Browning Looper Boat Trip: September 2011

We left Lake Michigan from New Buffalo and traveled to Chicago on Aug. 31^st. The last hour or so was a bit rough, but we landed at DuSable Marina with the Chicago skyline right at the marina with some docking help from a 36 foot Monk named DuSchein from Annapolis. They would be our neighbors for the next few days. They say Lake Michigan can be really rough after Labor Day. That has proved to be the case, and we are glad we arrived in Chicago when we did. Some Loopers are just getting to Chicago today. Gene was glad to leave the challenges of Lake Michigan which meant waiting for those weather windows. I thoroughly enjoyed the Lake. Waiting meant we could do more browsing!

Approaching the Chicago skyline was awesome. Right up there and then some with the NYC skyline and perhaps better. We spent six days, along with Jen and Mike, on Nova running around like maniacs and acting like tourists. We took the architectural boat tour on the Chicago River which identified all the high rises. It also gave us a sneak preview of the river path we would be taking when we left Chicago. We went to the Science Museum and the Art Institute. (Yes, Phyllis, I loved the Thorne miniature collection. I probably would have missed it if you hadn’t told me about it.) We went to the top of the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower) and saw, from awesome heights, all of the Chicago and Lake Michigan views. I even ventured onto the sky decks which are Plexiglas enclosures, top, bottom, and sides. That really plays with the ol’ visual perceptual system…….Poor Gene, who hates heights, could be seen crawling along the inside walls. He finally decided he had enough and headed to the ground floor. (He deserves applause for even getting up to the 103d floor). It took a few hours for the green coloring on his face to fade. That’s an awful feeling!!!

Chicago should be praised for their many beautiful parks; the numerous free concerts held in a magnificent outdoor auditorium, and the general cleanliness of the whole city. It is well suited to the visitor, with trolley tours, 25 miles of waterfront biking and walking paths, and great restaurants.

At many locations along the Loop, former or current Loopers volunteer to be Harbor Hosts. In some of the small towns, Penetang in Georgian Bay, for ex., they monitor the VHF for arriving Loopers and are there to greet you when you dock. They often offer help getting supplies, etc. and are often available in emergencies. Before we even arrived in Chicago, the Harbor Hosts here had put out the word that they were hosting a dinner on Sept. 3d at their condo for any Loopers in Chicago. The menus would be Chicago pizza and Italian beef. We RSVP’d, took a cab with NOVA, and enjoyed dinner and meeting up with about 25 or so Loopers who were somewhere in Chicago. We met Loopers from other rendezvous as well several new to us. It was, again, another evening We left Lake Michigan from New Buffalo and traveled to Chicago on Aug. 31^st. The last hour or so was a bit rough, but we landed at DuSable Marina with the Chicago skyline right at the marina with some docking help from a 36 foot Monk named DuSchein from Annapolis. They would be our neighbors for the next few days. They say Lake Michigan can be really rough after Labor Day. That has proved to be the case, and we are glad we arrived in Chicago when we did. Some Loopers are just getting to Chicago today. Gene was glad to leave the challenges of Lake Michigan which meant waiting for those weather windows. I thoroughly enjoyed the Lake. Waiting meant we could do more browsing!

We left Chicago on Tues., Sept. 6^th even though to get to the first lock, we would have 20 minutes or so on rolling Lake Michigan. It seemed unavoidable. We are now back to locks and bridges and will travel through 40 more locks before reaching Mobile Ala. The first Lock, at the entrance to the Chicago River, is known as the Sanitation and Ship Lock and Channel. Years ago, pollutants, sewage, etc. flowed freely into Lake Michigan. The powers that be decided this was not good, and had the lock built so that the river and current would reverse direction and send the stuff to the Mississippi and eventually to the Gulf of Mexico. (Have you noticed we don’t solve problems; we just move them around?) The Lock, therefore, is only a one foot drop. Now, we would travel the Chicago River and travel under forty bridges in five miles to get through the City. After merging with the Calumet Canal and Des Plaines River, we are presently traveling the Illinois River; a different kind of boating. The Locks are huge, the barges are humongous with Catcher, Brown Eyed Girl, and NOVA are here. We will leave tomorrow. Not sure where we will end up. Many of the marinas (some primitive) are too shallow to get into. We will likely find an anchorage. Flexibility is the name of the game.

It continues to be the adventure of a life time….Stay tuned!!!....The Admiral, Captain, and Skipper.