Ludington MI to Grand Haven MI - and Gold Looper Status!

We are back at North Shore Marina!   The place we started and the place our boat calls home.  We have a new slip (next to where we were last year) and we have a port tie which is best for our boat.   How we tie up here will take some getting used to...

We left Ludington today and it was a bit breezy (15-20 knot winds).  It was our best day to get home in the next five though so we went.  

You can't see it but the waves were coming up high enough to splash us all the way on the top deck.  

Lumpy for the first 30 miles. 

Until we reached silver lake sand dunes.  Then we could turn about 30 degrees and quarter the waves a little. 

The white caps died down also. 

It was kind of foggy today so we couldn't see very far.  More of a haze as it didn't affect navigation but made pictures difficult.  That's the light house at Little Sable Point.  

But we eventually made it to Grand Haven.  Windy so plastic is up.  Once we got here the temps rose quickly.  

It's about 10 degrees cooler on the lake than at the marina.  And another 10 degrees warmer in downtown Grand Haven.   Had to get a burrito at Tip a Few.   It's been a while...

Almost home....  And kind of home...  This boat has been our home for nine months.  

Sixty eight miles today.  Whew.  It feels good to be tied up in our marina.   It's both exhilarating and sad.   I'm mourning the traveling and time being shared closely with my wife... But we will find a 'new normal' now that we are back.   

We have a couple of days to put things in order at the marina before we go home... And then we will be back at the marina again with things from the house on Friday.  

Time to get some things in order ..   then figure out how to go back to work.   I am anticipating trying to be of use again - and honestly more than a bit anxious about it...

First - Tip a Few lunch at 4:30pm.  It was far too messy to try to eat or drink while underway today.. 

Mixed emotions come with finishing a loop but good to be back in West Michigan and it will be great to see family regularly. 

Nebo says we traveled 5598 miles but that doesn't count Bahamas, dinghy excursions, several back and forth trips to places (which retraced our steps) and things we did on our bikes.   We figure we traveled about 7000 miles not counting flights to and from home.  

And no, the boat never went max 56.3 miles per hour.. it would only do that in a free fall!  It also moved WAY more than 237 times...