Great Loop Day 022 Sept 19, 2016, Charlevoix, Michigan Layover
Charlevoix, Michigan Layover
The good seaman weathers the storm he can not avoid and avoids the storms he can avoid. ~ Anon.
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Day 22 Monday. Sept 19, 2016, Charlevoix, Michigan. High winds on Lake Michigan with small craft warnings. I'm glad to be staying in Charlevoix today. Beautiful day temps in the low 70s. Blue skies earlier this morning. Put on a clean shirt and dug out my shorts for today. Stopped in to chat with Hal and Tom. Hey, Pogo Bob, Hal remembers your visit in 2007 even the song Great Lakes Song you taught him.
Went to the grocery store. Needed to try another cat litter brand. Mickey's got cat litter everywhere he goes. Even litter in my coffee cup! Ugh!. On the other hand, Mickey’s quite the conversation-maker. People stop by and want his picture. He's getting to like people who stop by to pet him.
All the stores and shops are very close by. What caught my eye was a Rexall Drug store. What they really needed was a phosphate fountain to complete the 1950s look. Katie at the register said they are thinking about getting one. Hope they do. Did some needed repairs on Sea Marie. Applied the seam sealer bought in Mackinaw City to the seams over the companionway. Drops of rainwater find a weakness in the bimini stitching. The bimini sends the rain dripping down below. Hope to get it tested as rain clouds were building to the west. A check on the Radar Express phone app found a line of storms and light to moderate rain heading our way. Finished my 2 trips to the grocery store, the last one for a small bag of ice, and ran out of arms carting the kitty litter. The little backpack I bought in Port Austin is coming in handy. Got some bananas, looking for the greenest ones in the bunch so they ripen In a few days. Yogurt, a bag of lettuce, sweet potato, a box of cinnamon Chex marked down to $1.99, a can of the Fancy Feast for Mickey, raspberry Danish to go with my morning coffee, and 4 bottles of gator aide. Most of that got in my backpack and carried the gator aide and the lightweight kitty litter back the one block to my slip. Poured the rest of the gas from the 5-gallon can into the main tank and walked to the gas dock next to me to fill the 5-gallon can up. I estimated I used less than 6 gallons of gas getting 53 miles here on rough seas. Not too shabby. Rain was starting and I got out the rain curtains. Just needed 2 panels out of the 4 that I carry. The way it looked n the radar I was prepared for a deluge. Fortunately, it was a gentle rain, moderate at times with no gusts. The panels worked well and no more dripping from the bimini.
Earlier I soldered some wires to the Lowrance chart plotter/fishfinder using a Western Union splice. Edward Durma would recognize that. Not the best job, I forgot to apply the heat shrink tubing before soldering. Electrical tape to the rescue. Electronics in a marine environment can be difficult. Corrosion is your worst enemy. And it screws up your electronics at the worst of times. Last week I mentioned to Ed that I noticed the voltmeter was showing 9 volts on my main battery, not good. Something was amiss. Troubleshooting the problem found the bolts on the engine battery were loose. Both on the positive and the negative side. My guess was the vibration from the motor loosened them giving me a low voltage reading. Tightening them resolved that problem. Checking the battery connections is another thing to add to my growing checklist. Rain curtains up…
Wait a minute...there's a bug on my phone’s keypad...ghfxdfghuordv… and ghkjduej, there, I got it!.
Time to fix dinner. Washed the sweet potato, popped in the microwave for 6 minutes, plain salad with French dressing, coleslaw, potato done now to smother it with margarine and top the meal off with raspberry Danish and a hot cup of coffee. As I texted my good buddy Robert Sprosty slaving back at his job in Ohio about my dinner choice, I mention I'm a simple man with simple needs. Next to the grocery store is the Harbor View Cafe. The menu posted on the window has me hankering for some scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, toast, and jam with hot coffee. Sounds Mmmmm good! Now to mail off some postcards to the grandkids and call it a night. I'll check the weather in the morning and decide if it's safe to move on to Leland, Mich. Some 35m away... Fair winds and gentle seas.
Comments from 2016:
Dave Litespeed Beautiful Charlevoix, loved the sign when you drive into town! Reminded me of a New England town on the coast!
Pogo Bob Enjoyed the update. The bug on the keypad had me in tears. There are lots worse places to be windbound than Charlevoix. We left there bound for Leland and had to bail into Northport. The wind clocked around about the time we started across the mouth of the bay. Spent Labor Day weekend there. Nice stop. Enjoyed Leland as well. Six days there. Still have my library card.
Henry Krzemien RN I could easily see why it took you a month to travel down lake Michigan. There's so much to see here. I just took a walk up to the marina office. There's a fountain spray timed to music pumped out on several loudspeakers. I'm trying out my Canon camera to get night shots of the marina and surrounding grounds. This looks so new don't think it was here on your visit. The moon is rising over Round Lake now.
Bronwen Somerset Take care my gypsy ( hehe ) friend. Enjoy all the pictures you've taken! We should get together when you're back.
The grounds here are well cared for.
Rexall drug store
Katie at the counter
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Storm clouds coming.
Best way to watch the rain high and dry.
Always glad to see a rainbow after a rain, which usually means good luck.
Mickey’s favorite pastime, watching the local residents going about their business.
Charlevoix City Marina office.
Hal the Dockmaster was eager to make sure I had a good time in their city.
Got to get that obligatory selfie.
