 Waves on White Lake June 27 - 29We are making final preparations for leaving White Lake to start our looper trip this year. We are sitting out a series of fronts that have come through that brought strong winds and even waves into White Lake. Even the swans were trying to find hiding places out of winds and waves.
We have found that we are getting more exercise living aboard Hallelujah. Pictures of Barb and Dave and our modes of transportation – Barb walks and Dave rides. Barb averages a little over 3 mph walking – we walked / rode to grocery to get the last food supplies (wine, bread and cheese – what else do you need). We also loaded fuel and water, and emptied holding tanks. Hallelujah isn’t riding low but still weighs in at 39 tons of boat with all our belongings. We were hoping to leave on Tuesday the 29th, but will wait one more day for last front to go through and Lake Michigan to quiet down. Made last calls to family and have our charts and maps ready to go. |
 Swans Hiding  Barb with Groceries  Dave with Bike |
June 1 - 15, 2010 Hallelujah update
We are still here! Yes, we are still in Whitehall, MI. We have spent the first half of this month finishing a to-do list and having the last maintenance completed on Hallelujah. No pictures for this update. All you would see are tired people full of paint, varnish and soap. We have washed, painted and varnished the exterior parts of Hallelujah that were not awl gripped this past winter. But there is still more outside work to do. We have officially moved aboard and all items brought aboard are stowed away – cloths, kitchen utensils, and a thousand other items that are either pleasure (TV) or necessary (charts, maps, etc.) for our extended cruise.
We have taken a little time to enjoy good friends, new acquaintances, former colleagues and family. A few highlights in the first half of June – Barb made a Mexican dinner for loopers who are temporarily here in White Lake. Great new friends and lots of looper stories over Barb’s famous margarita’s. We had old friends aboard for appetizers and margarita’s. Family came aboard to share our new home and brought new adventures and activities. We had our first ride on a jet ski – Dave loved it but Barb wobbles to much! The lake was cold and the wet suit tight. We are also discovering new places in Whitehall and Montague MI. If you venture this direction you should eat at the Harbor View Grill – great food and wonderful service. We have eaten there three times and found all food to be excellent. The bike trail is also a great experience if you bike, roller blade or walk. Barb does a short 2 mile walk while Dave does an eleven mile ride. All in all – loopers who are coming south on the Michigan side should think about stopping in White Lake – the state docks are clean, and grocery, restaurants and other small shops are within walking distance along with post office and banks.
We are starting to gather the last of our needed supplies (our last land possession – our car – will depart this coming weekend) so that we can prepare for departure from White Lake. We will begin July by venturing north about 60 miles to Portage Point Inn and Resort. Look for our first trip log of this year to be as we start heading north near the end of this month. Time slips away quickly when having fun, so won’t post until we are preparing to leave and really start this adventure.
We have taken a little time to enjoy good friends, new acquaintances, former colleagues and family. A few highlights in the first half of June – Barb made a Mexican dinner for loopers who are temporarily here in White Lake. Great new friends and lots of looper stories over Barb’s famous margarita’s. We had old friends aboard for appetizers and margarita’s. Family came aboard to share our new home and brought new adventures and activities. We had our first ride on a jet ski – Dave loved it but Barb wobbles to much! The lake was cold and the wet suit tight. We are also discovering new places in Whitehall and Montague MI. If you venture this direction you should eat at the Harbor View Grill – great food and wonderful service. We have eaten there three times and found all food to be excellent. The bike trail is also a great experience if you bike, roller blade or walk. Barb does a short 2 mile walk while Dave does an eleven mile ride. All in all – loopers who are coming south on the Michigan side should think about stopping in White Lake – the state docks are clean, and grocery, restaurants and other small shops are within walking distance along with post office and banks.
We are starting to gather the last of our needed supplies (our last land possession – our car – will depart this coming weekend) so that we can prepare for departure from White Lake. We will begin July by venturing north about 60 miles to Portage Point Inn and Resort. Look for our first trip log of this year to be as we start heading north near the end of this month. Time slips away quickly when having fun, so won’t post until we are preparing to leave and really start this adventure.
May, 2010Welcome to our website – all friends, colleagues, loopers and guests. We have dreamed for many years about cruising full time and we will start our journey this summer.
Dave retired June, 2009 and Barb retired May 2010. This past year has been one of final preparation for moving aboard Hallelujah. We sold the house, cars, and all possessions except our treasures (which went to our condo in FL) and moved what we needed from our home to the boat. These activities started in November 2009 and were completed by May 1, 2010. We drove to FL on May 1 to complete the transfer of residence from MI to FL. So we are now Floridians. We spent three weeks in FL and learning what full time retirees do – get up late, do a little work, take a swim, have cocktails, dinner and then sleep. Oh, forgot naps – this is Dave taking his nap aboard Hallelujah on launch day. What a life! We returned to Whitehall, MI on May 24 to start our transfer to Hallelujah. The boat was launched on May 25 – Moxie Marine unveiled her with new paint (bottom, sides and top) and new electronics. She is really bright – white awl grip really shines J. We spent the rest of May and the beginning of June moving all items from a storage shed to the boat. We are really loaded and anxious to start cruising around the eastern half of the country – well the second half of the country as we have been up the east coast on the delivery run in 2006. We relaxed over Memorial Day weekend with relatives aboard – did kayaking and playing. More news as we start in June. |
 Dave napping - hard life  Unveiling Hallelujah  Lauching Hallelujah |
