Tuesday July 26, 2022

Temperature 81 Degrees, Abundant Sunshine, Some Clouds

Till We Meet Again

As the sun set over Pentwater Beach last night our time in there drew to a close. I mean, what a way to close the week out. The sunset was absolutely stunning.

We had come to this area for one reason, to meet The Betty. And of course her husband Dan as well! I knew Betty from her delightful blog chambersontheroad.com which I began reading several years ago. Her wit, her humor, her wonderful way with words and her beautiful pictures which are part of her blog made me definitely want – if possible – to meet her some day. We talked about it last year and she agreed that she would like as well to get together. But despite our best efforts the stars would not align.

But this year – yes! Every year in the middle of July she and Dan, and their family gather together in Pentwater, MI. There was no way that I was going to miss this opportunity a second time. Our route was going to take us to the Pentwater region in mid-July if nowhere else.

Finally, it all came together.

I’m honored to introduce you to two of God’s beautiful people – Dan and Betty. Dan is so easy going and has such a delightful sense of humor. Betty has that beautiful smile and makes you feel so at ease when you are with her. And her laugh, it is contagious. When you are in their presence you can simply be yourself. It was such a joy and a privilege to meet them and be able to spend the week with them. I’m honored to now call them two of my dearest friends.

And what a wonderful week we had together.

They knew the best places in the area to eat. This being one of them.

How can you not fall in love with those two charming faces. I’m smiling even as I sit here and type this. I have a mind to enlarge this picture, frame it, and hang it on the wall in our house.

We went to the restaurant by car. But Dan and Betty, oh no

Their chosen method of transportation when possible is by an electric bike. Sure wish I still had that much energy.

And away they go.

But we did more than eat. We also

decided to take a cruise together around Pentwater Harbor.

Captain Lee at the helm and Ron was our narrator for the tour.

What a beautiful day we had on the water. Abundant sunshine and the temperature was just right. A picture perfect day. I’m so thrilled that Betty suggested this.

Um, you notice who just happened to end up together in the back of the boat! I believe their excuse was the boat doesn’t rock as much back there?

But wait there is more. Barb and I also learned a couple of new games

This was one of them. Let me tell you we absolutely took to this like a duck to water. Now, that doesn’t mean we won much. Not when you’re going up against Dan. This man is the master. One night we were at our rig and completely lost time while playing it. Before we knew it, it was well past 10 pm. As to the second game, it was called Farkel. We didn’t take a shine to this game as much as the first.

Betty said that she and Dan like to come here to sit and play games in the evening. When she suggested that we all gather here to do the same, we immediately said yes.

We spent two amazing evenings here enjoying one another’s company and trying to beat Dan at Rummikub. I did, though, actually win one game. Still to this day I’m not sure how I did it but I did. I guess its true what they about beginners luck. But we’ve already purchased our own Rummikuib so that the next time we meet we’ll be able to go toe to toe with the man.

Barb and I also had the opportunity to gather with them and their family for a bonfire one evening. It was a real privilege to meet each and everyone of them. They made us feel so welcome and right at home.

Well, if you are in Pentwater, Betty said you have to make sure to be present for sunset on the beach. But first,

Remember these two? Back of the boat together? The best of friends.

Now, about those sunsets.

Betty was right. Spectacular.

Finally, they also left us with a bag of goodies.

The small trailer ornament at the top – put safety away and will go on our Christmas tree this year. The towel – hanging up in our one bathroom and I was told don’t you dare think of drying your dirty hands on it. The cookies – all gone and were they ever good.

This past week, was truly the highlight of this year’s trip. Really, if one has the love of their family and is blessed with great friends then they are the richest of all people. Barb and I count ourselves blessed indeed for we have both – and now we have two more great friends. Life doesn’t get any better than this. Thank you Dan and Betty.

Well, as of today we were back on the road again. But we weren’t headed to another RV Park. Not just yet, we first needed to stop at Cummins in Grand Rapids for some minor repairs. So as I type this we’re in their parking lot. Thankfully, they have electric and water. Hopefully, all will be done tomorrow and then we’ll head out again for our new home for the next week. Wish us luck.

One final note, Betty please tell Dan that even though there was a detour today, I didn’t get lost. So I guess he is off the hook in terms of driving for me!

Dan and Betty. No goodbye’s. Rather, Till We Meet Again.

July 23, 2022

Temperature 81 Degrees, Abundant Sunshine and Clear Blue Skies

Coast Guard Cutter Icebreaker Mackinaw Museum Ship

This is the last attraction that we visited while in St. Ignace while we were staying at the Lakeshore RV Park and Campground.

The USCG Cutter Mackinaw is located in Mackinaw City and is easy to find. If you miss the sign there is no way that you are going to miss the huge propeller that was one of three that was once used by the ship.

The USCG Cutter Mackinaw was launched in 1944. It was built to keep the Great Lakes shipping lanes open so that iron ore and copper from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan could be transported to wartime factories in the Lower Great Lakes.

For 62 years the Mackinaw plowed through the Great Lake ice keeping important shipping lanes in the Great Lakes open to commercial traffic.

It was taken out of service in 2006, however, the ship is as ready to be returned to service today expect for one detail. We’ll talk about that a little later.

Come on, let’s take tour of this remarkable ship. There is too much to see and discover in a simple blog so I’ll try and cover at least some of the more interesting things about the ship.

One of the details I was most curious about was, how in the world did the ship actually break a path through the ice? The first thing I learned is that it was designed to break ice that was between 3 and 5 feet thick. This is the norm for ice on the Great Lakes. OK, but that still begs the question How did it actually do it?

What I discovered is that the ship broke through the ice in several ways.

It all begins with its cut back bow which allows it to ride up on the ice and slice down through it.

It also had a bow propeller that was 12 feet in diameter. This propeller would if necessary chew through the ice. Most of the time, however, it was used to hurl the broken pieces of ice back under the hull creating a water wash down the sides of the hull. The water wash lubricated the hull and made it easily slip through the broken ice.

The ship was also designed with no keel to keep the ship steady. Instead, the hull is rounded so that it could be rolled from side to side. To do so there were ballast tanks to port and starboard that could be flooded with about 500 tons of water within 90 seconds. When the tanks on one side were full the process would be reversed automatically sending the water back to the other side effectively rocking the ship from side to side. This rocking from side to side would help with ice breaking. There were also ballast tanks in the bow and stern allowing the boat to be rocked back and forth helping it to climb up on the ice and then slice down through it.

Finally, it always tried to take the path of least resistance. Meaning, it would look for the lightest ice, or ice that is already well broken up and loose, or better still, ice that is formed in patches leaving some open water between them.

I was told that never once in its 62 years of service did it ever become stuck. It was the heavy weight of ice breakers and there is none like it today.

There is more to see and discover so lets keep moving.

Then, the all important area for me

OK. Time to go down a deck to

the engine room. And here is the reason the ship was taken out of service. The ship has a total of six Fairbanks Morse opposed piston engines for which parts are no longer available. Since no parts are available the engines can no longer be serviced. It was for this reason alone that the ship was taken out of service.

I found it very interesting that the diesel engines don’t actually drive the propellers. Rather,

the diesel engines drive generators, which in turn power DC motors which in turn power the propellers. A really neat arrangement, indeed.

And now to finish up our tour we’re going topside.

to the pilot house. This is where most of the navigation and piloting of the ship took place.

The view over the bow from the pilot house. Note, the view of the bow itself is somewhat restricted because of the steel wall around the front of the ship. Because of this,

And finally,

The view out over the stern to Lake Michigan. We’ve now gone from bow to stern, top to bottom in our our tour of the USCG Cutter Mackinaw. I found it to be absolutely fascinating to tour this great ship and to gain an understanding of how it accomplished its mission, of what life on board must have been like, and to see the engines that drove it for some 62 years. I’m definitely glad we took the time just before we left to take the tour.

Thanks again for spending some time with us.  It’s always great to be able to share our story with family and friends. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish every moment of every day that God gives you and live those moments to the fullest. 

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Temperature 76, Sunshine and Strong Winds

I Did It Again

Well, I did it again. This past Monday I turned 70 – for the fifth time!

Many thanks to my wonderful wife for making my day so special.

After a morning of sightseeing she took me to

restaurant which has a five star rating.

I had a delicious lunch of white fish prepared Cajun style and grilled asparagus. I devoured it leaving not one little bit on my plate.

Then I finished it off with Devil’s Temptation. What a dessert, it had a brownie on the bottom, then two scoops of Bear Hug ice cream, another brownie on the top finished off with hot fudge and whipped cream. I wondered at first if I could finish it but I sure did.

Oh yes, my sweetheart spoiled me rotten and I’m so grateful to her for doing so. Thank you my dear for making my birthday so very, very special. Hugs and Kisses.

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Temperature 83 Degrees, Sunny with Broken Clouds

Travel Day

The time had come for us to pack up and get back on the road. Our time in St. Ignace has been great. We’ve been able to visit quite a few attractions and we’ve also had a chance to just sit back and relax. A great combination. But the road is calling and so off we must go.

Knowing we had a five hour ride today we made sure to get on the road as early as possible. We rolled out at 8:30 am. How about that, we can get us and going early in the morning when we have to.

Today was the day for the trip across the Mackinac Bridge. It didn’t seem that bad from afar but one never knows until they are actually on it. Well, I’m here to say it was a piece of cake. The grade on either side is nothing and the lanes are actually of ample width. Moreover, there was hardly any traffic on the bridge when we went across this morning.

The rest of the trip was rather boring. The only thing that got our attention was the poor condition of the roads in different sections. That, and the fact that this being the hottest travel day yet, Elvira tended to push the temperature gauge a bit higher that I’ve seen before. However, it was nothing really to worry about. Thankfully.

We made one stop for fuel and once again we’re seeing some decent mpg figures. Elvira has been averaging just a little over 8 mpg. Which is good because the price of fuel in Michigan is still extremely high. We’ve paid more in this state for a gallon of diesel than in any other state. I guess they figure they’ll get it while they can.

In due time we were at our new home. This is a huge RV Park filled with mostly seasonal tenants. There is one new section primarily for overnight guests and those staying short term. This is where we will be staying. Here is the funny thing, all the RV sites in this section are brand new concrete and all of them are unlevel! The only thing I can think of is that whoever poured the concrete didn’t know what a level is.

So here is our new home for the next week. It really is a great site other than the fact that it slopes downhill in the back. Thankfully, the leveling jacks easily corrected that. All utilities are right where they need to be. Albert is on the picnic table doing his thing. In so many words life is good.

Thanks again for spending some time with us.  It’s always great to be able to share our story with family and friends. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish every moment of every day that God gives you and live those moments to the fullest. 

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before