Gemini Loop: Muskegon and Grand Haven, MI

We arrived in Muskegon on Monday and have been here ever since. We are visiting with our cousins, Rich, Bob and Carol, and waiting out some winds and high seas. On Tuesday, Chris flew into Muskegon and joined us. He will go with us to Chicago and stay with Ryder while we go home for a few days.

Carol picked me up Tuesday and took me to the airport to meet Chris. It is really great to see the boy! Bob showed up after arriving home from his motorcycle trip. It was Lake Superior that he "looped" - not Lake Michigan. Rich joined us too, and we visited for a while on the boat. We all went to lunch at a sub shop owned by a friend of Bob's. It was awesome! We left Chris on the boat sleeping, since he got almost no sleep the night before.

Carol left her car for us to use while we're here. A good thing, because the dog groomer that Google maps said was about two miles away was more like 12 miles away. If Steve had been on his bike, he and Ryder would both have been very upset!

Tuesday night we all had dinner at the restaurant next to the marina. Carol's daughter Terri, and granddaughter Angela, joined us. It was very nice to meet them, and the meal was wonderful. It started drizzling as we were finishing dinner - not too bad for us because the boat was close by, but Rich rode through some rain and lightening on his motorcycle going home.

Since the wind and waves will keep us here til Friday, we are taking advantage of the long stop. We've already done the ever-present laundry and grocery shopping. We had planned to go to Grand Haven for our next port. It is only 12 miles by boat and a short drive by car. It made sense to go there by car and skip going there by boat. We picked Rich up along the way and went exploring.

Grand Haven was a wonderful surprise! There was a farmer's market in progress - which Chris and I took advantage of. Nearby was an old train - the Pere Marquette. It had been beautifully restored and had two cabooses. All of this was along their waterfront. We saw the trio of boats Sea Moore, Dream Catcher and Jeremiah, but not their owners.

We drove over to the main street and found not only wonderful old buildings - nicely restored - but rocket fish. The Rocket Fish Project is one similar to the bears and cats and mermaids we've seen before. It is a little different though, in that participants pay for the blank form - for large fish or 2 foot "minnow" - and then decorate it as they wish. The large fish are displayed on the streets, the minnows are displayed in or near businesses. The money goes to charity and serves to introduce Grand Haven's arts festival in September. As before, I am giving you some of my favorites and doing a separate entry for those who want to see more.

I used the blueberries we bought at the farmer's market to make a cobbler, and Chris made a wonderful Italian sausage pasta for dinner last night. Life is good!