Day 2- Horseshoe Island

When we woke up in the morning everything was very quiet. The night was still and calm my only complaint was the heat. We did not run the generator be cause all week it had been getting very cool at night, but this night did not seem to get as cool. I had woke up through-out the night a bit uncomfortable from the stuffiness, but all and all was not that bad. It may have been the fact Scott and I stayed up late with the fire scavenging for fire wood and make bad decisions with both the fire and consumption of adult beverages...

The next morning we picked the bottles and cans out of the fire that we thought was a good idea to put in there the night before, took a few ibuprofen for the other bad decisions and went for a hike around the island. Grace and Peyton stayed back for some fishing. Grace forgot her tennis shoes so all she had was flip flops not the best for hiking. Plus, Peyton and Pierce just made the hike the day before. There is a trail on the island that is 1k around the entire island. It was a fun little walk and allowed us all to see the sights from the entire island.

After our walk we decided to go to Little Sister Bay to Fred and Fuzzy's resort for lunch. In order to get this done we had to get showered and ready for the day. Scott and I soaped up and did a lake bath. Jill showered on the swim platform as she was not going for the cool morning dip! It was decided to leave Liming (Scott and Jill's boat) on the island and take one boat over due to the shortage of space at Fred and Fussy's, so we all jumped on Always Starboard and were on our way to get some famous fried green beans (our favorite item on the menu).

Upon our return we parted ways with the Derosier's and started our way to Sister Bay as our first port of call on our trip for Friday night. We thought we had never been there before by water, but then quickly remembered being there with our 248 fourwinns and getting stranded with engine problems. Maybe that was why we removed this port from our memory.

The boys had fun at the little beach just next to the marina where they jumped of the break-wall and played in the sand even though the sand was filled with some larger stones. After some beach time we went to dinner, some ice cream and came back to the boat for the night.

Summer 2014 Summer Boat Trip -

This year for our annual vacation we decided to keep it a bit local. Our plan was to have our boat in Sturgeon Bay for the remainder of the season starting at the beginning of August. In the past few years we have left our boat in Sturgeon Bay for an extended time after our trip due to the water conditions on Winnebago after the end of July. 

Our destination was our favorite marina in Sturgeon Bay, Centerpointe Marina. The boat had been there for a couple of weeks prior to our trip. When we arrived at Centerpointe around 10am Thursday Morning we had to do some last min provisioning. Along with that the canvas had a few bad seams so I had it fixed at one of the local shops that morning as well. 

After last years big water trip where the family swore not to do another trip due to the wind and weather, we were tweaking our plan. For the first night the plan was to go stay on the hook at Nicolet Bay or Horseshoe island. Our friends the Derosier's went with us up to our first spot. We swam at Nicolet Bay and took t he dinghy to the beach and enjoyed the afternoon. Weather and waves were not an issue on this day it was beautiful. 

As the day was winding down Peyton and Grace swam to the boat and got some money to buy all the kids ice cream from the beach concession stand. After that we all went back to the boat and went across the bay to horseshoe island for the night. 

The kids gathered wood while the adults made a nice dock side steak dinner. During that time both Peyton and Pierce walked all over the island and had a great little adventure in the woods on their own. 

So Close

The boat is officially out of storage and having some gelcoat work done in Sturgeon Bay. We had noticed some cracking around the porthole window below windshield on the starboard side of the boat. When a survey was done a few years ago the surveyor notice a tiny amount of bubbling around the window and said it was the first sign of a leak and it should be addressed. I let it go a bit with the intention of taking care of it myself, however, time continued to slip by and never officially took care of it. So it was decided last fall before we put it in the water it would be taken care of professionally.

I am familiar with this work as I did fiberglass repair and finish work for my Dad's business for a few years.  The skills and equipment have come in handy over the years.  The older I get and the time stretched with work and family it is difficult to allocate time to these things. Especially if you want time to relax and enjoy the boat in our limited season.

Our spring season this year is a stark contrast to last year. Last year we had many days that were over 80 degrees by now. This year I think we have only been to 70 once otherwise we have been in the 30s and 40s for most of our spring.  May is just around the corner and we still are getting snow in the state. Hopefully next week it is done and we can put her in the water and start enjoying the boat!