JACKIE B III Going Loopy

  Grafton calls itself the Key West of the Midwest.  We were quite busy having a great time that I’m afraid I didn’t take enough photos to convey the ‘vibe’ of this town. It also rained quite a bit which does not encourage photo ops.  In spite of the weather this was a great stop and I’m glad we stayed here for 4 days.   After a long cruise down here Mike enjoyed the hot tub and I went for a walk.  We had different needs after sitting in a boat all day. This town is really lit up at night. We explored the town together the next day. We had a view from one bars deck down into another.  Can you see the outboard motors lining the deck rails as decorations? There is an ice house in the back of one of the bars.  The original structure was built in 1834 and is one of two remaining in the state of Illinois. We thought it was so cool, so it’s one of the first places we took our friends Jeff and Karen who visited us from Kansas City. Jeff is one of Mike’s frien...

  After leaving Chicago we went to fill up our diesel tanks at Hammond Marina before heading into the Calumet- Saganashkee Channel a.k.a Cal-Sag.  Unfortunately the starboard engine would not start after filling up and we limped up the Channel with just one engine to our first stop at Marine Services.  We thought we might end up staying for a few days unless Mike could work his magic on the engine.  Turns out after we ordered a new starter, Mike decided to use a hammer on it and it worked.  In fact it has worked ever since.  We left without the new starter but the “Looper Express” has it just a few days behind us. We left Marine Services on the Calumet River before the sun was up with a small flotilla that Mike was leading to the Joliet wall. Although this was in the middle of Chicagoland, we did manage to find some beauty.  Most surprising were the three deer swimming across the river. There were several of these surprisingly pretty parks with waterfa...

  We crossed Lake Michigan and went directly to Chicago. What a sight it is as the city comes closer and closer into view. The view from our slip at Burnham Harbor was fantastic.  It was even more spectacular at night.  If you tap on the picture you can  zoom in on the building with blue bar.  You can see the message # Be Kind  in the middle .  They had a different message every night. Before we had even thought about what we were going to do first, some looper friends we met when they passed through Holland; Gavin and Lica, contacted us and invited us to go up the Chicago River with them on their beautiful, de-masted Catamaran. They have been living on their boat since 2009 and have come all the way from New Zealand via the Indian Ocean, Europe and the Atlantic. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed going out on someone else’s boat. I had so many photos of the Chicago River that I mad a little video.  Notice the modern buildings reflecting the ol...

  We had a wonderful opportunity in May to join our friends Scott and Pam on their fabulous boat, MI Escape (pronounced My Escape) in Destin, Florida.  After enjoying Destin for a few days, we began the journey to MI Escape’s home port in Mississippi.  We were able to preview  the Ten-Tom portion of the loop with an  experienced captain.   The weather was balmy and the company was great.  The beach had the most beautiful white sand and the ocean water was so clear we could see fish in the water. The mode of transportation in the Baytowne Resort was a golf cart.  The resort was huge and the ride from the marina to the shore was about 5 minutes. There are lots of condos and in this view from the top of  the hotel you can see the marina. This is MI Escape.  A beautiful vessel giving me a little bit of boat envy, very comfortable for the four of us for the entire trip. There was even room for more. This is The Wharf at Baytowne.  A...