It’s Oct 1 and we are still in Milwaukee. The Illinois locks have opened, but they have requested that pleasure boats wait until the 6th so they can deal with the backlog of commercial traffic that needs to get through. The AGLCA (America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association) has been working tirelessly to organize the 300 plus or minus Looper cruisers into flotillas, to make it easier for both the locks and the marinas to handle us all. Dan and I chose to be in one of the last flotillas. We won’t be heading through the locks until near the end of October.
We made this choice for several reasons: 1) we didn’t want to be part of the initial rush, 2) we didn’t want to be affected by the inevitable glitches and delays as the locks work their kinks out dealing with so many commercial and recreational boats, and 3) we knew Dan had to be home in Maine for ten days in the middle of October. Since I have family and friends here, it just made sense for us to stay here, though we will be moving to Kenosha (about forty miles south of Milwaukee) so I will have a marina berth while Dan is gone. Kenosha is still close enough to Milwaukee for people to come visit or stay with me, and for Dan to use Mitchell International Airport to fly back and forth.
With our plans hammered out, we’ve been able to enjoy our time here. Willie Dawes spent over 20 days in the boatyard while Dan and I drove back to Boston to spend some quality time with grandson Leo and his parents. What a happy, contented baby he is! We got full charge of him while his parents worked and Leo didn’t bat an eye that near-strangers were in charge of him. He smiled, he babbled, he showed off his rolling over skills. We played and sang and read books, took him for a long walk, and even sent his parents out for dinner alone. It was awesome. It was hard to leave and come back to the boat.
We lived with my sister for the two weeks it took for Dan to paint the bottom and varnish parts of the interior, dealing with the deep cleaning and mountains of laundry that go along with breaking the cycle of fleas and ridding them from the boat. We are now flea-free! We launched the boat on Sept 14th and moved back aboard.
We spend most of our time anchored in the Maritime Basin in front of the Summerfest festival park, but have spent a few nights anchored off South Shore Park, a few miles to the south. Both anchorages have their advantages - South Shore is quieter, nestled in a residential neighborhood, and there is a fantastic Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings, as well as beer garden open four nights a week in the park. The Maritime Basin is near the Historic Third Ward with its shops and bars, and being right downtown, also near all the museums and other shoreside parks. They both have y-disadvantages - being downtown means being near the busy-ness of traffic and activities; it’s noisier, brighter at night, and there are harbor tour boats as well as personal recreation boats that come into the basin. (We’ve been here long enough that one of the tour boats knows us and announces to its passengers that we are on the Great Loop as they circle around us and people wave and take pictures.)
In South Shore, the disadvantage is that the anchorage is exposed to the Southeast, and the breakwater there has enough gaps to let the swell in, making for a rolly and uncomfortable night. The Maritime Basin offers a much calmer anchorage, no matter what the wind direction is. And then there was the unexpected pleasure of finding the memory bench of my cousin David, who passed away from cancer a few years ago. It overlooks the Maritime Basin anchorage; I feel like he’s right here with us.
It’s been great to be able to spend so much time with my family and to reconnect with old friends. I moved away from Wisconsin 35 years ago. Much has changed, but ties are still strong, even if a year or two (or seven or eight) has gone by since we’ve been able to see each other in person. Emails and phone calls help, but it’s not the same as sharing a meal or an experience, and we have had a lot of reminiscing and a lot of laughter. It’s been wonderful to get to know my nephews and their families - one of my nephew’s wives remarked she’s seen more of us in this past month than she has in her lifetime of knowing us. And we had a bonus - one of our out-of-state sisters was here on business and we got to spend some time with her as well. I have five siblings, and I have been able to spend time with all of them in this past year - three of them during this time in Wisconsin! I also had lunch with two different close friends, one from my childhood, and one from my working days.
Dan has been enjoying himself too - he finally had his first Friday Fish Fry, he’s been to two different beer gardens and one neighborhood bar. Milwaukee used to be known for having a bar on the corner in every neighborhood.
Dan says his time here will be complete if he can visit one of those old fashioned corner bars, so we’re on the hunt to find one that still remains. When we’re out on our walks, someone always compliments him on his beard or comments on his beret, and he always sees something that tickles his fancy.
When he saw the lineup of performers for the Milwaukee Pops, he suggested we get tickets. We’re going to hear Gershwin in the performing arts center. This time in Milwaukee will always be a highlight of our time on the Great Loop.
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