Day 72 - Mon 8 Aug 2016
Docked – Elk Rapids, MI

[no photo today - I kept forgetting to take my phone with me]

Despite some noises from pedestrians on the wall very late into the night, it was a very restful and comfortable night. I left the front window open, but locked the cabin door, and it cooled off enough to sleep really well. Diane was bundled under multiple covers, confirming our (at least) 10 degree F difference in what we define as comfortable.

We only had to move about 3 hours today, and there was no need to leave extra early to beat any building wind and waves. We cast off at 0745 and made a low-speed (7-8 kts) run up the W arm of the bay in almost glass-flat conditions. At one point, though, the 90 foot yacht (with a Ft. Myers, FL hailing port) that had been near us on the wall came flying past as a much higher speed. She was over a half mile away and yet when her wake got to us, it allowed us to surf for quite a while and pick up some extra speed.

Cruising down the E arm of the bay, I called the Elk Rapids marina on the telephone and was assured a spot when we arrived. I am sure that many boaters have sailed these waters and found ways to anchor out rather than use marinas, but a lot of these areas that we want to visit and explore do not have good anchorages at all. Our marina expenses here in MI are mounting, but we are still well within our overall budget.

The weather forecasts for the next several days are looking good for us to travel when and where we want to go. I check it day and evening to be alert for the inevitable changes and we adjust accordingly, which is the best you can do. I kept kidding Diane on our run today about how “grueling” the passage was. She and I both agree that flat calm is nice.

After settling in, I had to telephone the tech who repaired the chartplotter and give him shipping instructions and a credit card to charge. He called back a bit later to say the charge was declined. I had to call our credit card company to straighten it out, and then all was good. Shortly after that we got the bikes out to ride a little less than a mile to the grocery store.

We found everything we wanted but the same card was declined, again. I used a different card and then called when I got back. I guess the computers that track your transactions were confused that we had been charging in MI all this time and then suddenly charged in FL (the repair). Then when that was cleared, we had a charge in MI again. I got that straightened out with another 15 minute phone call. You can’t fault them for wanting to identify and prevent fraud at the earliest opportunity.

Diane stowed the provisions and then we walked over to the beach. The “official” path took us out of the way over a footbridge and then a long promenade. We settled where Diane could be in the sun in her folding chair and I could be in the shade under a tree. We were pretty close to a volleyball court and several times the ball came rolling to us, but they were a good bunch, apologetic, and we didn’t mind.

After 1500, we took a shortcut back across shin-deep water (saving 2/3 the walk) and boarded Diva Di. I filled the water tank and rinsed off what I could, but the hose bib was 30 feet from the bow of the boat, so I could only reach so far. Then we headed to the boaters lounge to stow our shower gear and the stuff I need for grilling. We locked that up and then strolled the docks looking to see if there were other Loopers or cruisers there. We found none.

We had to use separate showers, unlike some places where the showers are not confined within a men’s or women’s area. Just the other day, our friends, John and Sharon on Building Our Wings, gave us a card addressed to the “sexaholics” and thanking us for conserving water because we were caught going into a unisex shower together. The joke was funny, but since we had all been married a long time, they realized it was expediency more than anything else.

After showering, Diane headed back to the boat while I got the grill going to cook some hot sausages for a future meal and a marinated flank steak for tonight. Diane had heated the veggies for tonight, prepared a nice horseradish sauce, and it was a nice feast.

We did not actually get into the downtown area and yet we enjoyed everything we did. After supper, we spent our time with some good reading and enjoyment of the gorgeous weather. Tomorrow, we plan to anchor at South Manitou Island by the huge dunes and get to the beach there. The weather may not be good for traveling in a few days, so we need to try to be in Manistee by Thu to get Diane’s Rx shipment and our repaired chartplotter.