Cady Girl

We got an earlier start than usual, as we had a long "unknown" day ahead of us - 4 locks! As it turned out the gods were with us, because we zipped through all 4 without any delays!  Yippee - it's the little things in life. We did encounter one large barge, however, but sailed by it too! (see photo below). We saw lots of hawks and nests today, but the region is very rural - so not much else to look at.  We did see our 1st Palmetto tree, so perhaps we are in the SOUTH. Docked at the Columbus Marina which has a very friendly and informative owner and staff! There is big fishing tournament tomorrow, so we'll probably be up early! Highlight of the day was dinner at Proffitts Porch!  Cajun food - yum.  Very chatty owner who told us lots of history of the location.  The area was originally made into a beach to entertain the officers of the local air force base and has been in business as a restaurant since 1985. Our Uber driver was a nice young Chaplain at the local h...

What a day! Woke up to a blustery day with not having gotten much sleep!  Anyhow, we got through the Montgomery Lock which we were anchored near, with no delay or problems. Next up John Rankin Lock & Dam.  That was a different story! We went a total of 8.3 miles in 5 hours and 16 minutes - but who was counting.  The dam was under repair, and there were 2 tugs with cargo ahead of us.  To kill time, we circled around Beaver Lake, had lunch and waited!  Not my idea of Fun! Anyhow, we made it to Midway Marina, docked for the night, borrowed the loaner car and proceeded to make the most of it!  Since Tupelo Mississippi is just 24 miles from Fulton, and who wouldn't want to see the birthplace of ELVIS, we drove over there.  The park was a beautiful spot with lots of history about the KING, His home was a two-room shotgun home.  A shotgun house is a narrow, rectangular home typically one room wide, with a hall-less layout where rooms connect directly...

We're BACK on the WATER! Let's start by explaining how Cady Girl got from South Haven Michigan to today: Well, first of all, we bused, Uber'd, and then flew to French Polynesia for a wonderful, once in a lifetime experience with great friends! Cady Girl stayed in South Haven - watched over by some great Harbor Hosts! In October Don flew to Chicago and rented a car to get back to South Haven.  He then did a solo speed run from South Haven to Chicago via Lake Michigan!  He met his brother, Dave there and they cruised the Cal-Sag Waterway, an industrial river access around South Chicago. Per the Captain, this was a fascinating study of the on-going de-industrialization of the United States. From there, they hung a left to the Illinois River and Dave departed in Peoria , IL - home of Caterpillar! Don soloed to St. Louis where his friend Gary joined him and they reached the Mighty Mississippi! The river traffic in St. Louis was intense - commercial, pleasure, ferries, and river ...

Just the two of us again.  More work, especially since Lake Michigan was rough - Ugh! Enough already. Anyway, we made it to Saugatuck on Thursday and spent two enjoyable days there. Historically, the city of Saugatuck evolved from the indigenous homeland of the Odawa & Potawatomi nations to a late 19th century lumber and shipbuilding port; and is now an art colony and tourist destination.  We rode our bikes, went to their local farmers market, walked around, had coffee at a cute little spot called Base Camp, went to the local drug store that has been there since the 1905 with the soda fountain still in business; and then rode back to the boat. Saugatuck has boat rentals of bumper boats with umbrellas and 1950's era electrified boats. Pretty Fun!  We also found Don's Uncle George & Aunt Martha Wigglesworth's summer home!  On Friday we rode our bikes to Douglas, toured the museum there, which had a restored surfboat, and then road to Douglas Beach, one of the m...

The Elliott's adventure on Cady Girl was quite a ride.  Thanks to John for taking over some of my driving duties & Pat for assisting with the lines and KP duty!  They are a good crew! All in all, we think they had an adventure of a lifetime on Lake Michigan! The choppy seas continued, but the weather was decent, and the towns were delightful. Petoskey was our first stop on this leg.  Petoskey is one of many resort towns in Northern Michigan on the Little Traverse Bay and is known for its natural beauty, historic Gaslight Shopping District and for finding Petoskey stones, which are fossils of ancient coral and are Michigan's state rock. We did not find any, but we did go shopping!  There is also a connection to this area with Ernest Hemingway, particularly Walloon Lake, which was a formative influence on him and features in his stories. On 8/20 & 8/21 we visited Charlevoix, a charming coastal town known for its beautiful beaches and unique mushroom houses, The...