Day 78 - Sun 14 Aug 2016
Docked - Ludington, MI

[photo: The latter part of Sat and all of Sun was gorgeous, but hot weather. The pool and spa were our main focus for this much-needed period of luxuriating.]

The fishing trip never happened because they all overslept and I was too polite to knock on the hull. It was almost 0830 when I saw someone rouse in the boat and almost 1000 when the guy came over with some previously caught salmon and apologized for the mix-up. I was not happy to have woken up at 0415 and staying up until 0730 waiting, but stuff like that happens.

We were busy in the interim with Diane cleaning, me getting supper prepped (I like to do some meals in advance because the flavors blend and then do the final step right before we want to eat), and then defrosting the refrigerator. We are now convinced we have a problem in that we are need to defrost every 3-4 days. I used a dollar bill to test the seal on the door gasket and it pulls out easily everywhere around the perimeter. I am hoping the gasket is the problem and will try to get an order placed ASAP.

About 1030, we got out the bikes and cycled up to the main drag, then to the beach park (very nice!) and back. Along the way, we walked through a huge craft sale complete with all sorts of food stands. We resisted everything, but enjoyed the walk. Further down, just a few blocks from the marina, we found a very nice, new food market. It was not huge, but big enough to have almost everything you could want, and the prices were not unreasonable. They do a great business with the numerous marinas nearby as boaters stock up on stuff.

Back at Diva Di, Diane made a batch of potato salad by microwaving the potatoes instead of the slower boiling method that adds a lot of unwanted humidity to the boat. It works great if you don't mind skins on your potatoes and not boiling them in water means they absorb more of the dressing to add flavor.

It was off to the pool after that. The day was quite warm with gorgeous blue skies and low humidity - a Chamber of Commerce day, as they say. It was Sun, so there were still a lot of families here for the weekend, and up here there are probably not a lot of swimming pools, so guess where all the kids want to be. I was able to secure a somewhat quiet corner for the most part to read and enjoy.

Following a late mid-afternoon nap, I hiked to the grill and cooked the marinated flank steak with some onions and mushrooms in a foil pouch. The grill was a lot hotter than the thermometer indicated, but it all came out great, if slightly charred. Diane cleaned up and then we headed up to the pool and spa again.

Tomorrow, we will head about 5 hours S to White Lake to anchor. The only thing on our agenda is to drop the dinghy and head to the beach. If there is something particularly interesting at any of our stops, we try to enjoy that, but sometimes just chilling out (like we did this weekend) is a nice thing.