Paul R. Tregurtha

Yesterday our job was to get our yard in shape before the rains came. A benefit of working in the yard here is that I can do some serious boat watching. The Paul R. Tregurtha came down and provided a great backdrop for my work.

My flowers are in full glory right now. Because we are back and forth between our place downstate, sometimes they don't do so well. We have had abundant rain this year and I have a kind neighbor who steps in and waters the flowers when needed if we're not around.

Yesterday we also saw these ships:

St. Clair

Algomarine

Buffalo

Presque Isle

Joseph L. Block

Paul R. Tregurtha

Canadian Enterprise

Quebecois

The rains did arrive last night. That was the second heavy rain we've had in that many days. Our yard is absolutely soggy and we won't be able to work in the yard today. There are puddles of standing water scattered all around.

We have to head downstate tomorrow. Although I am retired, I have re-entered the world of education. I am an instructional coach. In this position, I work in schools, directly with the teachers to increase student achievement. In essence, I help teachers find methods that will help the students do better. I am going to be working in two school districts, Hopkins Public Schools and Byron Center Public Schools.

I am happy to have lots of work but it puts our plans to spend many winter months here at the cabin on hold for one more year.

I will continue writing this blog when I have something to say about the river. You can read about my personal life at www.brendabenedict.com. I blog there about the daily events in our lives.

For right now, we're leaving for just about 10 days and we'll be back for the Labor Day weekend. We don't want to miss the Chippewa County Fair at Kinross.

Sunrise, Sunsets & Rainbows

I took the picture above about a week ago as the sun was rising over Sugar Island. It is always such a peaceful time here. When I'm in working mode, I don't have time to enjoy this time of day.


I took this picture last night as we crossed the Mackinac Bridge. It was just after a heavy rain shower. There was a 360 degree beautiful view.

Looking off the Bridge to the east we could see a rainbow ending at Mackinac Island.

I can tell that summer is starting to end for us. The sunrises are coming later. No more sun peeking over Sugar Island at 4:30 AM. But the cool evening certainly felt great last night.

Cozy Corners in Barbeau

This beautiful river is the Charlotte River which follows into the St. Marys River at Dunbar. There is a lovely township park there. We passed this on our way to Barbeau. We were going there to try Cozy Corners for lunch this week.

Barbeau is at the corner of Scenic Drive and 15 Mile Road. You can take Riverside Drive to 15 Mile and drive east to the St. Marys River. You will also find Cozy Corner. Cozy Corners has had several owners. In the past we weren't too pleased with the service although the decor has always been stunning with a great view of the St. Marys River.

We decided to give the new owners a try this week and it was great. Our server was attentive and prompt. The food was good. They were out of whitefish which was a major disappointment. But Tom got perch for the same price which soothed his disappointment. I had a patty melt which was very good too.

The amazing change was the addition of animals that the new owner had secured in big game safaris. It is worth the drive just to see the 30+ mounts throughout the restaurant.








If you try this or any restaurant in the area, let me know and I can share your comments with my readers. Thanks

Emma C. Nason Home

Emma C. Nason Home
A Childrens home in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

The Emma C. Nason Home was home to our family from 1966 - 1972. During that time my parents took the job of directors of "The Home" and our entire family moved in there.

The Emma C. Nason Home has a wonderful history in the Soo. Emma C. Nason was a woman who moved to the Soo in the early 1900's from New York. Her goal was to start a home for wayward sailors. I'm sure there were many of them in the Soo during that time. Nason's vision for this home must have changed over time and she actually established a home for unwed mothers on Ridge Street.

So when the city leaders started a children's home, they named it the Emma C. Nason Home in her honor.

We lived there and have great memories of the children whose lives brought them there. The children at the beginning were mainly orphans or motherless children but over the years as medical care improved, the main clientele became children who had been removed from their homes because of neglect or abuse. Most of these cases came from downstate mainly from Saginaw and Calhoun counties.

Please share any memories that you have of the Emma C. Nason home. I'll share more in the future.

Dix Sept

Last Sunday the Dix Sept passed our cabin. I found this picture of the boat on their website. The Dix Sept is a privately owned vessel that is making several trips to Mackinac Island this summer. Of course, I wanted to find out more about this interestingly-named vessel and with the help of Google, I found out her story. I then emailed the owner and received a very nice response.

Brenda,

Hi. We purchased Dix-Sept in November of 2009 in Dana Point, CA. Dix-Sept is a 55' Nordhavn. I, together with a crew of sometimes two, and sometimes three others, brought the boat from Dana Point beginning on January 8th. We came through the Panama Canal, up the eastern seaboard, through the Canso Canal, across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, down the St. Lawrence River and Seaway, through four of the five Great Lakes, and ended in Bayfield, WI, our home port for this summer and next. We were the first pleasure boat in 2010 to come through the St. Lawrence Seaway.

In the spring of 2012 we will take Dix-Sept to the Med for three years or so.

This summer we are making three trips from Bayfield to Mackinac Island. The trip you saw us on was number two. My wife's brother, and our sister-in-law and nephew were on the trip. In two more weeks we will be making trip number three with my wife's other brother and his fiance, and two more friends.

We are semi-retired. We own a company, American Christian Tours, that takes students on class trips. I am also an active duty lead paramedic for the city of River Falls, WI. Can't golf or fish worth a darn, and didn't want to learn to knit, so went back to "paramedic" school. I was in EMS during college.

We have two sons, both adults. Both sons and our daughter-in-law were on the first Mackinac trip.

The Locks at Night

Last night we went up to the Locks for the Lantern Light Walking Tour. Our hosts, Jim and Mary, have Twilight Walking Tours that meet at the main gate of the Locks. You can see their schedule at Twilight Walking Tours. They don't charge for the tour and just have a suggested tip of $5. I felt it was a bargain for the 1 1/2 tour along Portage Avenue. They shared several 'ghost' stories of local businesses but also told about Soo history, Irish folk stories and even some Herman Melville, which by the way is his birthday today.


When we finished the tour at 10:30, we were treated to some good boat watching. There were two boats in the Locks, Canadian Progress and Kaye E. Barker. It was a warm evening and there were quite a few people there to watch along with us.

Kaye E. Barker in the background