Ray LaMontange Concert at Northerly Island/Burnham Harbor Chicago

Our slip was directly across from the pavilion

 Burnham Harbor, Chicago and Northerly Island: We've been wanting to stay at Burnham Harbor in Chicago for quite awhile now, so when tickets to one of our favorite musicians went on sale at Northerly Island, I jumped on the opportunity to make it a boating weekend in Chicago! We were kinda taking a gamble and hoping for good weather (the weekend of June 26-27), because how could you go to a concert at Northerly Island and NOT take the boat there!

Almost to the city! It's about a 25 mile trip across the lake from Portage, IN

Entering the harbor at Burnham

G-Dock at Burnham Harbor - outside Soldier Field and the Field Museum

We got to Burnham Harbor early in the afternoon, checked-in at the office, and enjoyed spending some time on the dock before the concert. We were at the very end of the dock, on the outside wall (the T). Our dock neighbors were there hanging out, and everyone we met was very nice! 

We could hear the band rehearsing for the show from the boat, so we probably could have heard the whole show even without tickets! But, Ray LaMontagne is one of our favorite musicians, so we definitely were looking forward to experiencing his concert for the first time. The walk to Northerly Island was about a mile from the boat, even though we could see the pavilion from our slip!

Both of ours My first concert at Northerly Island. I forgot Ben saw Damien Rice here in his pre boat days.

Seats with a skyline view!

I can't image a better place to see a concert

Great seats !

 The show was amazing, see a performance from here and here, and the skyline views could not be beat. It's definitely my new favorite place to see a concert, and also a great excuse to take the boat to Chicago. We followed the hordes of people back out of the pavilion and the walk back to the boat went much faster than the walk to Northerly Island.

This is only the 2nd Chicago harbor we've stayed at, and we really enjoyed the view and the people we met. (The other was 31st street a couple years ago - read the post here)  It's still not close to restaurants to walk to, but if you're going to see a concert, to Soldier Field, or to the museums, the location is perfect! We hope to be back again, for a Bears game next time!

Relaxing the morning after the concert before heading back home

Lots of good boat-watching from our slip at Burnham

What do we do on vacation?? Look at boats of course!

 

July 19-26, 2014: For part 2 of our summer vacation, we are spending a week in a log cabin in Sister Bay, Wisconsin with the whole family! 9 adults, 4 kids, and poor little Seapickle stuck alone in a slip (at the beautiful Sister Bay Marina) so we can stay in the house with everyone else.

We arrived to Sister Bay around midnight Saturday night, dropped Seapickle off in the Sister Bay Marina long-term parking lot (a GREAT place to store the trailer for the week), and followed Ben's parents back to the cabin.  In the morning, we launched Seapickle at Sister Bay marina, got her all settled in her slip, and got to work cleaning off the ridiculous amount of bugs we collected on the drive from Canada. Later on we took a drive over to Yacht Works for some nautical shopping (bought an anchor wine glass and new bracelet) and then stopped across the street to check out a boat a friend was interested in.

Boats... 

Boats...

Boats...

And what do we do on a family vacation, even when we have our own boat?? Look at other boats of course! Sailboats, cruisers, bowriders... we seriously have a boat problem :-)

Liss men out looking at boats!

Leisurely drive along the coast

Checking out a Cruiser's bowrider at the Cruiers Show at Stone Harbor Resort

Cool boat docked in Sturgeon Bay

The next day we took a nice drive down the coast to Sturgeon Bay, accompanied by Ben's dad, stopping along the way to check out the marinas and boats in each town. In Sturgeon Bay, we happened upon a transformer-looking boat and also checked out the tugs over by the Maritime Museum.

Visitors on jet skis at Nicolet Bay

Relaxing at Horseshoe Island

A little fishing at Horseshoe Island

Looking out at Washington Island on our LONG trip to find fuel

Sunset at Sister Bay Marina

Although the wind/waves were not on our side AT ALL the whole week, we were able to take Seapickle out a few times - twice to Horseshoe Island (much busier than the last time we were there), and once to Nicolet Bay. There was also an "interesting" trip up to Washington Island, where we somehow managed to run almost completely out of gas, got stopped by the Coast Guard, and barely made it back to a fuel dock before heading down through Death's Door.

One last boat to see!

Before leaving, we had to make one last stop to see a sailboat for sale in Sister Bay, and also make the obligatory stop at West Marine. Seriously, I think it's time for a boating intervention! haha

Final Door County sunset at Fred & Fuzzy's

Enjoying our last night's dinner at Fred & Fuzzy's on the Waterfront - there's a boat dock right outside the restaurant

Back at "home" at our dock