Escanaba

         We did go ashore at Jackson Harbor on Washington Island, to get a look at the small maritime museum they have there.  Dan’s been interested in learning about the whitefish fishing industry.  But, the Pease curse of “closed today” has followed us even to Wisconsin.  It was Thursday, and the museum is not open on Thursdays.  So we peeked in the windows and walked around the locked buildings, got a look at the whitefish fishing boat, and went back to the Willie Dawes to raise anchor.  

We sailed back up the Bay to Little Bai de Noc and found a pretty place to anchor at the very northern cove.  We were all alone and this suited us just fine.  Beautiful sunrise!

Friday (Aug we headed to Escanaba.  We had reserved a slip in the marina there for Saturday, but the weather was looking pretty snotty and we thought we’d come in a day early.  It was a good decision, as the wind was picking up and whitecaps were forming.  We were happy to get out of it in the placid man-made cove where the marina and yacht club reside.  

Escanaba is a jewel of a small town!  No sooner had we finished tying up when a local boater came over to introduce himself and offer his services.  “If you need anything, or want to go anywhere, just let me know.”  He told us, offering his personal business card.  A few minutes later another boater hailed Dan and offered us half a bag of ice, and shortly after that another local boater came over with a flower to welcome us and offer her services.  That doesn’t happen just anywhere!  The last welcomer, Marilyn, was actually from Maine and went to Cony High School in Augusta where she knew Dan’s Aunt Ginny, who taught English there.  

We spent Friday with boat chores and on Saturday set off to explore the town a bit.  Right across the street from the marina is the local historical society museum and lighthouse.  The entire area beyond the lighthouse is landfill from when they dredged this recreational harbor.  On the other side of it all is the commercial harbor, where in Escanaba’s hay days, it was a major port for shipping lime, lumber, and especially iron ore.  The museum covers the history very well, with many artifacts from the oldest settlers of town, the industries, and the railroad that connected everything.  Very well done.  We toured the building and the lighthouse before walking into town. 

Escanaba is the county seat, so there are many municipal service buildings as well as the courthouse, and then the long, wide downtown which features an eclectic array of things from fitness centers to wedding shops.  In front of the library is the beginning of scaled solar system, the first one featuring a basketball-sized globe of the sun.  The planets themselves are far too small to show in actual size, so there are just simple signposts with plaques describing them, down from the sidewalk in order, and in scaled range from the sun.  (We have something similar along the Rt 1 in upstate Maine, beginning north of Houlton and ending in Presque Isle.)  What a great thing to have along the downtown stretch!

Mercury.  Venus and Earth are in the background

    That evening Dan’s good friend Whit, a fellow deckhand from Dan’s schooner days back in the early 1980s, and his wife Pam came down to the boat to pick us up for supper.  They have a farm nearby where they spend summers.  We haven’t seen them in ages, and it was great to see them now and to catch up.  We had dinner together that night and the next day they brought us to their farm for a leisurely meal, lots of laughter and some songs.  Pam showed off her hairdressing skills by giving Dan a haircut suitable for his niece’s wedding (coming up at the end of August.)  We had a great time with them and agreed not to let thirty years go by before we see them again. 

Whit, Pam, Kathy & Dan

Here’s Tommie, not enjoying the lumpy passages we made.