Locks and Dams

So far we've traveled through our first 7 locks.  We're getting the hang of it now (and the floating bollards have been very helpful). Bollards are a 'cleat' per se to tie your lines to that actually move with you and the water at the same time.  Supposedly we just locked through the last of those.

We made some friends, Allan and Cheryl Goode from "The Goode Life" and they took this photo of us while locking through.  In this picture we're with another "looper" called "Rambler."  This particular lock there were 4 loopers total.  

Fun to see other Loopers!

We're having fun with the trip and getting into a little more of a routine now.

The kids loved it too!

Hamms Holiday Harbor Marina

What a great experience meeting the owner of the marina, Dick.  He welcomed us with open arms, a whole watermelon and an exclusive private tour of his collection of Casino barges.

We've never seen anything like it before! 

His whole harbor was full of old barges...including one that use to be a Burger King! The one below is the gas dock.

We were impressed!

The inside was still pretty decent and the kids left with some fun souvenirs from the visit...playing cards, some money and menu things to play "store" with.

It's not everyday you get to tour something as unique as this.  Mr. Hamm took us all on his work boat around to see the boats and afterward went for a sun set cruise to see a hundred pelicans. He really stirred up the Asian Carp as they were flying everywhere.  We ended up with a huge foot long one in the boat...I have only a video of it and the kids went crazy!

Calumet River

Our first time in the river system went very well! Kids make their own fun of the day before school starts!

Had some really low bridge clearances of 18'4" and we can go under 17' 9"...a very close one!

This is where the Calumet Sag Harbor meets the Illinois River.

The fish barrier for the Asian Carp was a "nonevent" really!

Waited in a strong wind and heavy current for 1:45 to go into the Lockport Lock today.  It took us down 40 feet (which was the fastest part).  Very interesting to see! We met three other "Looper" boats in the lock and spent the night at the Joliet wall with them.

Party Time!

It was hard to say goodbye...

We are so loved by all of our wonderful friends.  Thank you for all of your support and all of the fun parties!

great friends

My sweet sister Michelle drove three hours to be there for the party's.  She lost the 'credit card in the hat' gamble and had to buy everyone a round..ouch! She didn't seem to mind at all though...thanks Michelle!   

such a supportive family

Fun times

Best buddies forever and ever. Jaxon loves his big cousin Derek and will miss him dearly...

 Elizabeth and Emily making cute crafts to float down to the party below them.  Cousins are the best and the close bond will be treasured forever! 

Chicago

We loved Chicago. We moored out boat  in Monroe Harbor that was very central to everything.  Biked to the Lincoln Park Zoo, took the dinghy through downtown Chicago and enjoyed The Navy Pier and Childrens Museum.  We were anchored right in front of Buckingham Fountain and were able to see light/water show every night and fireworks too.

Kids had fun at Millenium Park playing with a huge mirror like structure.

Bike rides by the lakeshore!

At the end of Navy Pier was a huge anchor that Jaxon was crazy about!

At the top of the ferris wheel at Navy Pier.

Childrens Museum was a huge hit!  To Harry Carays for dinner too!

Benton Harbor

My mom and dad surprised the kids and came for an overnight visit in Benton Harbor.  Spent the days in the hot sun enjoying the port.

Lost our hermit crab for almost 12 hours and Jaxon found it 20 feet behind the boat on a break wall....what a celebration we had once little "M" was found.  Jaxon the hero of the day was so proud!

We were able to park on a wall in the downtown area which allowed us great access to everything.

The water area was a welcoming relief for all of us with the hot temperatures...we went there during the day and even at night!  They also had a great indoor carousel at Silver Beach.

Saugatuck

We had fun in Saugatuck as always.  Kids made friends right away at the park too.  We climbed to the top of Mt. Baldhead and down the dunes in the back over to Oval Beach.  Spent some of our last days on the beaches of Lake Michigan playing in the water and enjoying the sun.