Another baby on a boat post...

Sorry, not sorry... he's just so cute! :-) There are plenty of ways for a toddler to entertain himself on a boat. See pics below for proof!

Eat your mac and cheese and chug some water while dada cooks more food just for you

Teach everyone what the orange flag is for (standing on a cooler and waving, obviously)

Test out your balance on the table

Eat snacks, lots and lots of snacks.

Cars can race all over the boat! 

Pull out ALL the pillows and blankets to build a fort

Count your loonies and toonies 

Plan out where mama and dada will take you next.

Use mama's toothbrush while holding your own :-/

Lots of naps are good, but only after fighting them (literally) for at least a half hour 

What? Just sitting here looking cute.

Practice keeping mama and dada on their toes (the window was kept zipped closed after this)

Keep the boat clean

And then just lay back and relax in your queen size bed that you now have almost to yourself... 

Ben's Fox Island Anchoring Adventure

Ben checking things out in the Bay of the Benjamins anchorage

Saturday, July 22: A lot of work and preparation goes into a trip like this, but the payoff starts with that first sip of coffee in the morning after a good night of sleep on the hook. We were happily moving slowly this morning just taking in the scenery, enjoying our morning coffee, cooking breakfast, and listening to Roy Eaton on Little Current Cruiser's Net. We checked the weather report and were disappointed to learn the wind would be switching midday to North/Northeast, the only direction we didn't have full protection from. Paul, aboard Orca, packed up early for a run to Little Current to pick up crew, then planned to return to nearby Croker Island. As we watched the anchorage start to clear out, we knew it was time to pull anchor and look elsewhere for protection. Croker was a great option, but going there meant we were repeating the same first 2 days itinerary as last year, something we try not to do. We decided to explore and try and find a new spot and keep Croker in mind as a plan B.

On the move from Benjamin Island...

After pulling anchor, we motored slowly clockwise around to the South side of the island, passing Croker along the way. The first cove we wanted to check on the south side was full with a raft up of 3 boats. We would now have to cut between a group of rocks know as the Sow and Pigs to continue our search of a handful of other coves we had seen previously. After seeing the finger coves were occupied and the wind already starting to pick up, we decided to try anchoring in the South Benjamin main anchorage, a large cove with decent protection from NorthEast winds. Anchoring here should have been easy, but not today...RJ had other plans. Maybe it was because it was around nap time or maybe he picked up on the increase in tension as we prepared to anchor, but he decided it was the perfect time to go into full toddler meltdown mode. I've become pretty confident in my anchoring skills, but something about a screaming crying toddler tornado in a quiet anchorage full of boats really threw my game off. After a couple attempts and failures, I tucked my tail between my legs and declared this anchorage was not going to work for us and pointed the bow back towards open water. As we motored away I was listening over my shoulder just waiting to hear a round of applause, but it never came. Maybe they felt sorry for us. Anyway, I was glad our dinghy was covering our boat name.

The Benjamin Island Area - Fox is the unnamed island above. Image is a screenshot from Google Maps.

We decided to move on to Fox Island, a beautiful and highly recommended anchorage we had never visited before mostly because of a tricky entrance. As I set our course Dana took RJ down into the cabin to lay down with him and attempt to try and get him to sleep, I hoped it would work as I needed her help guiding me through the tricky entrance. It was a short trip to Fox and as it turns out not enough time for our plan to work so after some quick surveillance of the entrance I decided to go for it since it didn't look as tricky as I had heard for many so years, in fact it was actually pretty easy to pass through the rock littered entrance. We passed through the front bay which was empty of boats and head further back into the well protected main anchorage only to find it was packed full of boats. Dana came up from the cabin at this time and agreed that anywhere we anchored would be infringing on some else's space. Frustrated with our situation and RJ starting to cry again down below again we decided our best option was to turn around and head all the way back to Croker Island and hope there was still room for us in the popular anchorage. Planning on a long slow ride back, Dana went to join RJ in the bunk to try and comfort him back asleep.

Entrance to Fox Island Harbor - Image is a screenshot from Google Maps.

Before departing Fox Island I decided to go to the middle of the empty front anchorage and hover for a minute so I could set up the chart plotter and get out the appropriate charts needed to travel to Croker.  I was also getting concerned about leaving Fox because the wind had picked up to the point I wasn't sure if I could see those rocks I avoided when we came into the anchorage. 

Day 7: Running for Cover in Killarney

Uh oh!

Day 7: Thursday, July 21st - Covered Portage Cove to Killarney 

Sportsman's Inn, George Island side

We parted ways this morning with our friends Kurt and Beth on Petry's Pet, as they headed back west and we moved forward toward Georgian Bay.  As we looked at the radar though, we got a little nervous about the impending storm... and ultimately decided to head to Killarney to tie up on a dock.  Without the baby aboard, we may not have made this decision, but we were playing it safe on this trip!

Storm clouds move in

Meanwhile down in the cabin... RJ is just chillin and watching Blaze (and the Monster Machines)

The storm passed pretty quickly without really amounting to much, but we had already paid for overnight dockage, so we decided to make the most of the day at dock!  This was our first time staying on the George Island side of Sportsman Inn Marina, and we enjoyed the peacefulness. :-)  

Storm? What storm?

Ben doing some fishing off the dock at Sportsman Inn Marina

Lunch at Herbert's - Fish and Poutine yummmmmm

RJ trying some Herbert's - I think he liked it!

This was our first time eating at the new Herbert's restaurant!  It was nice to have a place to eat indoors (it was pretty hot that day), but we definitely missed the old schoolbus! We were lucky to get there at an off time, so there weren't many people there and we were able to get a table indoors.  

We otherwise had a pretty quiet day exploring and napping, and saving up our energy for more adventures to come!

Mama and baby bear :-)

The whole Seapickle crew in Killarney

Day 1: Trailer Boating to the North Channel, Ontario! (aka A 16 Hour Tow with a 6 month old)

Rj's first roadtrip!

Ahhhh... the North Channel. It's early January as I'm writing this, and we're watching a North Channel DVD (and drinking wine) for inspiration as we finally start writing about our July 2016 summer trip. There were so many differences to this trip from previous years (obviously), and one of them was NOT taking detailed notes on our daily activities and weather conditions! I guess you could say we had other top priorities, aka keeping a 6 month old alive and fed. :-) So, we're sorry this is coming so late and may not be as detailed as previous trip blogs! Hope you still enjoy reading about our sometimes crazy, sometimes relaxing, 2 week boating trip with our baby RJ.

On this trip we had friends and fellow GLCC members, Kurt and Beth, also from Indiana traveling with us once we reached the North Channel. They boated all the way up from Michigan City, Indiana in their Sea Ray Sundancer 340. Last year they accomplished an amazing trip of traveling all the around Lake Michigan and enjoyed it so much they decided to retire early and push further North this summer into the North Channel!! 

Day 1 is going to cover our travels from leaving home Thursday night at approx 8:45 CST to arriving at Spanish Marina Friday afternoon at approx 2:00 EST.

All tucked in (with bunny and binky) and ready to go!

Thursday, July 14th - 8:45pm -  For our first trip with a baby, we decided to try out leaving Thursday night when Ben got home from work and driving overnight. We figured this would be the best bet for RJ sleeping the majority of the trip and hopefully not crying too much! In order to do this, we had to have the boat packed, washed, and on the trailer in advance so that Thursday we could head out right around RJ's usual bedtime.  Overall, we didn't do too bad!  We pulled the boat out Sunday morning and spent the day getting it washed, packed with our clothes and non-perishable goods, and canvas down and ready for towing.   On Thursday, we left the house a little later than we wanted to, stopped at the bank and gas station, and spent way too much time at the marina hooking the trailer up to the truck, but we were on the road to the NC by 10:30pm.

Friday morning and still on the road!

Our first gas stop was in Grandville, MI (exit 67 - just "ok"), followed by a nap stop from 3:30-5:45am EST at a rest area.  Our second gas stop was in Houghten Lake, where we also had breakfast at the Burger King next door around 7am.  Our third gas stop was the Mackinaw City Citgo (kinda small/busy - full service), and final stop right before the border at the 3 mile road exit (the Admiral, our usual).  At every gas station stop, RJ would wake up for a few minutes while we pumped gas and stretched our legs, but as we got back on the road I would stick a bottle in his mouth and he'd be back to sleep in no time!  He did wake up around his normal time of 7am, so we took the opportunity to stop for breakfast and take him out of his seat for awhile.  He did great though getting back on the road, and took his morning nap as usual.  Once he woke up from that though, we had to stop for a side-of-the-road diaper change and he wasn't too happy for awhile.  He napped on and off the rest of the way though.  Traveling overnight and stopping for a "nap" and then breakfast extended our drive by about 4 or 5 (long) hours.  Looking back, though, we think it was the right call and we plan to drive overnight again for our next trip.

Arriving to Spanish Marina, Ontario

Unpacking the truck and packing the boat! RJ shows off our supplies in the mid-cabin (his bunk)

Trailer boat launch at Spanish Marina, Ontario

We arrived at the Spanish Marina around 2pm EST to a chilly, overcast, windy day and got to work getting ready to launch.  Our original plans were to meet our friends Kurt and Beth in Gore Bay, but after our long drive and seeing the windy conditions, we decided instead to secure a slip in Spanish for the night.  We were able to make contact with Kurt and Beth to update them with our change in plans and decided to meet in the Benjamin's in the morning instead. 

Tying up in Spanish for the night

We made the best of the rest of the afternoon and tried to catch up on sleep and just prepare ourselves and the boat for the weeks ahead!  Spanish has a beautiful marina, and we always enjoy spending time there at the beginning or end of our trips.

Excited and nervous for our first trip together!

Wonderful Weekend at the 1st Annual GLCC Trailer Boat Rally in White Lake, Michigan!

Baby Seapickle (and daddy) with Seapickle II on the trailer ready to launch in White Lake

This past weekend was the 1st Annual Great Lakes Cruising Club Trailer Boaters' Rally in White Lake / Whitehall, Michigan.  We've been to a few GLCC events before, but this was our 1st full rally and we really enjoyed the weekend.  We arrived Friday evening to a pizza party at the pavilion in front of the White Lake Municipal Marina.  We've stayed there twice before, and enjoy the low-key vibe and quiet of the town and marina.

Driving through the town of Whitehall on the way to the launch

Launch ramp in Montague, Michigan (docks are a little short for our 26ft cruiser)

We enjoyed a walk on the little trail next to the launch

Ready to launch

Saturday morning we joined the group for a nice breakfast at Crosswinds on the Lake Restaurant in Whitehall.  They don't usually open until lunch, so it was very nice of them to host us that morning for a pancake and sausage breakfast.  After breakfast, we went back to the boat for RJ's morning nap and spent some time playing with our new toy while we waited for him to wake up.  After naptime, the plan for the day was Michigan's Adventure Park!  We couldn't take the baby on rides quite yet, but he LOVED petting the animals at the farm exhibit / petting zoo.  Saturday ended with a cocktail party on the dock with new friends and boating stories - our kind of night. :-)

Ben and RJ at breakfast with GLCC friends

Ben's new toy! Aka our new dinghy - deserves it's own blog post :-)

RJ meets Llama

RJ learning how to hang out on the dock

Sunday morning RJ and I slept in while breakfast was being prepared up at the pavilion.  When we finally stumbled up, we enjoyed donuts and great conversation (and RJ enjoyed being carried around by a new friend).  We wanted to head back home early so we could beat traffic, but finally got on the road around 2:30pm.  We arrived back at our marina around 6pm spent a little time unwinding on our dock.  All in all, a great weekend and another successful GLCC event!

Trailer Boat Committee Chair, Chris, making breakfast at the pavilion

GLCC breakfast in White Lake

Seapickle II in White Lake Municipal Marina