What's Next - Lesson Plan's Great Loop Journey

A lot of people have asked me about my trip since I have been back home for the month.  I've enjoyed talking about the journey and what I have experienced so far.  Often the question comes up: Where you headed next?  Henry Miller said "One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things."  Here is a preview of what we hope to experience on the next leg of the journey.

The next leg of the journey will be divided into two segments because I will have some help on the next two segments.  For segment one, Gary Reimer will join me.  We will fly to NY on July 17 and then head up the Hudson River on July 18 toward Catskills, NY where we will have the mast taken down in preparation for the journey down the Erie Canal. I am looking forward to being on this historic canal and seeing all the towns along the way. I can only just imagine the times when mules pulled barges up and down the Erie Canal. I think most of the old mule tracks are now bicycle/walking trails, so I am sure we will see a lot of activity along the way.  Since there are 56 locks between Albany and Buffalo, most of the boats travel together.  So I suspect we'll meet several other loopers along the way and discover a kinship these fellow loopers.
The mast will be stepped (put back up) in Buffalo and Lesson Plan will be restored to her full glory and ready for the trip through three of the Great Lakes (Erie, Huron, and Michigan).
Somewhere between Buffalo and Detroit, we will have a crew exchange and Steve Stahl will join me for the second segment of this leg.
Once we leave Buffalo we will go along the southern shore of Lake Erie with possible stops along the way.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame us right on the Lake in Cleveland.  I've heard and read about Put-in Bay and Sandusky. And Toledo has some interesting attractions as well.
From there we go up the Detroit River past the Motor City to Lake St. Claire.  From there we'll head up the St Claire River to Lake Huron.  As we cruise up the eastern side of Michigan past the top of the thumb we will cruise across Saginaw Bay to Tawas, my birthplace (maybe should stop in for a photo).  After the 10 minute stop to see all Tawas has to offer, we continue along the northeastern shore of Michigan to Mackinaw/Mackinac, a "must stop" for loopers.  We will have to visit Mackinac Island and maybe sit on the porch of the Grand Hotel, that is if we have the appropriate clothes.
We leave Makinaw city and pass under one of the longest suspension bridges in the US heading to Lake Michigan.
Somewhere along the way we have to decide if we are going down the Wisconsin or Michigan side of Lake Michigan.  Either way, we will arrive in Chicago, where we will go through the mast unstepping process to prepare for the journey down the rivers to KY Lake.
How long will that take, you ask.  As my dad was found of saying, I can tell you when we get there.  I will remind you of the quote from Lao Tzu on the back of my boat card:  “A good traveler has no fixed plans, and it not intent on arriving.”

This leg promises to provide plenty of opportunity seeing things in a new way.  Stay tuned for updates on the journey.

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