GRAND HAVEN, MI TO SOUTH HAVEN, MI

Wednesday, September 2nd to Thursday, September 3rd, 2015

Day 394-395

Miles Traveled on Thursday: 48

Total Miles Traveled: 6102


  Wednesday we continued our stay at Grand Haven due to weather and wave conditions.  This allowed us another day to walk around the downtown and also get another viewing of the musical fountain.  There are two free museums downtown.  One was called the Tri-Cities Historical Museum of Transportation.  It was housed in the old Grand Trunk Depot.  It had three small exhibits - one for trains, one for automobiles, and one for ships. 

Tri-Cities Hisotrical Museum of Transportation in the old Grand Trunk Depot

  Grand Haven has a beautiful Central Park.  Previously, it was the location the first municipal cemetery.  The area became Central Park in 1901 and the bodies were moved to a new cemetery. 

Central Park in Grand Haven, MI

  That evening we had a pot luck dinner with the crews of "Bama Dream", "Gud Nuff", and "Always Home".  Some local boaters who are interested in doing the Great Loop joined us as well.  After dinner we returned to our boats awaiting the start of the Musical Fountain show.  Just before show time, a large "laker" (large ship that carries cargo on the Great Lakes") came into North Haven harbor and passed by the marina.  

"laker" getting ready to pass by

  The ship moved past just before the start of the Musical Fountain show.  We enjoyed the sounds and display of lighted water as much this night as the last.  



  Thursday we headed to South Haven, MI.  The waves were 1-2 feet with a 3-4 foot wave making a presence.  The ride was not amenable for good picture taking.  The scenery was mostly the same as the past days - Michigan shoreline on the left and open water on the right.
  Dan did get a good picture of "Seahorse" busting through the waves. 

"Seahorse" busting through waves on Lake Michigan

  We left early from Grand Haven to arrive early enough to take a walk around town.  We docked at the Municipal Marina on the south side.  "Always Home" traveled with us again today.  They were docked on the north side of the Municipal Marina.  
   The south side docks were closer to downtown.  Like most downtowns, there were plenty of shops and eateries. 

downtown South Haven, MI

  There is also a nice boardwalk along the Black River that splits South Haven in two. 

Black River

  One interesting find on our walk around town was the Caboose Inn.  Two old railroad cabooses were turned into lodging rooms complete with attached screened in porch.  We found then unique and they reminded Dan of a caboose his father had converted to a cabin. 

looks like a neat place to stay

  The rest of the afternoon, Angie worked on the blog and Dan dealt with the fresh water pump that had quick working sometime during the day.  Unfortunately, he was unable to get it working.  A new one was put on order to arrive at a West Marine store at our next planned destination.  We seem to have ongoing problems with fresh water pumps.  We ate on board and relaxed (and rocked in our slip) the rest of the evening.