2 Weeks Boating in the North Channel, Ontario - With a 6 Month Old!

a

Not as scary as it sounds. ;-)  In fact, it was our best trip yet!

Posts coming soon....

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

Trailer Boaters - Join us on White Lake, Michigan!

The weekend of August 12-14 will be an exciting one for Boater's who join us on White Lake in Whitehall, Michigan! We'll be trailering to the 1st annual Great Lakes Cruising Club Trailer Boater Rally! And the best news is you don't have to be a member to join us for the weekend!

The GLCC Trailer Boating Committee is planning a weekend full of family-fun, with a special visit to Michigan Adventure Park on Saturday. The tentative schedule is:

Friday, August 12

Pizza Party in front of Municipal Marina/Goodrich Park Pavilion, 100 S. Lake St. - Pizza, pop/water provided with salad/dessert potluck. Craft supplies/project guidance provided for kids by Whitehall Arts Council.

Saturday, August 13

Pancake/Sausage breakfast at Crosswinds Marina

Michigan Adventure Park (tickets included w/registration).

Consider carpooling w/other boaters to save on parking fee charged at gate. Optional social gathering; bring drinks/snacks to share - Location TBD
Either return to Michigan Adventure Park, go to dinner in the town with new-found friends, or make your way out into Lake Michigan for a sunset cruise!

Sunday, August 14
Continental Breakfast at Goodrich Park Pavilion
Afternoon Choose to: Meet and anchor out at beach • Go dune buggy riding at nearby Silver Lake Sand Dunes (23 miles north of Whitehall - tickets not included in registration) • Take a walk/bike using paths right in front of the marinas that lead to the beaches, break walls and a lighthouse museum near Lake Michigan Bike/Kayak/Paddle Board rentals available in town • Shopping - antiques/boutique stores. Contact Kait (Lake Area Chamber) 281-893-4585 for more info.

Please download application form here http://www.glcclub.com/files/2016TrailerBoatersRally_web.pdf

Or contact Committee Chair - Chair Christine Moore Skrocki at (989) 245-3343 or skrocknest@aol.com, or email us at boatinglakemichigan@gmail.com

Hope you can make it!! :-)

Ben and Dana

Seapickle II

Our Christmas Baby

Our Christmas Baby, and "Best Gift Ever," is now 6 weeks old and cute as can be! We can't wait to show RJ the boating life this summer... he has no idea what a fun life is in store for him! :-)

Update from Ben: Last Day of Chemo!!

 

After 6 long months of chemo, my sentence has been served and I've been freed to live my life. I've had so much support and prayers from friends, family, and the amazing staff at Northwestern Memorial that I never felt alone in my fight and for that I'll forever be grateful. Thank you to my awesome nurses Kendra and Betsy who calmed all my fears from day one and had remedies ready for all my symptoms. I couldn't have asked for a better oncology nurse than Kendra and we will miss seeing her every other week.

The biggest thank you goes to my incredible wife Dana who drove me to every appointment even when she had terrible morning sickness just to be by my side. We were never sure who would be the first to use to bucket in the car. :-)

 Cancer has forever changed my life. It showed me that life is short and can change in an instant good or bad. All the little things I used to constantly stress about seem so unimportant now. I've realized that nothing is more important than spending time with friends and family, and living life to the fullest every day! It has shown me an inner strength I didn't know I had and left me with a quiet confidence to take on whatever the world throws at me. 

There was a time when I thought I might not be around to see this year through, and now I'm cancer free (remission), done with chemo, and ready to welcome our son into the world in the next few weeks!! Life is good! :-)

Boating baby coming soon!

Just a few of our nautical maternity pics :-)  View the rest on Flickr if you'd like! https://www.flickr.com/photos/ben-dana/albums/72157660132584530

Photos by Lisa Marie Photography in Merrillville, IN.

Pregnancy is going well and we cannot wait to welcome our baby boy in December!

1st Visit to Kelley's Island, Lake Erie, Ohio

Welcome to Kelley's Island, Ohio

August 21-23, 2015:  We left Put-In-Bay Friday morning and set out to try some fishing.  The lake was not calm, but we anchored near Ballast Island and tried it out for a little while.  We didn't last long due to the waves and the constant wake from boats coming & going to Put-In-Bay, so we packed up and headed to Portside Marina on Kelley's Island.

Portside Marina, Kelley's Island, Ohio

Portside Marina was pretty tight to get into, but the marina crew were quick to assist us and on the dock ready to help us tie up.  We arrived early in the day Friday, so there wasn't too much going on or too much traffic.  Later on though, it was very entertaining watching all the boats crowd in after work around 5-6pm!!

Portside Marina and view of Cedar Pointe

Portside Marina is right downtown Kelley's Island.  Excerpt from the Kelley's Island Chamber Website: The downtown area remains the heart of island activity where visitors can do everything from shop in unique shops to play miniature golf or just sit and watch passers-by.  Restaurants provide both inside and outdoor dining experiences, a complete range of cuisine, and a variety of entertainment on most weekends. Small grocery stores stock just about everything anyone would need. Most visitors enjoy topping off their stay with a hand-dipped ice cream cone or some fresh island fudge. 

Meeting up with fellow Four Winns friends on Kelley's Island

We had some Four Winns Forum visitors for our first evening on Kelley's Island!  We love meeting boating families, and had a great time visiting with John and Michelle and family.  If they can travel with 3 kids on the same size boat as ours, I think we'll manage with one baby aboard and all our travel plans next year! :-)

Golf Cart rental is the way to travel on the island!

Kelley's Island Brewery

Amazing breakfast with a view at Kelley's Island Brewery

Saturday morning we rented a Golf Cart from the marina and set out to do some exploration!  The first and most important stop... breakfast at Kelley's Island Brewery.    Breakfast was great and the views couldn't be beat! If I'm craving anything this pregnancy, it's breakfast (with a lot of gravy).  From there we continued our trip around the island, with the next stop the Glacial Grooves State Memorial.

Traveled through some pretty scenery on the way

Glacial Grooves on Kelley's Island

A little history on the Glacial Grooves, excerpt from www.ohiohistory.org:
A National Natural Landmark, the Glacial Grooves on the north side of Kelleys Island are the largest easily accessible such grooves in the world.  From a walkway, footbridge and stairs you can look down on the immense grooves, which are 400 feet long, 35 feet wide and up to 10 feet deep, suggesting the tremendous power of the ice that formed them.
Of Devonian limestone, Glacial Grooves Geological Preserve contain marine fossils that are 350 to 400 million years old. They were scoured into solid limestone bedrock about 18,000 years ago by the great ice sheet which covered part of North America.
Glacial Grooves Geological Preserveis locally managed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resource's Lake Erie Islands State Park.

 The grooves and the fossils preserved within were very cool to see, and we highly recommend a visit!

Dana posing with baby bump at the Glacial Grooves

Quick stop at the beach - Kelley's Island State Park

Continuing our island exploration, we stopped at the State Park and finally at Inscription Rock.  Excerpt from www.ohiohistorycentral.org:
Inscription Rock is located in Erie County on Kelleys Island. It is one of Ohio's most famous rock art sites. Pre-contact groups of North American Indian poples engraved more than one hundred designs onto a huge limestone boulder on the south shore of the island. The symbols are called "petroglyphs" from the Greek words for rock writing.
The precise age of these carvings is unknown. Based on the symbolism and the amount of weathering of the generally soft limestone, they probably are less than one thousand years old and so likely are the work of the the so-called "Late Prehistoric" period Sandusky culture, or the work of American Indian peoples living in the region during the period of European colonization.
The large boulders on the north and south shores of the island were dramatic landmarks for the American Indians who lived in the area. Marking the rocks with petroglyphs was one way of making a personal connection with the land.
Inscription Rock is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Leaving Portside Marina back onto Lake Erie

Overall we really enjoyed Kelley's Island, especially exploring via golf cart and visiting the historical sites on the Island.  The island was more laid back than Put-In-Bay, but still had quite the nightlife!  It seemed to be a good mix of family activities and nightlife.

Our next post will have a fun video from our night at Portside Marina (if 2 ft waves in the marina while you're trying to sleep is your idea of fun). :-)  We also have some information about our visit to the nice family at Loadmaster Trailers!