It is…Tuesday? That means I’m t.w.o. days late in sitting down to write my update on the trip. I’ve been in a “funk” lately. Not really into taking pictures of every.single.thing we do/eat…and even giving my *stellar* photographer resistance each and every time the GoPro/Drone/Camera surfaces. Ever been there?
I’m becoming acutely aware of how much I relish being in a city, having a normal workout/eating routine and my girl time back in Baltimore. Tom & I encourage visitors but that’s proven to be more difficult than we anticipated. 
Anyway(!), since I last wrote, we conquered Lake Michigan. (what?!) The week flew by….Ports of call included: Mackinac Island; Charlevoix; Frankfort; White Hall aaaaand Chicago. Mackinac Island was like stepping back in time – in a good way. The lack of motor vehicles, the plethora of horses and the constant lingering scent of fudge made the entire island feel like a scene from an old movie. After a little research, Tom discovered that the island entailed almost 60 miles of bike trails….so we decided to slip off the grid and ended up spending the majority of our time hiking and biking.
From there, we were off to Charlevoix. This stop was on our wish list from day one – but it turned out to be totally different than we expected – in a perfect way.
While I had anticipated boutique shopping and top notch farmer’s markets, what we found was tranquility. 
There, on the shore of Lake Michigan, we were completely alone on this gorgeous beach! We walked, and talked and even did a little paddle boarding. And the water! So pristine. Seriously, who needs the Caribbean when you have this? (shark free!) hehe
From Charlevoix, we were on a m.i.s.s.i.o.n to get to Chicago. There were two overnight stops due to the relentless rough lake conditions, but we pushed through bright and early each morning. Everyone offering advice about our journey on the loop says to make sure we are OUT of Chicago by October. We didn’t want to play chicken with the lake, so we didn’t waste any time in getting to the bottom of the lake. AND, my Mom is coming to visit us this weekend. (yaaaass!) So, with that, we’re here! In Chicago!
We haven’t had a chance to get the lay of the land. I knew I needed to blog and we had some errands to run. But that means i’ll have PLENTY to talk about next week! 💁🏼
Are you still in chicago? I am down at 31st Harbor. Where did you dock?
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Yep! We’re at DuSable.
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Kate
Congratulations on your trip. We also hope to complete the loop in the near future. We are from Baltimore also and brought our boat down the ICW in 2014 from Middle River MD to Beaufort SC. We now live in Beaufort on the ICW so we are looking forward to you passing by in a couple of months. Scott and Marilyn
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Hi Scott! Thanks for checking out the blog! I’ll have to get suggestions from you for Beaufort when we work our way back up the ICW.
Congrats on planning your own looping journey – so exciting!
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We WILL join you sooner or later. Chicago is a little too soon after our cruise but let’s talk mid October!!!
Beautiful shots of the tranquility and space.
Missing the people is always hard!
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You guys should have rented the movie “Somewhere in Time” before you visited Mackinac….
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Ha, ok, now I’m looking into it!
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Only 3 games left to take in a Cubs game while here, make that a stop!
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Yes! That’s on the to-do list! ☺️
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Hi there, Phil from Montreal.
Some nice stuff really like it and I am not one for blogs, I guess thats why they call her the Windy City, I ‘m a sailor so sounds good to me. continue to have a great trip you guys are lucky to be able to do this, enjoy it.
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Thanks, Phil! (Montreal is still our FAVORITE port!)
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Welcome to Chicago, and baton down the hatches!
We’re also at 31st St. Harbor. Dont worry about being out of here by Oct. The Chi. river to south branch is just over the wall from you if it gets bad. Funny that your docking next to the Chicago locks, just cant stay away from them lol. You must do the River Walk. Walking path along the Chicago River.
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Hi Arnie! We just walked the River Walk path this morning. Its great! And so refreshing to get off of the city streets. Perfect for a morning run! …. NOT looking forward to more locks….but it cant possibly be as tedious as the Trent-Severn!!
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Tom and Kate,
Congratulations on getting to your “safe” zone destination! Now that you are in Chicago we know that you’ll feel more “at home”, and safe from the big water, and if fall ever comes…colder, windier weather. But so far you have lots of horseshoes going for you on your trip through Canada and Michigan and the weather is still very strangely summery! We’ll take it! Winter always comes too early this far north! Congrats again and enjoy what we would suspect is the “easy” part of your journey down to Florida. We’ll be following your journey, loving the pics and the stories.
Your Canadian friends in Orillia,
Dave, Pam, Alan and Terri : )
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Hey Dave! Good to hear from you! YES – Huge sigh of relief to be in Chicago ahead of any brutal weather! Thanks for continuing to follow along!
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Chicago, Chicago , Ok Kate get outa the funk and enjoy the best city in the USA, so many eateries, so many fun things , go and enjoy. Jack
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Ha! Thanks, Jack! This actually just brightened my mood! Thanks for the smile!
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Hi Guys: Found your blog after the PMY Article.. great!! Kate your writing and Tom’s photos are perfect!! It almost feels like I’m along for the journey. It’s hard now to wait a week for each update 😉
Kate I can understand your “funk”.. I can imagine my wife on this trip with me and possibly feeling the same way (she’s made it clear she wants nothing to do with a boat.. but that’s another story!). I’ve been on the receiving end of the “if you point that camera at me one more time.. ” on some of our trips as well, but in the end.. she’s always grateful for the memories and glad I had the camera!
Try to stay in the moment (read a good book on mindfulness).. keep things social (like this blog).. and enjoy! I would love to do a trip like this, but for now.. will have to live it through your blog.. keep up the good work!
Thanks!
Stewart
The Woodlands, & Galveston, TX
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Hi There! Your comment made my morning – I love your outlook! And you’re right, afterwards I’m always happy to have the photos to reflect on. I know the trip will ultimately fly by and they’ll be a wonderful way to memorialize the experience.
Take your wife to the Fort Lauderdale boat show – easy to fall in love with boating there! 😬
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I’m glad I could lift your spirits! I’m really impressed with your blog, and how you guys are handling your overall trip.. I really appreciate the “4-Hour Workweek” approach that you guys seem to have setup for yourselves (have you read that book?). So many questions for you guys actually, but too much for the blog!
Funny you mention the Ft. Lauderdale show.. I’m busy plotting to take her there as we speak! We will be in Orlando the week after for a business conference, and I suggested to her earlier that we go early to visit the show first.. she seems on board!! (no pun intended). Any advice for how to schedule our time at the show? I think we may be there for two days.
Anyway.. keep up the great work! Tom.. amazing photos! If you had to buy a new drone today.. would you still get the same one?
Take care guys!
Stewart
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We’ve both read the 4 Hour Work Week! And loved it!
Happy to hear you are working on the boat show.
Book your rooms soon – they fill quickly.
Here’s a link to get a great discount. We love the W!
http://www.showmanagement.com/ft-lauderdale-international-boat-show-2016/event/lodging/
As for scheduling your time – two days is plenty to wander around, have a few drinks and to get a good feel for it all.
We’ll be there as well – maybe we can grab a drink at the show!
The Drone – apparently GoPro has just dropped a new drone that Tom is looking into buying. But he did say that DJI (phantom 4 creator) is scheduled to show a new version by the end of the month.
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Do you have a drone onboard to take the aerial photos? They are beautiful!
I just read the article about you and your husband doing the great loop in Scuttlebutt magazine
This is something we have talked about doing, in the meantime thank you for sharing your travels with us!
Kim Ferris Pittsburgh, PA
Sent from my iPhone
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Hi Kim! ☺️ thanks for checking out the blog! We have the Phantom 4 drone on board for the aerials and the occasional video.
I hope you continue to dream/plan for the loop – it’s been an amazing experience.
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Mackinac Island is great. Haven’t been there since the kids were little.
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Glad you guys had good weather and got in some off-the-boat trail time. Thinking about you especially when we’re behind Dobbins Is.
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Oh how we have missed those Dobbins weekends!!
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Just read your post ! Someday the great loop is on my bucket-list. Keep me posted on your adventure!
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