Summer Is Far From Lazy These Days - Part I

Summer has flown by - it always does since I started hanging out with J, my husband. He never slows down - too many things to do, places to go, people to see. It is all I can do to keep up sometimes. 

Summer accelerates even more - he has friends - and often work - in such fun places - Mackinac Island, Charlevoix, Put-In-Bay, Traverse City, Ludington, South Haven - the list goes on and on. I cannot stand to be left behind, but all this travel does not leave much time for writing blogs. It seems we are always getting ready to go away or getting back. 

So today, I just want to capture some of the fun things that have been happened during the last few weeks. Things have been hectic but fun. The weather has been unpredictable (the weather services sure have been having trouble) and a factor in our lives.

  We got down to our sailboat in Lake Erie a few times in May and June. It was pleasant with promise of warm, relaxing days to come.  In late June, it was in the nineties.

 We took J's parents to Mackinac Island with us for his annual gig at Horn's Gaslight Bar & Restaurant. He plays there every year around his birthday. This year the Sunday night show rocked when two different wedding parties arrived to continue their celebrations dancing to J's music.

In July, we drove up to Walloon Lake for an annual visit with old friends. Those few days the weather was very hot. We spent most of the time visiting, but could not resist floating in the water for a short while before we had to head back home.

On a recent weekend, my daughter arrived from Brooklyn, NY to visit and go sailing with us. But Charlie, the younger of my geriatric cats at 15 and a half, had a crisis that week and we had to cancel. 
  By the next weekend, Charlie had recovered enough to be left behind which was good since J was booked for a couple of shows at Mojito Bay in Put-In-Bay. Shortly before we were to go we realized that we had to get to Put-In-Bay early on Friday to make sure we got a mooring during the second weekend of the Christmas in July promotion.

We had arranged to join some friends on their pontoon boat here in town on Thursday night, but a new plan was needed. We talked it over and decided we could have a fine evening on the pontoon, race home, load the coolers and supplies and drive to Port Clinton where the boat is docked.

 So that is what we did. We arrived around midnight, stowed everything and set off for the island. By 3 a.m., we were anchored at the State Park on the south side of South Bass Island.

Waking up to this serene setting in the lovely sunlight did nothing to prepare me for the next few days. We had our coffee (J makes cappuccino on the propane stove), raised the anchor and sailed around to choose our mooring. The weather was lovely all day and perfect for J's show on Friday afternoon. I sat with friends from Port Clinton who came out to hear him, and sold a few of J's new CDs. After the show, we all had dinner at the Boardwalk before the ladies had to head home on the Jet (ferry). 

Saturday was pretty but cool. We took it easy, anticipating J's show on Sunday afternoon and the arrival of the friends we had invited to stay on the boat for the night afterwards. To make room, we moved all of the stuff laying around into the V berth so the couple we were expecting could sleep in the salon while we stayed in the aft cabin.

We were really surprised as the water taxi approached the next afternoon to see not two but four people arriving! We had invited them all, but somehow Jerry had misunderstood when one friend contacted him to say they were coming. They started handing up luggage and I wondered where we would put it all!
 
Turns out several pieces were coolers and blankets and pillows - which we were going to need. The weather had turned even cooler and no one would want to sleep in the cockpit, even with all the canvas up. After a little rearranging, we figured it all out and proceeded to have a wonderful visit. 

We did choose to move to a dock. The wind was blowing pretty hard, making it hard to sleep comfortably - and it was easier to get everyone in and out without depending on the water taxi. The docks had emptied out some - but many boats went out and came right back because of the weather so it was not easy to find a spot. 
 We ended up on B dock where out guests were thoroughly entertained watching the large number of Lake Erie Island water snakes who lived underneath. The snakes swim all around the boats and get up on swim platforms to sun themselves. I thought we were safe since we do not have a platform, until I rode my bike up the boat to find a 3 foot specimen on the dock. J kicked him off, but I was very wary after that. 

We had a great time taking our guests to see J at Mojito Bay, to various eating and drinking establishments, to watch our favorite Detroit band, the Killer Flamingos, at the Roundhouse and on a tour of the island.

When J offered to repair a speaker that was failing at Mojito Bay, the manager offered him another show since another performer had to cancel. Although it was a Tuesday night, there was a fun crowd at the Tiki Bar and Jerry had a blast teasing them while taking requests. We spent one more night at our mooring before heading home, tired but with lots of great memories to savor next winter!