EpiWestilogue...The Last Word

Dad thought he was finishing this blog up with his cute little 'Over and Out' at the end of his last post but not to be...I always have the last growl!! I am now a fully-looped Westi having traveled the entire loop on the boat(See pic from when I first came aboard , I was a real little guy). About the time I got the crew to understand what I wanted and when, this thing is over. Like the back door on the boat...Mom and Dad had a lot of trouble understanding that I wanted that door open so I could strut around from the cockpit to the swim platform and check everything out, growl at animals or people that I saw and just let all know I was in charge. I finally got them to open the door right away by pitching a real fit and scratching the door and latches and barking frantically....they kept saying something was wrong with me but just part of my plan to get my way...it worked! Now, I am glad that we have this Gold Burgee flying (see pic) but I was very, very, unhappy that I was not included in this picture. As I said I am a Fully-Looped Westie and should have been in the picture....they did include me in another pic but I wanted to be in the first one.

I am gonna miss the boat and some of the fun things like sleeping late with Mom, taking walks in the ports with Dad, visiting with Mom and Dads looper friends, and helping Dad navigate during the day while we were underway. But it is so good to be home where I have full run of the deck, the yard, the river, you name it! Plus a big, big , bed to sleep in!!!!

I have heard Mom and Dad talking a lot about the future lately some of which includes me....like getting another Westie which I think would be good as long as the new guy understands who is boss! Me in case you didn't understand! Also they talk about boating again sometime down the road but not for a while...don't think there is total agreement on that one but I am a flexible Wesite and just want to go when anybody is going anywhere in the car, truck, boat, or just for a walk down by the river...I like to wade up to my belly in the edge of the river. OK, I got in the last word for now.

Its been a blast.......and I am sure we will have another boat adventure down the road somewhere. See you all later...bark more, growl more!!

Back on the Rivers and Home to Tennessee

We left Chicago on August 30, 2010 with 771 miles to traverse on the Illinois, Mississppi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers. Most of this section of the loop is small river towns, locks, and lots of barge traffic. We stayed at free dock walls, a few marinas, and several anchorages along the way. We had 8 locks on the Illinois, 2 on the Mississippi, 2 on the Ohio, and finally Kentucky Dam on the Tennessee River. We had a few waits getting through but made it fine. The Mississippi was moving swiftly and we got excellent fuel economy and were able to travel longer distances due to the push we got from the current. We lost our bowthruster prop in a lock on the Illinois and was told by several other loopers that I had  to learn to drive a boat like everybody else!! We made it to Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers, KY late (in the dark, got to use my spotlight!) on September 10 and had the boat pulled for some work and rented a car and drove home for a week. We returned to Here and Now on September 20 and stayed and extra day at Green Turtle for a looper potluck with 18 other loopers. We departed on 9/21 and arrived at our home port at Riverstone Marina on 9/24 after crossing our wake on 9/22 near Pebble Isle in New Johnsonville, TN. Gold Burgee was lifted and what a feeling of accomplishment but also a little sadness that our great adventure was over.  Our neighbors and fellow loopers Van and Diane Carter met us as we arrived  home and welcomed us back and we toasted our loop completion.

We have traveled 5320 miles, went through 102 locks, and visited 16 states and one foreign courntry (Canada) over about 10.5 months. Our average speed for the entire trip while underway was 8.3 mph which includes lock delays, no wake zones, and a few days that we picked it up a notch (not many of those).  The longest distance we travled on a cruise day was 241 miles  from Panama City, Fl to Clearwater, Fl with a fuel stop at Appalachicola, FL as we crossed the Gulf of Mexico overnight with our traveling companions Biddie and the Beast...what a night! The shortest distance was 6 miles from St. Ignace, MI to Mackinac Island Harbor.  The best parts of the trip have been the time our little crew have been together on Here and Now and what a crew it is...Admiral, First Mate ( and best mate ever!) Carolyn and Commander Willi (rumor has it there will be a final epidoge post from Willi), all the great people we have met along the way, and so many special stops I cannot begin to list. Thanks to all of our family and friends for staying in touch and a special thanks to all those who came and visited us on Here and Now along the way.

Over and Out
Be Safe.....

Mackinac Island and Lake Michigan

A slower pace we found on Mackinac Island.....no motorized anything.....only bicycles and horse drawn carriages! How quiet......you hear children laughing and people walking. Our friends from Galveston, Texas arrived on Thursday, August 12. It is wonderful when you can share this trip with family and friends. Between riding bikes the 8 miles around the island, to taking horse carriage rides, wonderful dinners, and a little shopping we really enjoyed our four days on Mackinac Island. Tuesday the 15th of August we left Mackinac for the 60 miles to Petoskey, MI. Little did we know but the winds changed from the forecast and soon after passing the Straits of Mackinac, the five of us (Willi ) found ourselves in strong west winds with 5-7 foot seas! All donned life jackets as we planned our escape path in case the boat capsized. For four hours Steve stood fighting the waves, huge sprays, and zigzagging to stay on course. Finally we arrived at our destination to find the salon completely a wreck with food, appliances, books, and two cabinet doors torn from the screws that held them to the frame. But we were safe in harbour and it was good Teresa and Mark were with us to help weather the long day.

Petoskey is at the NE corner of Lake Michigan. It is a quaint town with a very pretty harbour and clock tower at the edge of the lake. Cute shops and good restaurants always make a port a good stop. We said good-bye to Mark and Teresa the next day. Willi hated for Teresa to leave and blamed me by barking at me for two hours. Kids are all the same! Another part of the trip I've enjoyed is checking out the spas.....sooo the spa at nearby Bay Harbour was calling.....these days are wonderful treats!

Steve has become quite the marine mechanic. He has repaired most everything that has happened to Here and Now. Since Petoskey had a West Marine, he was able to replace the bilge pump that had failed during the rough seas. Of course Willi always has to supervise his work.

After a couple of days the winds laid down enough for us to go the 18 miles to Charlevoix. Another beautiful 'green area' harbour. Here we reconnected with a couple of other loopers, Two Turtles and MaGoo. Laundry and grocery shopping are always on the "to do " list so we were glad these places were close. We always try to walk the town/village to experience the area and get the much needed exercise. Charlevoix is known for the mushroom houses by Earl Young. Built in the 30's, they are still beautiful today.

On our travel days,we average traveling about 50 miles at about 8.5 knots. We usually leave around 8:30 in the morning and arrive at port about 2:30 in the afternoon. This gives us time to secure and wash the boat, do laundry if needed, grocery shop and explore before dark. Most evenings we get to enjoy the sunsets.

Another good stop was Frankfort, MI, not because of the town but because our Lyondell friends Tom and Lin Kilburn were in town visiting Tom's mother. We were able to visit with the 3 of them over dinner and "cherry pie". What a great surprise!

Michigan has wonderful marinas along its west coast. After stopping in Pentwater, Grand Harbor, and St. Joseph we are now about 60 miles to Chicago by crossing over to the west side of Lake Michigan. Our reservations for the 5 days there are at DuSable Marina in downtown Chicago. Matt and Susan will be joining us for the weekend.  Susie and I will shop while the guys tour the Cubs stadium and attend the White Sox and Yankees game. Life is Good!

Back in USA....Westi Country

Well, we finally left Canada and are back in the USA in northern Michigan. Canada was great according to Mom and Dad as for as the cruising goes....I guess it was OK...lots of ducks and geese to bark at!! We finally got through all those locks on the TSW (44!) and as you can see I had to do a lot of the work communicating with the locktenders, handling lines, and holding the boat away from the lock walls....and trying to keep Dad cool during a few tight spots. I just start barking and running around all over the boat to distract him. We got into the Georgian Bay and got to stay 'on the hook' several times...I like that because Mom and I get to kayak a lot. We saw lots of neat rocks above and below the water....again Dad was sweating it through some of the narrow channels. Then on to the North Channel and real wilderness...they kept saying we would see a bear but not this time. We anchored and stayed in marinas there too. Finally we left Gore Bay and made a long, long , long ride to Drummond Island in Michigan where we cleared customs and got a good rest. We are in St. Ignace and I am not very happy now...I have overheard talk about a trip 'home' and 'boarding Willi this time'. They will pay for that!!!

The pics are mostly me in and out of the boat including Dad brushing me and he and I napping a couple of times...I chill out with him from time to time during the day but I like to sleep next to Mom at night even though she freezes me out a lot. There are a couple of other pics of the Big Chute railway lift and a sign we saw on the waterway...guess people dont like you speeding by their houses.

Anyway, we are getting closer to home after going over 4000 miles...be home for good in September...take care and remember Bark More, Growl More!!

The Trent-Severn Waterway

We are still in Canada and completed our transit of  the Trent-Severn Waterway(TSW) . The TSW connects Lake Ontario with the Georgian Bay and runs about 240 miles from Trenton, Ontario to Port Severn on Georgian Bay. It is a series of lakes, rivers, and canals with 44 locks in between. The locks are smaller than the Erie and some are very unique like the ' pan' lift locks at Peterborough and Kirkland and the Big Chute railway lift.  You can google or go to the Canada parks website for more info and history ( system was built over a 90 year period starting back in the early 1800's).  The waterway is beautiful and can be a bit tricky navigating as there are some very narrow channels and most of the bottom is rock not mud. There have been a lot of neat stops and interesting people particualarly the very helpful lock tenders. We veered off the main waterway for three days to a resort called Viamede on Stoney Lake....aptly named by the way. Here we relaxed and went for a long dinghy ride with  our friends Pam and Bob and also fought a very strong storm that came through and almost tore off the dock we were on.

We have been traveling with Mint Julep and Sassy II for the last several weeks with a few days where we have separated but it has been nice having other boaters to travel with. We have also met some other boats from Tennessee and that has been nice as well. We have done well through the locks and Carolyn has done a great job getting us tied up to the lock walls as well as taking most of the pics from the locks. We are finally out of the TSW and through with locks for a while.  We are enjoying Canada but do miss family and friends and look forward to being back on the Tennessee River. Updates a little behind but more to come....have to wait to find free wifi. Enjoy the pics and be safe....

Lake Ontario, Thousand Islands, and Canada

The last couple of weeks have been exciting with new places, lots of rain, and looping with friends. We left Winter Harbor in Brewerton, NY on the Erie and headed north on the Oswego Canal through eight locks to Oswego, NY where we stopped for one night and left the next day for Sackets Harbor, NY across Lake Ontario. We had a south wind which gave us some sideways action for a couple of hours but generally a good trip across the Lake, about 40 miles. Sackets Harbor is a great historical town where a key battle of the War of 1812 was fought. It was one of only two naval bases on Lake Ontario the US had during the war and had to fend off a British invasion from the west. Willi and I walked the whole battlefield. Check it out on google or your history books. We spent three days, one more than planned to change transmission fluid on Here and Now. Our traveling companions went on to Clayton, NY where we caught up with them on the 25th of June. We stopped and picked up Bob and Pam from Mint Julep and all went together on our boat about 11 miles further down the St Lawrence River to Alexandria Bay and stopped on Heart Island to visit the Boldt Castle.  The story of the castle is interesting and for more info...google!. We returned to Clayton, NY a 'border' town where the Antique Boat Museum resides...a really neat place. We left Clayton today and arrived in Kingston, Ontario Canada where we cleared customs and will be here a few days including Canada Day on July 1. Clayton and this whole area is part of the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River and there are actually more than 1700 small islands many of which are privately owned.  This is where the famous dressing was first served and named after the islands. It is a beautiful area with many fine homes and lots of state parks in both the US and Canada.

We have traveled @ 3500 miles and will be in Canada for about 45 days. The weather as been OK but a lot of rain...we have had to travel in the rain some but made it OK with low winds. We will be leaving Kingston later this week heading for Trenton to start the 250 mile Trent-Severn Waterway connecting Lake Ontario with Georgian Bay.  Here are a few recent pics....enjoy!

Be Safe

Caught on the Erie Canal

Well, I knew it was going to happen sooner or later...I got caught by Mom doing my update (see the pic). So what....I wanted to give you all my latest views on this trip. I am doing great and getting to roam all over the boat without too may "no's". My days start with sleeping as late as possible with Mom as Dad is still up way too early for Mom and I. It takes me a while to get going but when I do, I do big time. I get out pretty quickly and take care of business on my head and back inside to eat my treat spiked breakfast...I hold out as long as possible to eat because eventually Mom and Dad will put the treats in the regular stuff. We are moving about every day now and I have to stay in the condo until we are squared away and then I go upstairs and hang out with Dad and Mom on the bridge. Sometimes I go up to bow and hide out under the front seat where Dad stores the water hoses...Mom found me there recently. For the last week or so we have been stopping a lot along the way to 'lock thru' as Dad says. Mom goes outside and holds the boat except when the lock has only ropes hanging down and both Mom and Dad have to go hold the boat. We have been through 23 locks since Troy, NY with several stops at some marinas and lock walls.

We are now in Brewerton, NY at Winter Harbor marina which is right on the Erie Canal. Mom left all day yesterday to some place south of here to look at the place where she got her dishes...Mack and Child or something like that. I get to do some exploring once in a while as you can see in the pics...but need a sign for our boat that says 'Beware of Westie" like the one on the tree. I am still helping Dad with maintenance work and am learning to use the channel locks...at least make the handles are well worn. We are leaving tomorrown heading up the Oswego canal to Lake Ontario and then on to Thousand Islands and Canada within a week or so....I will have to check in to the Westie customs office and report my toys and treats and any other contraband just like Mom and Dad. Will let you know about that.

Enjoy the pics and remember...bark more, growl more!!

The Big Apple and Hudson River

Returning from Maison Rouge, after my city council meeting, with our niece Tammy and Heather to Philly airport we were met by Steve's smiling face. He and Willi had moved the boat from Cape May to Atlantic City so we would be closer to Ms. Liberty and the Big Apple. Early the next morning we traveled about 95 miles (a veryyyy long day) to Staten Island and docked 2 nights at Great Kills Yacht Club. From this marina  we girls caught the early bus into Manhattan to TKTS and got 1/2 price tickets to the play FELA. Then took the subway down to Chinatown, where we had the best time. Heather was a natural at buying the most  for the least amount of money... so we took advantage of that and all left the area with lots of bags with good stuff. We took the subway back to 42nd street where we met Steve and went to the play. It wasn't what we expected, but a great play to see. Dinner was at an Irish Pub and the pizza was wonderful. : ) Tammy and Heather walked my legs off but I loved every minute.

We left Staten Island early, going to Liberty Landing Marina on the Jersey side of the Hudson. Floating docks, new bathhouse, laundry, and the ferry to Manhattan on site made this a GREAT stop. Up early again to hit the streets of New York  Heather, Tammy, and I caught the ferry to WFC and up to SOHO for another day of shopping. What a great time exploring we had again. Late that evening we met up with Steve and two other Looper boaters, Mint Julip and Sassy II for a wonderful Italian dinner at Max's.

We hated to see Heather and Tammy leave. Willi loves it when we have guests on board. It was special having them experience our dream with us in such a exciting stop along the loop.

Its neat when you meet up again with loopers you have met along the way. Gullwing joined us at Liberty Landing Marina and we enjoyed walking to dinner with them after they arrived.

After the second night there, we left to meet with Mint Julip and Sassy II in front of the statue of Liberty for a photo op. Hopefully the pictures won't have toooooo many ferry boats so you can't see the Here And Now. Goodbye NYC, hello Hudson River. The weather has been beautiful and the ride up the Hudson was gorgeous. Rolling hills and beautiful homes made the travel day nice for all 3 boats. Passing Sing Sing Prison, West Point, lots of light houses, and the beautiful Catskill  mountains, we traveled north to Half Moon Bay Marina at Croton-on-Hudson then to Catskill.  The awesome scenery in this area makes it a great place to bike and kayak.

Another highlight for me was touring the CIA culinary school and having dinner there.  The setting was gorgeous and having started as a Jesuit property, the architecture was beautiful.  This may be my second career after we finish the loop.  : )

The last few months have been so exciting because of the people we have met and the ports we have visited. Our time seems to be flying by....Steve has made so many days extra special with fixing breakfast before he wakes me and bringing in fresh flowers from the store.  Just a few days and we plan on starting across the Erie Canal. We miss family and friends but wouldn't trade this experience for anything. Thanks for your support and the comments you have left on our blog.