Lakes, Canals, Rivers, and Bays

North America’s lakes, canals, rivers, and bays are stunning especially when seen from a boat. And this is just what Charlotte and I have spent one year doing over the last four summers. I reflected on this milestone in mid May while preparing for our 2015 cruise.

We had much of the summer to ourselves after leaving Lake Champlain. Lockmasters on the Champlain Canal and marina owners along our way asked us where the cruising boats were this year. We also missed the other boats. One of the joys of cruising is the people we meet and the relationships we build. This year those interactions were rare. But don’t get me wrong we still met our share of characters.

Sylvie and Enos started off our trip with an unexpected visit to Ladd’s Landing…the achingly young Swiss couple on an old steel sailboat he sailed across the Atlantic…a squirrely couple returning from three years in the islands…the muscle bound artist from Chicago who spent the last eight years living on a ancient black steel 65’ Great Lakes supply boat in Jersey City, NJ…an oblivious young pianist with his petite girlfriend living on a wreak of a sailboat behind the Statue of Liberty…a fire department captain who fed us pizza and pasta fagoli so his wife, who is dreaming of a trip like ours, could meet us…the fine artists of Chestertown, MD one of whom had built a tea house to honor the memory of a recently passed potter…the fishing captain in Rockhall, MD that explained Rockhall-ian’s are reverse speakers meaning yes when they say no and no when they say yes.

We also had friends visit and help us on our journey. Jerry and Diane on Grand Isle showed us such hometown Vermont hospitality that it is hard to find the words to thank them. Marion and Jim took us to dinner on their way back to Chicago from a reunion at Vassar…Laura (Charlotte’s cousin) and Michael welcomed us to their home in the Vermont hills built over a roaring waterfall…Kari and Pat trekked from Greenwich Village under the Hudson to visit Carrie Rose in Jersey City…Steve and Mickey on Mutual Fun detoured to our Jersey City marina to join us for dinner…Arlette and Joe with their beautiful children came calling from Philly to Delaware City, DE…the newlyweds Adele and James met up with us once we reached the Chesapeake…and my dear colleague from Palmer Chiropractic College Denise and her husband Mark introduced us to the Delaware beaches and put up with our ever changing schedule.

Don DeLillio said that writing is a concentrated form of thinking. Most of the above details were forgotten before I began to write. I was focused on the lakes, canals, rivers, and bays we navigated when truly the interactions with kindred spirits made this trip memorable.

Carrie Rose awaits our return on Crab Alley of Kent Island, MD. If the above tale has tweaked your curiosity, there is much more to the story at www.chicagotug.blogspot.com.

Charlotte and I wish the best for our family and friends, and now on to 2016 — Happy Holidays!

December 2015