Waves 5 feet today

Teh lake Michigan waves were 5′ today and SAM lasted about 15 minutes before wanting to turn back.  We were accompanied by Artha and Bill who own a Seaward 23.  This is the day we had been waiting for  with 10 – 20 kt winds from the north.  Unfortunately the wind was up long enough to kick up some of the famous LM waves that are steep and have a short period.  About every 10th wave was much bigger than the others and we shipped some water for the first time.  We ate lunch with them on-board Inspiration and had a good time.

Later I did a period of meditation and SAM did some bible studies and we drove home tonight instead of in the morning.  It was a perfect day except for the waves.

Fun with the Family

My son arrived early and caught me eating at the hospital.  The culinary adventure was made on the recommendation of several seniors that eat there all the time.  I was the very last and the only one there as they close the doors at 1900 hrs.  I had Broccoli, Beef Stroganoff and peach pie for a total price of $2.85.  It was actually good to the taste and the environment was not nearly as sterile as I thought it was going to be.  And to top it off it was much better for me than McDonald’s.

Speaking of McDonald’s there is a contingent of the morning coffee people that are boycotting due to MD’s stance on various orientations and one guy has been kicked out due to the Managers opinion.  Maybe it is time to find a new place for coffee anyway.

We had a great time with my son & grandson the past few days.  The first day we kayaked a relatively short distance down Long Lake and then down the Pigeon River to Bower Lake where we took out the boats.  SAM went too so it was a foursome and we had to borrow a paddle from Barry because we have only three for four boats.

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Saturday we went to Fun Spot and spent nearly the whole afternoon there – Son & Grandson did all the rides while Sam & I sat in the shade and watch all the people pass us by.  The evening was spent watching Sci-Fi channel about Noah’s 2nd Arc.  It was PL days so we went to the chicken dinner at the Mennonite Church and met nearly the whole town there.  Afterwards was Bluegrass type music.

Another Vacation: Week 32

This week has been a vacation week and an active one.  SAM is working and I have the time to myself.  I was going to the boat this week but there has been so much precipitation that I cannot accomplish the work I had set out to do.  Specifically, I wanted to replace the deck plugs that had screws showing and ones that were filled with epoxy/ wood paste by other owners.

Instead, I have been in PL.  I have kayaked some long routes with Barry – we they were long for me – down local rivers.  First we did Pigeon River from US20/US327 to Mongo on Tuesday and it was about 4+ hours and today we did the Fawn River from Greenfield Mills to Dauber Rd ( 6 miles).  Fawn River was filled with tight turns and required a lot more paddle work but we did not have blocked river due to fallen trees.  The Pigeon was open too.

Tomorrow is our 25th anniversary so it will be taken with something special.  Then Friday and Saturday Marc will be here with David.  We enjoy our grandchildren very much and cherish each moment we get to see them.

I hope to take Marc and David on a short paddle down Long Lake and then Pigeon River to Little Bower Lake.  It is not too long a paddle and the hard part is getting to the river down Long Lake.

What’s Up?

We are having fun! That is what is up.  This is the fastest summer on record for us.  Kayaking, sailing, work on the boat, closing in on retirement, job instability and church.  all this leads up to no blogs.  Here is the plan.

 The boat has a secure winter storage.  There are many weeks of retirement work on the boat for this winter.  Actually it will probably extend into the summer with a late launch.  Then I need some crew to help get Inspiration to the North Passage for the summer which will probably be on anchor or mooring.

The work scene is underlined by the lack of sensitivity for senior citizens who make too much money and have opinions.  This is causing difficulties in a Matrix organization that incents Project Managers to use the lowest cost labor that can get the job done in their opinion.  Of course, I am not the cheapest labor and I have opinion formed by years of experience.  The Matrix organization answer is to deny those people work on the premise that the job bid price will not support cantankerous nabobs.  I might add the Pm’s are about 35-40 years old and have little sensitivity or training in group dynamics or other essential skills for senior managers.  The high senior manager answer is to control finances extremely well – this I give kudos to the Corporation.  The Pm;s are pressed into a situation of high pressure and what do you suppose gives?  Us aged anachronism’s of the past!  So much for age discrimination that is alive and well.

What else is happening?  I am on vacation this week and plan to kayak with Barry tomorrow on a stretch of Pigeon Creek between Howe and Scott.  We will take a chainsaw and brush cutters and open a reasonable navigable channel so normal people can kayak or canoe the river.

Late arrival to boat

We worked at home this AM in PL but left about 1500 and arrived by 1800 local.  We went out to eat at Kalico Kitchen and then went to Oval Beach to watch the sun go down.  No green flash tonight.

 There are a bunch of partiers across from us and we have the radio on loud to cover it up plus the air fan to circulate the air.  Tomorrow will be more thunderstorms so I do not know how far we will venture out tomorrow.

A couple of weeks of news.

The Garmin 492 GPS is back up and running aboard Inspiration.  The replacement unit acquired the satellites in seconds and came alive with the exact position.  The DSC radio did not recognize the GPS of after a moments thought I remembered that the default buss was the Garmin buss so I changed it to the NMEA in/out and bingo the DSC radio was talking with the GPS and reporting position.

SAM & I did not go to the boat this weekend.  Instead we drove to Grand Rapids and picked up my new Honda Civic.  The first gas mileage checks resulted in 37 mpg and I drove back at 70 MPH.  I am happy with this but wish it were higher.  My first feedback is that it is more cramped than the truck and I have to put my right foot at an odd angle while using the cruise control.  I have not had a chance to test the air-conditioner but I’ll bet it is marginal.  The rear window heater is anemic too.  I was simply amazed at the size of the battery – it is the size of the one in my lawn mower.

Saturday we kayaked Fox Lake and then on Sunday we just toured around our little llake a couple of times while a thunderstorm just missed us and we remained for the most part in the sunshine.  It must have been turtle day as I came within a few inches of a large snapping turtle about 12″ in diameter.  Earlier I had seen the largest turtle I have ever seen – it was a leatherback and was easily 24+” in diameter.  Wow. 

Sunday afternoon, SAM’s sister from Wyoming was here with Tim and a friend from England.  We had a reunion at KD’s house and there was lots of food for all.  I left around 1800 hrs and  drove the new car to the boat, unloaded it and then went for a shower.  I read the Valerie Roosa’s novel for a few pages and hit the hay.

Just happenings

Tuesday 6/10 I left work about 1600 hrs local and got to the boat about 1700 hrs. I immediately started with the varnish (actually Cetol Light) on the cockpit area. I put a thin coat on the wood and covered up some nicks and scrapes too. I would like to do one more tonight but I think it will be later when I get there and for some reason I just do not seem to have the heart for it today. It is pushing the envelope a bit since if the Cetol does not dry before the sun goes down then the dew could leave spots that you have to sand out. Afterwards I did my meditation and stayed in the zone a bit longer than usual and then had a lousy home made meal of angel hair spagetti with a Ravoli sauce topping. I spiced a bit with pepper, Italian Seasoning(bad idea) and garlic powder. I had a handful of raisins for desert. I hope to eat a bit more healthful food tonight but the cupboards are pretty bare. It is sort of hard for me to get a balance meal on the boat. Lately, I did switch from Lactaid 2% real milk to Soy Milk with Omega 3. Does that count?

Depressed

A depressing day.  Man, it seems like winter here but it is warm and supposed to be sunny.  Instead it is overcast and raining off/on for the last 3 days.  We have a few more days to look forward to as well.  It would be nice if all personal bloglines were happy and cheerful all the time.  Today is not one of those days.  I am not enjoying myself very much.  I guess I worry too much too and my vital energy level is down.

Right now I am waiting for a customer to send a 10 meg zipped file to my personal email box so it won’t bounce.  I am not sure if I can receive a 10 meg file or not – I think so but it has been some time since I tried a big file like that.

Over lunch I sent the boats GPS in for repair (or replacement) and got in just under the wire as far as warranty is concerned.  I did some troubleshooting and found out that the antenna was working OK so it had to be the Garmin 492 chart plotter that failed.  Maybe some stray lightning got it via the NMEA buss that I have hooked to the radio?

This weekend at the boat.

The weekend started out being beautiful and ended with thunderstorms, tonados and flash floods on Saturday night and then again Sunday afternoon.  If the radar is any indication we will get hit again pretty hard around midnight.  The biggest deal was the refridge and having to turn it off to conserve on the batteries. 

I had already set up a hotel in Grand Rapids so I could take a shower but just as I was leaving and SAM going back to Indiana the power came on so I canceled the hotel and went up to take a shower.  After that I did my meditation routine and then on to the store to get some basics.  I had a simeple dinner of a can to Hormel chile with Turkey and beans, microwaved red skin potato and a slice of bread with real unsalted butter.  MMMum.

Right now the intenet is popping in and out as I type this missive on notepad.  I’ll cut and paste it into WordPress.  I have the marine weather on and it is saying the bad weather is coming.  I better publish this blog just to get it out on the electronic cloud.

It looks like I have work for Monday and Tuesday and maybe Wednesday.  Maybe I can write more for tomorrow.

Boat Night

I worked today in GR and in the field.  It was the hottest day so far and inside the equipemnt room was even hotter.  After work I drove back to Saugatuck and had a quick meal. I went to the library and turned in a book on tape that was going to be overdue in GR.  They have a cool system that allows you to check out and turn in items at different libraries in the system.

It is supposed to be cool tonight but I have the fan on to blow out the hot air and suck in the cool from the Dorade Vents.  It also keeps the mosquitoes out too.  This is a edit tof the original.

It is supposed to rain again tonight and all week for that matter.  Rain is cool when you are in the boat but walking in in the rain is not so much fun.  I go in barefoot and put socks and shoes later. It is deadsville here so it is kind of lonely.  I wanted to varnish tonight but it is not possible with this type weather.  Good sleep everyone.