’s “Forgotten Coast”.  Seems like a title the locals like.  We docked along the waterfront right in the middle of all the shrimp and oyster boats.  We liked it so much that we spent an extra night here.  Reminded us of Key West 25 years ago.  It’s a great fishing village with lots of historic homes, one of the most attractive cemeteries we had ever seen &, of course, world famous Apalachicola Bay oysters.  I think we had oysters for every meal except one.  We then left for Carrabelle, noted for having the world’s smallest police station.  It is also the jumping off point for boats leaving the Panhandle & on to the Gulf Coast of Florida.  Next stop, across the Gulf to Tarpon Springs.

November 2-7 Cruising the Blackhawk Tenn-Tom Waterway to Mobile

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

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Our first stop was Pickensville, AL where we borrowed the courtesy car at the marina to check out the energy in Carrollton & Aliceville as well.  Not so much!  We did enjoy the visitor’s center for the Tombigbee Waterway.  The following day we passed amazing white granite cliffs lining the side of the waterway & that night we anchored out & enjoyed the solitude of a beautiful cove near Demopolis, AL.  The next night we stayed at Bobbie’s Fish Camp, a perfect example of a river fishing camp in southern Alabama.  We had dinner at the “lodge” & enjoyed their specialty-fried catfish & hush puppies!  The next day we cruised on to Mobile & experienced our final lock for the Great Loop which also had a spectacular spillway.  60 locks in all!  Whew!!  Cruising under the “Dolly Parton Bridge” was a treat.  We had our longest run of the trip (12 hours), arrived after dark & stayed on the south side of the city in the beautiful Dog River.  Mobile proved to be a pleasant surprise.  Very cool downtown, a mini version of New Orleans.  It’s Mardi Gras celebration predates New Orleans by over 100 years.  We spent a half day at Bellingrath Gardens, a must see for anyone visiting Mobile.  We had lunch downtown one day & met 2 great guys, Criss & David, who later had a tour of Tally-Ho & dinner with us.   

October 25-November 1 Cruising the Tenn-Tom Waterway through Tennessee & Mississippi

Friday, November 5th, 2010

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We learned that prior to 1985, if you wanted to cruise from Chicago to the Gulf, the only option was “The Muddy Mississippi” full of barges, dangerous currents, whirlpools & major floating debris.  The 12 year, 234 mile long, 2 billion dollar project called the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway(“The Tenn-Tom”) connected those 2 rivers.  More dirt was moved to build it and it’s 10 locks than the Panama Canal.  Only 2 manmade projects can be seen from outer space & that is this waterway & the Great Wall of China.  Who knew?  After leaving Nashville we reboarded & headed south on the Tennessee River with it’s cliffs & beautiful fall foliage.  Our first stop was Clifton, TN (with floating docks that can lift over 30′ for spring flooding) where we visited Savannah, TN & toured the Tennessee River Museum.  Clifton is home to the Cherry Mansion where General Grant stayed during the Civil War & the battle at Shiloh.  The next stop was on Pickwick Lake at Grand Harbor Marina. This is a very special area where Tenn., Miss. & Al. all meet…  An evening at Freddy T’s restaurant was capped with a stop along the road where a group was enjoying the “Porta Party”, a karaoke stage on a trailer.  As one of the gals said “you are now in redneck hell”.  The people couldn’t have been more friendly. Who knew our Capt. Steve was such a good singer and great Johnny Cash entertainer!!  We really enjoyed it.  The next day included a trip to Shiloh battlefied where the harsh realities of the Civil War hit home.  23,000 died at Shiloh, over 600,000 in the entire war.  Obviously it had to happen but what a price to pay!?!  The next day we went through 3 more locks (biggest was a 85′ drop) & the next stop was Fulton, MS & Midway Marina.  We were invited to celebrate Halloween in the clubhouse with about 100 other locals & fellow cruisers.  Thank God for costumes a-la-Walmart.  The Tenn-Tom created an amazing display of environmental & natural wildlife sites thanks to the conscientious planning & engineering on the part of the US Army Corp of Engineers.  The next cruising day included another 3 locks & a stop in Columbus, MS.  Columbus was where we toured the home of local boy Tennessee Williams (his birthplace) as well as other historic homes.  It has 50+ homes on the National Register & is well worth a visit.  On into Alabama… 

October 11-24 Two weeks on Terra-Firma

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

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We docked in a little town 1 1/2 hours west of Nashville named New Johnsonville for 2 weeks while we rented a car & drove to Tryon.  We were able to get caught up on some business & socialize (imagine that!) with friends & family.  We spent time with Trip’s parents as well as many other friends.  Highlights included celebrating our friend Cee Cee’s 50th birthday with the birthday girl as well as Ron, John & Danae.  It was great to be able to include a hunt breakfast & catch up with our many hunting friends as well as being able to take in the annual “Shukin N Shagin” night at FENCE.  After a week in Tryon we went on our annual hiking trip to Snowbird Mountain Lodge in the Great Smokey Mountain National Forest with our friends Maude, Don & Phyllis.  That is such a treat with the leaves changing color & being able to enjoy the lodge, with wonderful fires, games and gourmet food- a very special place!  We then headed west & capped off our time away with a long weekend in Nashville, a place we had never been to.  It really is an enjoyable city with a great historic downtown & many beautiful parks.  We stayed in the convenient Church Street/West End area & were able to walk the dogs at Centennial Park which boasts the only full size replica of The Parthenon in the world.  We got to some great restaurants & had seats on Saturday night to the Grand Ole Opry.  We are not big country music fans but they really put on a show.  Featured singers included Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, Jimmie Dickens (89 years old) & The Rocky Top Boys.  We then drove back to New Johnsonville & boarded “Tally-Ho” with our wonderful crew (Steve and Summer) who had gotten alot done aboard to begin our trip south to Mobile.

October 6-10 Leaving St. Louis & on into Tennessee

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

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We left the St. Louis area & cruised past the famous Arch heading south on the Mississippi River.  Our first lock was our worst experience out of the many locks we’ve encountered.  It was full of debris with tremendous current.  Captain Steve got us through unscathed except for torn fender covers, a minor fix.  Amazing barge traffic with the largest being a tug pushing 42 barges, all tied together, larger than a football field.  Also, great sights of old paddle wheel boats, some now turned into casinos.  Our first night was spent tied up to a group of old barges at Hoppie’s Marina in Kimmswick, MO.  We got a lecture from Fern (Mrs. Hoppie) about what to expect heading south.  Floating logs, major barge traffic, huge whirlpools, strong currents & no marinas for the next 300 miles….  The old town of Kimmswick was very interesting with 200 residents & 40 historic buildings in the National Register.  Another day on the mighty Miss with all her sights brought us to Diversion Channel, a safe cove off the river.  We lowered the tender, “Little Ho”, & ferried Dylan & Dugan to the muddy shore for some relief.  The next day we experienced the ferocious whirlpools & made it safely to a left turn up the Ohio River, a real relief.  The Ohio brought us past the town of Metropolis, home of “Superman”, with a Harrah’s Casino on shore.  Another night of anchoring out found us in the Cumberland Island Towhead, where the Cumberland meets the Ohio River.  The next morning we locked through a major lock that brought us 57′ higher & into Lake Barkley, a really beautiful reservoir.  We stayed at Kentucky Lake Dam Marina & encountered a huge bass fishing tournement on our arrival.  Kentucky Lake is “houseboat heaven”.  The vessel next to us was a houseboat over 20′ wide & 110′ long with 6 staterooms and a slide off the stern, something everyone needs!?!?  We cruised down the beautiful Kentucky Lake that had been dammed so there were old buildings still visible jutting out of the water & into the Tennessee River with amazing Fall foliage.  Tally-Ho docked at Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville, TN (an hour from Nashville) where she will stay with our crew for 2 weeks while we return to Tryon for some foxhunting, visits with friends and family, our annual hiking trip to Snowbird Mountain Lodge in the Great Smoky Mountains & a weekend in Nashville on the way back to “Tally-Ho”. 

October 2-5 A long weekend in St. Louis

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

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Even though we had been to or through St. Louis several times we never really enjoyed it like we did this time.  We visited the famous “Arch” (the tallest monument in the world) & the Lewis & Clark museum below it.  Very informative about the famous expedition of Lewis & Clark, settlers moving west & the Indians we treated rather poorly.  We toured downtown & saw the orginial Missouri capital.  A visit to the Anheuser-Busch brewery was really interesting since the tour included the Clydesdales & the great old historic stables they live in.  Several of the buildings are included in the National Register of Historic Places.  We were so happy to be able to spend an evening with an old friend of Trip’s from school days in England.  It had only been 30+ years since he had seen her.  Anne & her husband Harry are still very involved with horses & Harry is a world renowned bronze sculptor.  One of his works being the larger than life Lewis & Clark likeness below the Arch downtown & along the Mississippi River.  One of the other highlights of our weekend was an afternoon at the Missouri Botanical Garden, considered one of the top 3 in the world with the largest Japanese Gardens in North America!  Really spectacular. 

September 27-October 1 Cruising Chicago to St. Louis

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

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After a great time in Chicago we set about the task of lowering our overall height for the 2nd time to get under what will be the lowest bridge (19’8″) on the entire “Loop”.  We were able to get our bimini & mast down to 19’6″.  It will be close but we decided to keep our fingers crossed & go for it.  We left Chicago & went down the Calumet Sag Channel to the Illinois River.  Captain Steve carefully waited until another boat’s wake settled down & slowly glided under the bridge with 2″ to spare.  Whew!  After that it was back to several locks which dropped us several hundred feet from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River.  All the other bridges were some form of draw bridges & went up magically as we approached.  As beautiful as the Illinois River is, it has very different facilities to tie up at night than we enountered in the first half of our trip.  One night we tied up in the oldest abandoned lock on the river, built in 1872, in Henry, IL.  Seemed more like Mexico than the US.  Another night was simply tied to an old barge, loaded with lumber, outside of Beardstown, IL, a town that time forgot.  Tally-Ho screamed “where am I”?  We saw amazing sights including huge flocks of American White Pelicans & schools of Asian Carp, leaping out of the water in our wake as we approached Peoria, IL.  The weather was idyllic & we entertained all the barge & tug captains by sunning & reading in the chaise lounges on the bow.  Our Captain & 1st Mate, Steve & Summer, decided the Illinois River captains had never seen this before.  It was interesting to see beautiful farm land & houses built on stilts to accommodate the periodic flooding.  In Grafton, IL we docked by the confluence of the Illinois & Mississippi Rivers with the Missouri flowing in just down stream.  Amazing granite cliffs on 1 side with lowlands on the other.  We docked for a long weekend in Alton, IL, just outside of St. Louis.  The entire marina (buildings, docks,pool, etc.) are floating to be able to raise up as much as 30 feet during flooding.  Alton is a great little town with dozens of antique shops & fine restaurants.  A pleasant surprise.

September 22-27 Bon Voyage Saugatuck – Hello Chicago!

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

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With a windy front forecasted to come through in a couple days we decided to leave Saugatuck a day early & ended up with a relatively smooth trip to Michigan City, Indiana with our friend Ben aboard.  We ended arriving with a glorious sunset off our starboard & a full moon rising off our port.  It was magical.  We were joined in MC by our friends Erik & Joe where we docked at the historic lighthouse. The next day we cruised into the Burnham Marina in Chicago giving us a headstart on a weekend in one of our favorite cities.  Evenings included a wonderful Italian restaurant with our friends & crew, an amazing dinner at Gibsons Steak House, cocktails aboard our friend Chris’s 83′ Burger (Goodtimes), a night out on the town, a cocktail party onboard for Trip’s cousins Chris, Kim, Patrick & their families & a dinner with our friend Peter from Saugatuck & Chicago.  Once again we were reminded about one of the special parts of this whole voyage, namely catching up with friends & family who join us along our journey.  We were also able to spend time with old friends Mark, Matt & Chadd as well as new friends Victor, John, Chris, Peter, Gabe & Ryan.  Lots of excursions, museums & shopping on Michigan Avenue rounded out our weekend.  Next step, Tally-Ho’s bimini & mast come down for the 2nd time to continue south. 

September 1-22 Summer to Autumn in Saugatuck

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

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It was a real treat for us to stay later in Saugatuck.  Our normal routine had us leaving right after Labor Day.  We enjoyed several more fun cocktail/dinner cruises aboard Tally-Ho with friends, house guests & relatives.  We also had several benefit functions aboard that we donated to our local community.  We enjoyed a Macatawa Bay Boat Works cruise for our good friend Jon with all of his employees & a rocking party for 35 friends to kick off Labor Day weekend with our friends and houseguests Judith from Los Angeles & Mark from Chicago.  We were also able to host a Van Wieren dinner cruise for several of Alan’s neices & nephews, including Jan & Paul, Chris, Barb & Jackie & Larry.  All in all it was a gorgeous ending to a wonderful summer in Saugatuck-our summer home and favoite summer spot for over 10 years…

July 25-August 31 Summertime in Saugatuck

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

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We are halfway through our time here & it has been a glorious summer.  Sunset cocktail/dinner cruises aboard Tally-Ho, boat rides on our 1942 23′ Chris Craft Triple Cockpit Barrelback, beach dinners, really warm weather for swimming in Lake Michigan, some wonderful house guests from all over, catching up with our West Michigan friends, farmer’s markets, antique shows, great restaurants, etc.  Saugatuck was voted the “Coolest Small Town in America” this year.  We plan to be here until late September & then continue the other half of our “Great Loop” trip (back to our starting point in Key West) with a weekend in Chicago & then south down the rivers to the Gulf.  Houseguests so far have included Trip’s parents, Bud & Joann, Trip’s uncle Gregg from San Francisco, Alan & Keith from Virginia, Arnold & Dona from Baltimore & Stephanie & Andrew from Frederick, MD. 

July 20-24 On to Leland, Ludington, Whitehall & Saugatuck for the summer

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

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We left Charlevoix & cruised on a smooth Lake Michigan for the 4 hour trip to Leland & historic old Fishtown.  We stayed in the township marina for 2 nights.  Fishtown is a wonderfully preserved original old fishing village.  It almost fell prey to a wrecking ball & developers but was saved thanks to some very generous people.  The 2nd day our friends Jon & Mark came to join us for dinner on board & to be with us for the final leg of our journey.  The next day we cruised past Sleeping Bear Dunes, the 2nd largest sand dunes in the world to Ludington.  We docked right downtown & had our Key West friends Carole & Jerry with their daughter Taylor & a friend of theirs on board for cocktails & then went to their Lake Michigan cottage for dinner.  The next day we cruised in rough seas to Whitehall & the White Lake Yacht Club, a great club largely unchanged in 50 years.  We had our Tryon friends David & Izzy with a large part of their family for cocktails & then went to their 1920’s cottage boasting views of both Lake Michigan & White Lake.  We had a fun dinner & enjoyed their wonderful family.  We left the White Lake Yacht Club, through the channel with a great lighthouse & again cruised into an angry Lake Michigan.  The 2 roughest days of our entre trip so far proved to be on Lake Michigan.  We cruised into familiar waters past Saugatuck dunes & beach & safely docked downtown at Tower Marine overlooking the historic ship, The Keewatin,  for the rest of the summer.  The 6 of us had a champagne toast as we idled down the Kalamazoo River.  We found our cottage with the Casa Blanca lilies in full bloom & the gardens a welcome site.  It will be nice to have land legs for a couple months & enjoy Tally-Ho with our friends.