Still playing catch up!!!

Getting to Chicago was not without difficulty or peril. We had an overheating situation with the main engine...Boat US could not come out for us, nor could Manitowoc Marine, where we were headed for routine service...Soooooo, the US Coast Guard, my Alma mater, came out for us...As you can see, the visibility was under 100 feet, so it was a long slow tow...

 Coming into Chicago, we had the tops of the towers visible for 40 miles, but it was an impressive skyline

 The ship below is a retired ferry boat from Canada...The Columbia Yacht Club uses it as a Clubhouse...

This is a view from the bridge of our little tug...Our friends on Penny Pinchin were docked in front of us ...

They let us wander around the ship...A real classic old helm...Brought back memories of my first CG Cutter (circa 1937)

 Coming out of Chicago via the Chicago River, we were treated to magnificent architecture...

These signs were posted as we passed through the Electric Fish Barrier...It's supposed to keep invasive Asian Carp out of thr Great Lakes...No one is sure how well it works, but apparently they don't want you to touch the water...

 

Of course, Eagles and White Pelicans added a lot to the trip down the rivers...We were impressed...

 The rivers are noted for riverboats, and we saw many...

Passing the St.Louis Arch was a real thrill...Not as much as the Statue of Liberty, but really cool...

 A minor interruption to our trip in the form of Hurricane Joaquin...Our neighbors were worried enough to request we be in New Bern...Although it wasn't as bad as it could have been, the water came up a lot...I always told Linda I could walk on water - I just had to prove it...I'm still having trouble with that water-wine thing...

This is a sunset on Raccoon Creek, an anchorage off the Tennessee River...

 At one of the marinas, Billy got up early and baked cinnamon bus fresh every day...

 This is an exclusive private high school on the Tennessee River

Just another crappy day at the office...A little early for the fall colors ...

From Raccoon Creek, on the way back from Chattanooga.. Our alternator burned up and we needed BoatUS to tow us to Goose Pond...18 miles, $742... Insurance covered it all...As an aside, we had no cell coverage and no contact on the VHF Marine Radio...Our little Delorme tracking device uses satellite comms and we were able to text BoatUS for assistance...

As you can see, Chewy proved he could sleep anywhere, anytime...

A picture of our boat at Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama...Chewy and I were in the tender going for a relief stop...

This is one of our fondest memories...This is a pin, or floating  bollard in the locks...There are ten in each lock...You pull up to one and tie on to it...They go up or down with the lock water...Very easy...This one was autographed to us by two of our friends, John and Jan on Mitzvah, and Dennis and Carol on Reunion...We wondered what the chances were that we would pick this particular pin?  Great karma...

 Linda getting a little big dog time with Lucy on Grand Baron...

 Another majestic eagle...

 A different type of Eagle...Lots of military along the way including several Air Force and Naval Flight facilities...

 DON'T ASK...WE DON'T KNOW...ON THE TENN-TOMM WATERWAY...

 A BETTER VIEW...

Much delayed post–so sorry–too much fun

 

Our last post was to Orillia,Ontario and we have been so bad…I will try and bring everything up to date along with photos…Since then, we have travelled through the Georgian Bay, to The North Channel, across Lake Huron, down Lake Michigan, to Chicago, and down the Midwest river system…We are currently in Scottsboro, AL after a side trip to Chattanooga, TN…

This contraption at Big Chute on the Trent Severn Waterway is a marine railway that we all had to ‘ride’ over the road and down a hill in place of a conventional lock…All though there are several theories of why they did it it, including keeping invasive species out of the Georgian Bay, the truth is that concrete was in short supply, and there wasn’t enough to build a lock…

A couple of our travel companions…

 

 

The view looking down…

 

Just another sunset on The Georgian Bay…

 

 

 

These are some of the views along the canals of the Georgian Bay…These are known as cottages…

 

This old formation is a remnant of the Indian culture which is very prominent in Canada…

 

 

Some very dramatic pictures of a severe cold front as viewed from Killbear Provincial Park on the Georgian Bay…This storm caused tremendous damage in the Toronto area, south of us…Nice view of the back of my head, too!!!

 

Some of the Lighthouses coming across Lake Michigan…

ORILLIA TO PARRY SOUND

THIS WAS ONE OF THE LOCKS ON THE TRENT SEVERNE WITH OUR FRIENDS “PENNY PINCHIN” BEHIND US….JIM AND ROBIN BROUGHT PIZZA FOR DINNER AND WE HAD A FABULOUS TIME…GOOD FRIENDS, GOOD TIMES!

THIS IS OUR FRIENDS, MIKE AND RUTH, HOME IN ORILLIA WHERE THEY AND THEIR NEIGHBORS WELCOMED US TO THEIR DOCK FOR A FEW DAYS. WHAT A FABULOUS PLACE AND THEY TREATED US LIKE ROYALITY…TAKING US SHOPPING AND SIGHTSEEING. DINED OUT WITH THE PULCINES ON ONE NIGHT AND THE NEXT WITH MORE FRIENDS:

BY COUPLES LEFT TO RIGHT: MIKE AND RUTH SCHULLER, RALPHIE AND ME, JIM ADAMSON AND FIANCEE’ ROBIN COCKBURN, DAVE AND ROSEMARY MARKS. GREAT CHINESE BUFFETT…YUMMY!

MIKE AND RUTH LEAVING ON THEIR TRIP MONDAY MORNING AS WE DEPART AND CONTINUE ON OUR WAY AFTER A BRIEF REPAIR AT CRATE’S MARINA…THANK YOU MARK!!!!!

CONTINUING ON OUR WAY BRINGS SOME INTERESTING SIGHTS AS WE GET CLOSER TO THE “BIG CHUTE”.

SOME OF THESE COTTAGES ARE LARGE….I WOULD BE HAPPY TO LIVE IN JUST THE BOATHOUSES!

THIS IS THE ‘BIG CHUTE’ MARINE RAILWAY…I AM GOING TO POST PICS OF OTHER BOATS GOING THRU…BASICALLY YOU ENTER, YOUR BOAT IS PLACED IN A SLING AND YOU ARE CARRIED OVER THE ROADWAY ON RAILROAD TRACKS TO THE OTHER SIDE:

THIS WAS US IN THE CHUTE WITH A SMALLER VESSEL OFF OUR STERN…THERE WAS A TOTAL OF THREE VESSELS….FOLLOWING PICS ARE OF THE WAY DOWN:

 

INTERESTING RIDE BUT SOMEHOW AFTER ALL THE HYPE I WAS A BIT DISSAPPOINTED…..JUST DIDN’T SEEM BIG ENOUGH…..BUT GREAT FUN!

DOCKED AT THE FLOATING DOCK JUST PAST THE CHUTE FOR THE NIGHT WITH FOUR OTHER LOOPER BOATS: ‘PATRIOT’, ‘PENNY PINCHIN’, ‘FIELD TRIP’, AND ‘SPIRIT’. NEEDLESS TO SAY DOCTAILS WERE GREAT!

 

TRAVELING TO THE GEORGIAN BAY WAS TRULY BEAUTIFUL….MANY SMALL ISLANDS AND MORE ‘COTTAGES’…

I LOVE THESE STONE MONUMENTS SEEN ALL ALONG THE WAY IN THE GEORGIAN BAY…..I KNOW THEY HAVE A STORY BUT CANNOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME RECALL WHAT IT IS…..WE SPENT ONE NIGHT AT ANCHORAGE AROUND WRECK ISLAND AND MOVED ON TO KILLBEAR MARINA….VERY NICE PLACE WITH A RESTAUANT, STORE AND MARINA STORE….NO WIFI SO …SPENT A COUPLE DAYS…NASTY STORM ONE NITE:

UNDERSTAND THERE WERE MANY POWER OUTAGES AND MUCH DAMAGE FROM THESE CLOUDS…WE WERE VERY LUCKY.