Windy!

Poor Aunt Aggie is tied every which way to the dock at Leland, MI. 

We have to climb off over the two foot space.

Last night the wind built until it was howling around 10:00 pm, right when we tried to go to sleep.
The sounds were a mix of whooshing, a deep bass drum, and squeaking ropes. This was combined with waves rocking and jerking the boat.  Sleep was impossible.  George went outside twice in the dark to adjust a line and add a line.  We have Aunt Aggie positioned with lines on both sides, so she doesn't hit the dock.  However, this made getting off the boat tricky.  We said we were just going to tough it out.  Around midnight George was trying to sleep, and I was sitting in the salon reading and checking Facebook.  (Note:  When you check Facebook too often, it becomes less appealing.) He said, "Let's go to the lounge."  Woohoo!  I had wanted to walk down to the very nice and comfortable Boaters' Lounge earlier, but it was hard to exit the boat.  Now he wanted to go too.  We would do it.

We gathered a blanket, phone, water bottle, and jackets and locked Aunt Aggie.  With difficulty we climbed off the boat.  We had to wait for it to swing back toward the dock, put one leg over and grab onto a pole, pulling ourselves off.  It was a commitment:  Once one of us got off, the other had to follow.

When we entered the quiet rooms of the lounge, I was thrilled.  The chaotic sounds of the wind were outside, and we were in a dark space with couches.  The monitor on the wall said the wind at that point was 25 mph, gusting to 28.  We sank happily onto the couch and napped, dozed, rested until 6:00 am.  At that point we turned on the tv and watched two episodes of Twilight Zone.  Really fun!

We returned to Aunt Aggie, who was still rocking and rolling, and climbed into bed at 7:00 for two hours of deep sleep.  Our friends, Ron and Michelle on Spirit Journey, called at 9:00 am to chat.  They jokingly said they were waiting in the lake for us.  Where were we?  They had better protection at Frankfort, 45 miles south, than we had.  But we're all stuck in place until Thursday.

The wind is high again today.  I left the boat mid-morning and went to pay for a few more days stay and had a good chat with the dock master.  Then I went to the grocery and dumped our trash. Even with the high winds, tourists are all around Fishtown.  In a few minutes we are meeting the crew from Southern Comfort in the lounge to chat and maybe play cards.

Now we are used to getting off and on the boat in the wind, so we're not worried about falling.