From Chicago to Springbrook Marina

A hazy day as we come close to Chicago.

As we get close to the break wall we see the tour boat "Sea Dog" This boat cut off the foot of a swimer a couple of years ago.

Here is the Chicago light house we are getting close to home.

The opening in the break wall opens to Navy Pier and the Chicago lock.

We're headed for Burnham Harbor as we pass the Planetarium.

Look who's in the break wall.

It was a little busy at Burnham Harbor.

We stayed at Belmont Harbor and really enjoyed the stay. Check out this beautiful Chris Craft.

Any harbor that lets dogs swim is OK in my book.

It was a beautiful morning as we left Belmont Harbor.

A sailor with a sense of humor.

It's a new day and the haze of yesterday is gone.

That's the Chicago lock to the left.

Dime pier to the right. A lot of boats hit this obstruction.

The new lock building looks like a ship.

Lake Point Towers. Sammy the Cub used to live here.

Only in Chicago would you see a construction cone hanging from a bridge.

Can you say "Trump Tower"?

My friend Jerry Casey, captain of the Chicago Lady

Dieter pilots the boat thru the loop as I take pictures.

Can you guess the company who works in this building. They build airplanes.

A past president's family once owned this building along the Chicago River.

Looking North as we head South down the Chicago River.

While waiting for the AMTRAK bridge to open we watched people working out near the river.

This is the famous AMTRAK bridge in the closed (10 feet clearance) position.

A great place to dock your boat and eat.

We're now in the sanity canal and here is how they are tryign to keep the Aiian Carp from getting into Lake Michigan.

Ah, the beautifulk Illinois River.

This barge was so large that we docked at the Joliet wall until it passed.

Dieter got a little Sun today.

Having fun on the IL River. The guy on the Jet Ski stayed with us for miles jumping our wake.

We Completed the Great Loop

Here I am changing the color of the AGLCA burgee. The gold burgee is the one you fly once you have completed the loop. We ran 5,775 miles, went thru 108 locks and logged over 500 hours on the water in 11 months and a week.









This is what it looks like to cross the lake at night. BTW, four miles from North Point Marina and had to run on only one engine. Contact me for the details.


This is not the ghost of Lake Michigan, it's Dieter at three in the morning, shot with an IR camera.



This is how we like to see Lake Michigan. We headed into Saugatuck for a day.
As we left Muskegon we saw the fast ferry that goes between here and Milwaukee.

It looks like a good day to cross the lake. The rainbow looks like it's pointing to IL.

Since the "Susan Darlene" is now flying the Gold burgee this blog should be over. But I could share pictures I took when Dieter and I ran down the river system to Springbrook. There are some interesting tales there also. I need to know if anyone is really reading this blog. Send me an email to skismx5@comcast.com if you want to see them and I'll email you that edition of the blog. If I get enough response I'll just post it. Please let me know if this blog was worth the work I put into it.

Pentwater to Muskegon

Mom, dad and the kids came to visit us at our slip in Muskegon, MI.

Me, Sue and Chris in Muskegon. Chris is taking Sue home and Dieter is going to help me take the boat down the river.

The Silver sides sub used to be at Navy Pier in Chicago. I don't know why we let it go.

This is the entry to Muskegon, MI.

Lisa can sleep anywhere on the boat. She really is the boating girl.

As we were leaving Pentwater we viewed one of the kitties on the boat "Cat's Cradle".

Pentwater, MI

We left Frankfort, MI and ran the 65 miles to Pentwater, MI. Lisa likes to take naps under my feet as I pilot the boat.

This is the split screen mode of Nobeltec. I have the chart page and photo page set up.

This is the entrance to Pentwater harbor.

Check out this little boat. It's dinghy is also a car.

My Past Commanders burgee is now being held together with duct tape.

Sue is showing off her birthday present she got from a lockmaster on the Trent Severn waterway. I told one lockmaster it was here birthday and he passed on the information to the next lock where she received the poresent.

Can you guess the meaning of this memorial? I'll give you a hint GAR means Grand Army of the Republic.

Here is my favorite marina store on Lake Michigan. It's only a block from Snug Harbor Marina in Pentwater.
Anyone looking for a yacht?