We've had it all today. Left DeTour Village at O'dark thirty in clouds and a calm breeze...then wind and rain...lightening off to our starboard side...then sunshine and heat. Spent the afternoon exploring Mackinaw City...the fort and an old light house...the bridge...had a pizza delivered to the boat (a first)...and before we finished eating...clouds and wind...temp dropped 10 degrees...laundry is done!!! This marina has a GreAt laundry facility...showered and ready for nighty nite. Five hours boating and five miles walking are plenty...and then we did laundry!!!! What were we thinking???? oh, well, it is done. Tomorrow we want to investigate the ice breaker and go to Mackinaw Island....we are gonna mingle with the other "fudgers"...friendly term for tourists in this region...where they are known for their fudge....we'll probably buy some!!!!!

Made a significant trip to the grocery store...I worked on my tan (got that farmer look going on here)..Floyd had a nap...talked to family and fired up the grill for burgers and dogs ... watched a great fireworks display from the aft deck...some provided by the town and some by the two groups partying in the houses behind the marina...I think it was some sort of contest....yes, We were the winners...we spent no time, effort, or money on fireworks...

Floyd and I had a great time...standing in the shade with our new boating neighbors, Tom and Nancy. We picked up all the candy they threw...shared most of it with a nice young man who joined us...and Floyd managed to eat most of the rest before we got back to the boat!!!! That way you don't have to carry it around!!!! LOL...his sweet tooth was one happy camper!!!! He did say that he liked the Fredonia parade better...but then added that they didn't have a nice marina like DeTour Village...HA...like our boat will ever get to Kansas!!!!!

Oh, have you seen snowmobiles in parades....in July???? or four-wheelers with snow tires???? we even saw a golf cart with snow tires...what is up with that????? And boats...just trailering by...???? Hey, it is U P...the Upper Peninsula...and they had a parade...lasted almost 30 minutes...no bands...and pretty well attended....which is way more than we could say for Little Falls NY last year.....

Tractors...and a couple of stylish cars...people throwing candy....oh, and horses...but the similarities ended there...no Queen...no Princess...no bands...maybe two floats....

Can I just say that the 4th of July in DeTour Village has been delightful...especially when compared to the disappointment of last year on the Erie Canal. Last year, nothing happened!!! No BBQ (grocery store was closed), no parade, no fireworks...pretty much the town of Little Falls had closed down and ignored the 4th. If it hadn't been for Hilary and Bob, we'd have probably cried. But chin up....and this year, Detour Village made up for all those short comings. First of all the temperature was a pleasant 72...slight breeze...Town parade at noon ...right down Main Street (though it is called Ontario Street) went right in front of the marina...and with all our Fredonia Homecoming parade experience we were eager to compare. Start seemed similar...people gathering...sirens and firetrucks...kids on bicycles...

Since Floyd has started using Polar Navy software on his laptop to back up the RayMarine chart plotter, computer time for updating the blog has been hard to come by. But I have somehow managed today to FINALLY catch up...he caught me in the act!!!! Though it won't last long. Tomorrow's 5 hour run to Mackinaw City followed by a ferry trip to Mackinaw Island will probably put me behind again. Guess I should have brought my computer to the boat...but until he discovered Polar Navy, it wasn't really an issue.