Day 2 traveling and learning how to post on a blog

WOW!!

Now, since i just learned how to make the blog active, i have some catching up to do…here is a run down of day 2…Day 3 will be an adventure you’ll want to hear, so that will be the next post after we leave here and get to the next port…

Here we are in Grosse Pointe, Ichigan (no M, as we are Ohio State fans), sitting at a marina after 3 days of anchoring out. BUT, this marina does not have water or power, so its kind of like anchoring out, but not having to worry if an anchor is not holding. We’ve already experienced this, but not on an “oh shit” level…just felt we were too close to another boat, and as we sat there and watched, it seemed like we were getting closer to the other boat. So we just pulled up anchor and moved further away and went through the whole anchoring process over- No Worries, Mon!

Let me digress to the last few days: We left Cleveland and headed for Kelly’s Island. We arrived at Kelly’s around 4:30 in the afternoon. We had looked at anchorages and circled the island to scope out which one looked best. We decided on the north side State Park. There were several boats anchored (mostly sailboats) and we picked a location far away from everyone else. It was a delightful evening, drinking fine Champagne from our 1st mate Laura, settling into an evening feeling accomplishment and marveling at how well the cats had adjusted. They are super chill and just want to hang out, sleep and explore the boat with short walks around the deck. Lauren prepared a shrimp dinner, and all was right with our world! We slept well with calm seas, hardly any wind/waves and a feeling of serenity.

Day 2:

We departed Kelly’s Island, and having discussed our next port, we had decided to head farther north to Pelee Island. Neither of us had been there, and it has always been somewhere we had thought about going to, but never had the opportunity to get there. So we headed north with a somewhat flat lake and following seas (the waves coming from behind pushing you, rather than thumping into them or taking them from the side, which rolls your boat). This was also our first venture into foreign waters, where we will have to check in with customs and do the proper paperwork(?). Turns out there is no paperwork, just a phone call in to their Canadian homeland security, answer some questions, and they give you a confirmation number.

We docked in Pelee at West Dock, which is where the ferry terminal is, and happens to have a border patrol post there too. We found a spot to tie up to a wall for free, and was given the ok to stay there for the night. There was no water or power, but it was nice and tucked in from the open water, so not too much rocking and felt secure and safe. The best thing about the location was the winery just around the corner, and the local restaurants/bars close by. We did explore the winery and got to ride our bikes around the island for a bit, but it was too hot to ride the whole island so we returned to Klondike. There was a border patrol agent wandering around the dock where we were and he did come to visit…he checked our confirmation number to ensure we had cleared customs, then we chatted a bit and he told us about a bay just inside the Detroit River called Crystal Bay, which also has a ‘hidden lake’. Nice guy and good info for us. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing, watching a sunset and having dinner and ‘docktails’. We discussed our next port of call, and decided to head to Crystal Bay where our customs friend had mentioned.