Trip Diary for June 2010

Trip Diary for June, 2010

June 1-12; W. Lafayette, IN: Tuesday was Rotary followed by a trip to Crawfordsville for Lola to enter items. Larry picked up Lola's new "mini/netbook" HP computer and spent the evening day transferring files and beginning to configure it for use. Wednesday started with an appointment with the family internist as a follow-up for Lola's diverticulitis; she got a good report and was allowed to return to a more normal diet. Lola attended her weekly Exchange Club lunch. We enjoyed a late afternoon United Way reception at Purdue President Cordova's Westwood home before an evening choir concert at FUMC by the Murfreesburo, TN Methodist Youth Choir. Following a nail fill Thursday morning we drove 125 mi. to St. Joseph, MI, with the obligatory stop for a hamburger lunch at Redamak's in New Buffalo, MI. There we shopped at Wolf's Marine for a new dinghy cover plus supplies and then visited with our former dock neighbors at Pier 1000. We returned in time to have dinner with Sandy and Klaus Leitem and grandson Chris at Spageddies. Friday was filled with dental appointments and a trip to Indy for Lola's annual screenings. On the way back home we briefly stopped by Nick and Jamie Leitem's to see them and our two great grandchildren. We celebrated a belated birthday for Lola Saturday with Keith and Sharon Hawks hosting us for dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Following a special "John Wesley incarnation" Sunday service at FUMC we stopped by McDonald's for a quick lunch before the 1 PM Harrison HS graduation of grandson Tyler Wood. It was held in Purdue's Hall of Music. Monday was the special 50th Anniversary Celebration Lunch for the Wesley Thrift Shop at the Crawfordsville Country Club; it was a delightful affair! We were invited because Larry had installed their computer system and written its custom software that handles inventory take-in, sales and payout bookkeeping. Lola took advantage of the trip to enter more items that she had not had time to enter last week. Son John came over at 8:30 AM Tuesday to paint the condo's porch. Larry again was able to attend Rotary while Lola enjoyed lunch with Gloria Zink at University Place. Wednesday was Lola's Exchange Club, but we spent most of the day at the condo. Thursday was devoted to installing software, configuring Lola's new computer, and backing it up. In the evening we took grandson Chris to Arni's for dinner. We departed Friday at 10 AM to have lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Indy before Lola's 1 PM GYN appointment in Zionsville. 15 mi. from Indy she received a call from the doctor's nurse; due to emergency surgery her appointment would need to be rescheduled a week later. We completed our lunch plan. Saturday was spent on last minute preparations and packing for the Idaho trip. Larry finally updated this web after a week's "vacation." In the evening we joined Sharon and Keith Hawks for dinner at Spageddies.

June 13-17; Hells Canyon: Sunday began with the 3 AM alarm to make Southwest's 7:25 AM flight #0594 from Indy to Boise via Vegas to undertake our Snake River adventure with other loopers. Thankfully, travel was stress-free!! The group assembled at Hampton Inn in Meridian, ID: loopers Paul and Jane Cowhig, Larry and Lola Huggins (Lola Marie), Robert and Ann Levine (Sandpiper), Bob and Liz Stagg (Second Wind), Woody and Ellen Sutton (Double SS), and John and Phyllis Albee (Ann's brother and sister-in-law). All attended 5 PM Vesper/Communion service at Boise's fantastic FUMC, appropriately called "Cathedral of the Rockies". We comprised half the attendance in its small chapel, but then enjoyed a pastor-guided tour of its incredible sanctuary. The evening culminated with outstanding Mexican dinners at Café Ole in Boise. Monday was a day for leisurely driving 150 mi. to Hells Canyon. Along the way we visited the valley near Emmet, ID where Ann and John grew up (below flat-topped butte in upper right) before having lunch at Bucky's in Cambridge, ID. An unusually cool, wet spring had produced an exceptionally green valley. We arrived at Hells Canyon Adventures' lodge just in time to settle in for the sandwich dinner pre-assembled by Ann and Phyllis. Following a delicious breakfast Tuesday served by the lodge, we picked up Ross and Delores Spalding (Delores is Ann’s cousin), who were camped in their motorhome at Big Bar, halfway along the 15 mi. drive to Hells Canyon Dam. We boarded Culebra (which means snake), a 36 ft. flat bottomed aluminum boat with a 10.5 ft beam and 1 ft. draft, at 9:15 PDT. (on left) It’s twin 5,400 gpm jets are each powered by a Cummins 330 hp diesel, identical to the ones in the Lola Marie, but “tweeked” to provide 400 hp. As a result of the excess spring rains a great deal of additional water was being released at the dam giving the Snake River a flow of 38,000 cfs, 3-4 times its “normal” summer flowage. That high flowage, with the river’s 7.8 ft. per mi. grade, produced 5-9 mph currents for the entire 110 mi. we covered north to Lewiston, ID. Half the river’s 850 ft. drop between Hell’s Canyon Dam and Lewiston occurs in the first 36 mi.; thus, its greatest rapids were in the first 20 mi. of our trip: 3 Class IV’s and 5 Class III’s with numerous I-II’s; ratings can be higher during high flows. The largest Class IV, Wild Sheep, has a 17 ft. drop in 150 yds. If you have the patience and speed for a 90 Mb download, this 30-sec. video taken as we stopped in eddies after passing over it might give you some sense of its power. The second Class IV, Granite Creek, is even steeper, dropping 13 ft. in 75 yds. In addition to the spectacular Hells Canyon itself, we enjoyed seeing numerous bighorn sheep, a couple eagles, deer and other wildlife. We made several stops along the way: for potties, viewing native American pictographs and glyphs on canyon walls, and at Pittsburg Landing for lunch. Arriving at our Clarkston, WA dock at 5:15 PDT, we were shuttled to the Red Lion Hotel in Lewiston for overnight lodging and excellent dinners in its restaurant. Wednesday began earlier with a 7:30 shuttle departure. After yesterday's near perfect weather, temps dropped 15 degrees and we were in light rain most of the day. The wet weather brought out more wildlife, including many wild turkeys. We stopped at Kirkwood Ranch for lunch, but ate aboard because of the rain. Moving up rapids was a bit easier in some ways (the slower approach offers a better "read"), but it takes longer to complete a crossing. A minor engine throttle linkage problem delayed us about 45 min., so it was almost 4 PM MDT before we made it back. One highlight was seeing two black bears (note: not all "black" bears are black in color) about 20 min. before the trip ended. It was 9:25 PM MDT when we got back to our Meridian motel. Saturday 's return to IN was made easy with a 10:15 departure aboard Southwest #614, again via Vegas. Everything was on schedule. We reached our IN condo at 9:45 and enjoyed a few minutes conversation with grandson Chris before turning in.

June 18-19; W. Lafayette, IN: Friday began early driving to Zionsville for Lola's 9:30 AM annual GYN appointment. The afternoon was devoted to haircuts, nails and Larry's doctor appointment. Saturday was spent at the condo cleaning, working up pictures and this web, and packing for our return to the boat via Pittsburg.

June 20-23; Pittsburgh, PA: We left Sunday at 6:50 AM for the 425 mi. drive to Pittsburg to attend the ASABE Annual Meeting. We reached the Westin at 2:45 with only the last 3 mi. before entering the tunnel having any congestion. Meeting friends and colleagues at the two receptions was, as always, a treat! Monday and Tuesday were filled with meetings and social events, topped with the Foundation's Celebration Dinner entertainment by ReCreation, a college group that entertains in the nation's veterans' hospitals. Wednesday was more relaxed with only the society's Awards Luncheon scheduled. To conclude a great meeting, we joined Wayne and Judy Skaggs and Al and Rene Rider for outstanding dinners and spectacular city view at Georgetowne Inn.

Thursday, June 24; A He.. of a day: About 1:30 AM Larry awoke to begin an intense process of emptying his digestive system; Lola began about 1 hr. later! The remainder of the night we competed for the room's only toilet. Scheduled to leave at 9 AM in order to pick up Larry's sister Sharon Lowry in Philadelphia, we instead requested a delayed checkout to permit more recovery time. Lola needed a wheelchair to reach the car. We later found the source of our food poisoning was the Awards Luncheon at the Convention Center; hundreds of members were similarly sickened! Sharon was also having a difficult day. Her 1.5 hr. delayed Delta departure from Savoy, IL caused her to miss the connection in Detroit. The plane for her alternate was also late arriving and then no pilot was available. By the time a pilot arrived, the flight attendant's service limit had expired. Ultimately, her originally scheduled 3:30 PM PHL-arrival occurred at 12:20 AM! We had reached the cell phone waiting lot at 8:30 and used the 4 hr. to snooze and recuperate after the 320 mi. drive that entailed stopping every 50 mi. It was 2 AM when we arrived at the boat only to find it without power! Fortunately, we later found, it had been lost during a storm Wednesday; thus, the house battery was exhausted only a few hours before we arrived. The fridge was just beginning to defrost, but food had not yet started to spoil.

Friday, June 25; North Summit Marina: The original plan to depart was aborted. We used the day to begin an extended recovery, going out in the evening for light dinners and grocery shopping.

June 26-28; Cape May, NJ: To take advantage of favorable weather and tide currents we dropped lines at 8:20 AM Saturday. We enjoyed 3 mph current for the 8 mi. in the C&D Canal and it gradually built to that as we cruised down the 53 mi. of Delaware Bay; waters were flat except for the last 30 min. when increasing winds kicked up 1 ft. beam waves. Fueling upon our 3:15 PM arrival at Utsch's Marina we rested (stamina has been a lasting casualty from the food poisoning) before walking 2 blocks to the famous Lobster House for dinners that sustained its reputation. With a negative long-term weather forecast, we eased from our foggy dock at 7:40 AM Sunday. Visibility in the Cape May Harbor was less than 1/4 mi. Radar and chart plotter allowed a dead-slow, dicey trip to the Atlantic; it was much rougher than anticipated and we decided to return to dock. The return was challenged by numerous fishing boats now going to sea, but we made it by 9 AM without a collision, travelling a total of only 7.5 mi. The remainder of the 92 degree-day was spent with a few boat projects, naps and reading before dinners at Lucky Bones. After the best night's sleep since the Pittsburgh disaster, we awoke Monday to an improved health outlook and to wait out forecast afternoon/evening storms while contemplating which conflicting local advice to follow regarding the New Jersey ICW. Marina personnel warned it was "absolutely too shallow" while recent AGLCA e-mails by loopers, some of whom live near that waterway, claimed it was fine for our 3.5 ft. draft if one carefully followed channel markers. Close to forecast, it was hot (92) with 15-18 mph SW winds and late afternoon thundershowers. We appreciated being in port and used the time to do laundry, update this web for the past tumultuous week, and plan a controversial Jersey ICW passage. This was the first day Lola and Larry felt "near normal" with appetites, so we enjoyed more great Lobster House seafood dinners.

Tuesday; June 29: Departure occurred at 7:10 in order to take full advantage of hours when tides were above their midpoint along the ICW. It was overcast with the high reaching 85. Only a couple of brief dicey points of marginal water were encountered. Of the 6 bridges that needed to be opened, 3 were on 30 min. schedules; one required a 25 min. wait, but we made the others right on time. Given the extensive no wake, we made better time than Larry expected, arriving at Farley State Marina in Atlantic City at 2:10 PM just before the midpoint of the ebbing tide. Attempts for reservations at smaller Atlantic City marinas had been unsuccessful. To allow Sharon to fully appreciate her first visit to Atlantic City we road into the Boardwalk on Jitney (a unique experience in itself; Sharon believes NASCA drivers should first drive Jitney's for a month!) and enjoyed dinners there at the Rainforest. Overnight temps dropped 10 degrees.

Wednesday; June 30: Concerned about the need for Sharon to fly home Saturday, we decided to try the outside route and run at 18-19 mph; we dropped lines at 7:15. The ocean had 2-3 ft. waves (swells) with a 1-2 ft. chop, so despite less than ideal conditions we continued! After the first 50 mi. it gradually improved to 1-2 ft. with a 6 in. chop by the time we reached Sandy Hook. Of course, the highlight was seeing Lady Liberty and the lower Manhattan skyline from our own bottom as we travelled through New York harbor up the Hudson for an additional 36 mi. to Croton-on-Hudson and Half Moon Bay Marina. It offered an especially helpful dockmaster, Steve Plotkin, and 45 percent+ discounts to loopers. Located on the eastern shore at one of the widest spots of the Hudson, Haverstraw Bay, it provides good facilities and a moderately effective wave wall. By running all day, except in the NY Harbor, we managed to cover 142 mi. by 4 PM (a new daily distance [and fuel consumption] record for us); the Cummins ran perfectly the entire trip. After a thorough wash-down following a long day of salt spray, we walked 3/4 mi. into town for wonderful pizza at Capriccio's II.

Water miles traveled to date on this second loop: 5,890; this month: 272

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