Day 116-117. 2nd year. September 14-15. On to Michigan City and Hammond, IN. Miles 31 Total miles 4052
Woke to a chilly 52 degrees and bright sunny day to leave St Joseph and headed out the St Joseph River channel, past the riverfront park and lighthouse into Lake Michigan.
The lake has some swell, but with light winds it will be a pleasant cruise. We traveled with MV General Fun off shore as it was the most direct route.
Next we passed the last town in Michigan, New Buffalo, and crossed into Indiana, changing to Central Time. Was interesting to watch the shoreline curve to the west as we got towards the end of Lake Michigan.
The Indiana shoreline is similar to the Michigans with low sand dunes and a scattering of homes near the beaches. As we reached our destination, Michigan City, IN, we see the huge stacks of a power plant and the Indiana Dunes National Park.
We traveled though the break wall and lighthouse and up the Trail Creek, past the power plant to tie up to the Michigan City free wall for the night.
Once settled we left to explore the Lighthouse Museum in the park next to the free wall. The museum told the history of the lighthouse from 1832 to 1940. We learned all about the lighthouse keepers and their lives from recreations of the living areas and artifacts and photos. The museum also told the story of Michigan City.
After the lighthouse we went back to the boat and visited with Tricia and Mike and decided to walk around town. We walked two blocks to a small downtown which had seen better days. Were surprised to find two deer bedded down in an empty lot for the night. I think they were as curious about us as we were of them.
Returning to the boat, we were suprised again to see someone on our boat!. He quickly got off and Bill caught up with him. After making him feel guilty and apologizing to us, he left. His friends also apologized for his bad behavior.
Day 117 September 15 On to Hammond, IN Mile 28 Total mile 4080
We pulled away from the free city wall in Michigan City and headed out Trail Creek past the breakwater and lighthouse to cross the southern end of Lake Michigan. Essentially we are going west along the Indiana coast. Today we are traveling with MVGeneral Fun on a calm sea and with fair winds, a beautiful day to cruise.
The first landmark we came to was Indiana Dunes National Park just south of Michigan City. The dunes aren’t quite as high as those we encountered in Michigan, but was the same beach with shrubbed and trees dunes.
Our next waypoint was Burns Harbor/ Port of Indiana with its steel mills and deep water port.
A few miles later, we passed Gary, IN with its industrial complexes stretching about 6 miles along the shoreline. We were too far off shore to take pictures, but imagine lots of factories, conveyor belts and cranes and large storage facilities.
As we past Gary, we could see the huge industrial area of East Chicago, where automobiles, coke, gypsum, metal ores, cement and petroleum are shipped and stored. And lots of tugs moving barges of material between the various ports.
Also looking further down the coast we saw the sweep of land north and the skyscrapers south of Chicago rose out of the water. A few miles later the Chicago skyline came into view. We could pick out the Prudential Building and the Sears Tower easily-visible without binoculars as it was only 15-20 miles away. A mile or two later the entire southern curve of Lake Michigan became evident all the way to Chicago.
We headed toward the markers that led to Hammond Harbor which will be our home for the next two weeks as we wait our turn to go through the Illinois Locks once they open up. It is a huge marina with over 400 slips. They also have our own casino nearby.
Hope to connect with friends and relatives, as well as get some help on fixing the throttle controls while in the Chicago area. Bill has quite a list of To Dos for the boat which should keep him busy and out of trouble.
We got the boat all connected and settled in. Hope to relax this afternoon. Well, our relaxing afternoon was spent catching up with all the boaters that we had met previously on the Loop. There must be 25 Loopers in this marina, all waiting for the locks on the Illinois River to open.
Reflections on our trip through Lake Michigan
Mackinac Island with its bike trails, rocky beaches, hiking trails, sea stacks/arches and fudge. Also can’t forget the Grand Hotel and having drinks in the cupola and all the horse drawn carriages and wagons.
Fort Mackinac’s reenactment of the 1898 fort life complete with artillery displays
Big Mac the suspension bridge connecting the Upper Peninsula with the rest of Michigan
Beaver Island State Park with its beaches, lighthouse and shipwreck
Eating fudge a little each day for two weeks
Walking the beaches and rock collecting
Sand dunes and beaches all along the shoreline
Dodging fishing boats at the entrance to each town. Michiganders sure love to fish!
Mushroom houses in Charlevoix
Beautiful view of Lake Michigan and lots of spectacular sunsets over the lake
Anchoring on city walls and in all the inland lakes. So many inland lakes.
Break walls and lighthouses that guide you into each of the towns along the west shore of Michigan.
Sleeping Bear National Park with its 800 foot dune.
Small towns all along the western shore of Michigan, most within 30 miles of each other. All sharing a fishing, shipping and lumbering past and helped today by tourism.
St Ignace Ferry and the Ojibwa Museum
Freighters and trains filled with gravel, cement and asphalt
Constant weather watching to determine if we travel or no
Leland’s Fishtown with its old fishing boats and ice houses and fresh fish!
Friendly and helpful marinas, giving us rides and loaning us bicycles to see their towns
Cute shops and restored downtowns
Waves crashing over break walls and lighthouses as the north wind blows through
Fishing tournaments when the Coho Salmon were running. Did I mention there are a lots of fishermen?
Maritime museums depicting the rich history of fishing, Coast Guard and Life Saving Stations and steamships shipping. The museums also covered the many shipwrecks that have occurred on the lake.
Riverfront parks with fountains and statues and of course lots of benches so you could sit and enjoy the boat traffic going by.
Corn dogs for $1.75 in Grand Haven and eating ice cream whenever we could
Musical Fountain Presentations, especially the one honoring Jimmy Buffet and his music
1880 steamship car ferries still in operation today.
The windmill and carousel of Holland, MI
Art galleries, nautical shops and antique stores, especially in Saugatuck
The pride evident in the Michiganders for their towns and their history.