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

Day 1 The Journey begins!

The day we have been waiting has finally arrived! After a year of planning, and three days of careful packing, it was time to leave port and head north. Our goal was to get to the boat and be ready to go at 6a.m. and we came close! We arrived at 6:20a.m. and met Ben's dad, Bill, who helped us load the rest of our gear and film our departure. We left Portage Harbor at approx. 7:20a.m. and headed northeast on the lake with the gps set to Muskegon . The day started out rainy with calm seas, and progressed to much rougher seas. By the time we reached Saugatuck waves were reaching 3ft, and hitting 4ft at Grand Haven!

We reached Muskegon in about 5 hours, where we stopped to see the Tall Ships and meet a fellow Four Winns forum member Cap'n Morgan. Thanks for the open marina slip tip! After touring the Tall Ships it was time to have lunch on the boat, fuel up and complete our trip to White Lake, a little over 10 miles away.

Entering White Lake was very beautiful and peaceful. The lake is 6 miles long, with White Lake Municipial Marina at the very end. We pulled into slip #44 on our port side and a marina attendant was there to help us tie up and tell us about the area.We unloaded our bikes, connected to shore power, and discovered our AC Pump stopped working!! :-( Lucky the forecast called for a cool evening.... and we made plans to try to get a new pump in the morning.

After showering and relaxing a bit, we headed into town in search of pizza. We ordered a deluxe pizza from Big Johns and walked around town while we waited. Back at the boat, we enjoyed dinner and relaxation.. and headed to bed at 10pm, beat up and tired from the long day on a rough lake

Day 1 Miles -154.9

Moving time -7hrs 9min

Fuel used- 77.7 Gal

Average Mpg -1.99!