Ocean Pontooning; Walking in the Woods

To better enjoy all that ocean near our new summer house, we bought a pontoon we found for sale in Friendship. It's a Beachcat, built by a small Florida operation. Unlike most pontoons, it's all fiberglass, and takes better to the salt water. It was owned by an older couple, thus validating my brother's calling these boats "wrinkle-craft". It had not been used for a couple years.

We washed it down, checked out the motor (a Honda 50 4 stroke) packed a lunch, and put it into the water in Friendship Harbor.

We then cruised around Morse's Island, Friendship Long Island, Cranberry Island then stopped and drifted for a while and we ate our lunch. Then back up the Medomak River, around Hatchet Cove, and back to the Harbor, taking about 3 hours.

The shakedown cruise was educational. We discovered that we need to take sweatshirts out on the ocean, though we didn't need them until the sun went in. We also found that the pontoon did quite well in the 2-3 foot swells that were rolling around that day. And that we enjoyed the experience very much.

I had brought along fishing gear, but we didn't take the time to fish. I get the feeling that it will troll nicely making it a good boat for fishing. It's a bit slow, compared to the Tracker, meaning that if the fishing is not nearby, it will take a while to get there.

The only downside to our trip occurred as we were maneuvering the boat back onto the trailer. The steering cable broke, weakened by corrosion and lack of use for two years. That is under repair as I write this, and we expect to get out on the water again this weekend.

Walking in the Maine Woods
When Paul, Liam and Amelia visited, we took a walk into the woods behind our house to see the work being done by loggers who have been working out there for most of the summer. The day was beautiful, and walking on the logging road was perfect.

This picture shows some of the logged area. They are leaving enough trees that the forest will be sunny and bright for a while. And they are chipping and removing all the brush, leaving the forest floor clean.

The Long Golf Trip

Karl, Pete, Wally, Ray, Curt, Mahlon

These guys are enough to make me drive 3300 miles to play golf. I drove back to Minnesota to play in the 5th annual (for us) Grand Slam Amateur Golf Tournament in Grand Rapids, MN. We play 3 days of golf on 3 different courses, as twosomes with about 394 other golfers. Our participation started in 2003 with Consuelo and I hosting at our cabin on Moose Lake. It was an event enjoyed by all. Since we sold the cabin last year, this year we made other arrangements for 2 cabins on the same lake.

The players are, L to R:
Karl Christainsen and Pete Hahn
Wally Schlink and Ray Clark
Curt Kraft and I

While 2 of these teams finished first in their flights last year, this year was less successful, with only Curt and I finishing in the money, at 7th place, with Ray and Wally one place behind us. In their flight, Karl and Pete were way down the list.

But golf is but one of the reasons to make this journey for all. The friendship and good spirits are the true value in the event. That and good food, wine, beer, a few cigars, campfires, more good food, more beer.

Kraft Hospitality

What made the trip possible for me was the generous hospitality shown me by Curt and Beth Kraft at their house for 5 days prior to the event. Curt and I played some practice rounds, and Beth prepared a wonderful party for Ray and Wally and their brides, and me. Some of Beth's great color artistry is pictured here, and of course, it was delicious, too.






Moose Lake

Having spent some part of 7 summers on Moose Lake, and having had really wonderful experiences there, I was a bit apprehensive at seeing our old cabin once again. However, the new owners have ruined it, from my point of view, and I was appalled by it's new look. They painted it beige, not at all a fit for a place called "Blue Haven" since the 1940's. And they removed the charm of the old windows, put the dock in the wrong place, etc., etc. They lied to us about their plans for the place, cancelled our reservation to use it without cause, and generally just pissed me off. It's unfortunate that we lost what we thought was a long friendship with the family, but that's the way it goes.

The Long Drive

I drove from Friendship to Rochester, leaving at 6:00 on a Thursday night, and staying 2 nights on the road. The weather and traffic conditions were excellent, even rolling through Chicago. We drove the 275 miles from Rochester to Grand Rapids on Thursday, and I left for home on Monday after the tournament, taking the northern route over the Great Lakes via the UP of Michigan, the Transcanadian Highway from Sault Ste Marie, stopping in Sudbury, then through Ottawa & Montreal, returning to the US in Canaan, Vermont. The picture is from the long straight roads in the UP, going forward, looking backward.

I told the guys that this is my last year to play in the tournament. They are considering their options on further play. I will do my best to lure them to Maine, for some golf, lobsters, whatever might get them here, as a group or individually. I will miss their company at the event.