Houghton/Hancock a blast from the past; Doug's family history tour

On Wednesday, July 3rd, we left Copper Harbor @ 7:30 AM, a bit sad ( it's time to move on to different adventures). Every day is amazingly new & great fun! Air temp is 60 degrees, reached 52 degrees as we traveled and water temp is 43. Winds nonexistent.  We had another super calm day!  We know we will pay for this at some point in our trip, because this is unreal how calm it has been for us. Our depth reached over 500 feet deep even though we are traveling only a half mile from the shoreline.  As we approach our destination it is getting warmer-up to 70 degrees.  Today, the last half of our cruise, we were on the bridge in shorts. I should correct that, I was on the bridge and Doug was all over the boat, sanding the teak railing.  He even had the power tools out!

Eagle Harbor Light from water

Eagle Harbor from land

Eagle Harbor lighthouse, est 1851. Eagle Harbor is where the Martin side of the family once had a cottage, while Doug was growing up.

Eagle River Lighthouse

Located between Eagle Harbor & Eagle River is the (pic was too far away) Onion domed monastery & church, home of St John & the brothers (monks) who operate the "Jampot".  The monastery is quite impressive & now I know how they could afford it. We stopped @ the Jampot & there was a line of customers out the door; we purchased some baked goods, which were mainly soaked in Brandy.

The upper entry to the Keewenaw waterway

We pulled into the Houghton County Marina about 2:00 PM.  We are in the Keweenaw waterway, which cuts the Keweenaw peninsula into two.  We entered through the upper entry and traveled to the twin cities of Houghton/Hancock.  The cities are across the river from each other, connected by a lift bridge.  We are actually on the Hancock side, but the Marina is called Houghton, because it is the name of the county (confusing for me).  It is a pretty busy place, lots of car & boat traffic. At times we are rocking & rolling in the dock.

Houghton

First history fact; Doug's Dad, Paul graduated as an engineer from Michigan Tech, which is right here across the river in Houghton.

After we were tied up securely, lines all over due to the wakes, we walked to the town of Houghton. Everything is uphill here; I can't imagine driving around here in the winter. Garry & Jacque have been having difficulties with their folding bikes, so we headed to a bike shop.  Ended up they traded their bikes in and bought 2 new, really cool non folding ones.  While they were bike shopping, we did a little shopping of our own.  For those who know me well, you know I love consignment shops; well we found one & Doug got a great Columbia Titanium jacket for a great price, that fit him!  Now we probably won't have anymore cold weather.

Thursday, Happy 4th of July!!  We worked on our chores in the morning, then took off on our bikes on the bike trail that runs along the water on the Houghton side.  Garry & Jacque needed to try out their new bikes and we were game to go along.  The trail took us by Michigan Tech and a few historical sites.  It was another beautiful day & warm.  We wore shorts & the gals wore bathing suit tops, REALLY!!

After the bike ride, we got into our dinghy's & explored the river and put our nose into the Portage Lake, where there is a lot of Doug's family history.

In the evening; Geri (Doug's cousin on his Mom's side) & her husband, Rick stopped for a drink and a tour of the boat.  They were on their way to Bootjack to spend the week @ their cottage on Portage Lake.  They used to live in Wisconsin, but now they live in Traverse City, Michigan and it takes them longer to get here.  Michigan is a huge state, we've been traveling for over a month now & we haven't left Michigan.

Where Bea (Doug's Mom) grew up

Friday, July 5th, we rented a car to go sight seeing & find some of the places that are important to Doug.  First stop, Lake Linden where his Mom grew up; 523 Front St.  It is now an Elder Care residence.  It's not a big place nor has it been remodeled of late, but at least it is still standing & inhabited.  It is located very close to the school and playground.






We drove to Copper City where the book says Doug's Great Grandparents and one Great Aunt lived, after moving away from Brockway Mountain.



Toni's Pasty Restaurant in Laurium was packed with no tables available so we bought some pasties and brought them back to the boat for lunch. Doug still hasn't picked a winner yet.  We didn't get to sample the Marquette's pasties that Wayne recommended, because we had left town by the time I read Wayne's comments, so we may have to withhold judgement until we get back to Marquette.

Geri & Rick's cottage @ Bootjack

Took the dinghy's to Bootjack to visit Geri & Rick. It got rough once we entered Portage Lake and it was 8 miles to get there, not 4, but it was worth it. Geri & Rick were wonderful hosts.  Doug was able to walk around his Grandma Blanche's cottage where he spent every summer growing up.  It is next store to Geri & Rick's place, which was Geri's Grandma's back then.  Geri & Doug have many great memories of spending summers together @ Bootjack. I don't know who corrupted who in that duo.  We enjoyed a tour of their property, the place looks great and the new Garage is awesome.

 New Carriage house

Formerly Doug's Grandparent's cottage 

Geri & Rick took us out in their SeaRay for a tour of the rest of Portage Lake & Torch Bay.  We saw a huge eagle's nest complete with eagles. Dreamland is still there & if we would have had more time, we would have went there for a drink. Have to mention that we feel bad about those rocks jumping out and hitting Rick's props while they were touring us around.  Where did they come from?

Measuring the Birch @ Geri's

Geri & Rick cooked us up a great dinner, with white wine from their new home, Traverse City.  Everything was delicious & I'm sure the dessert would have been too. Haha!  The lake calmed as the evening approached and we had a smooth, calm, fast dinghy ride home.

What a wonderful day, Thank you Geri & Rick

Saturday, we needed to go grocery shopping for a few stables & luxuries.  We than headed to Calumet to visit another of Doug's cousins on his Mom's side.  Dale & his wife Carol were entertaining 2 of their out of town children and grandchildren for the Holiday week.  Dale's Dad, Porter was Doug's Mom, Bea's, brother. It was great to see where they live and meet their daughter & family.  Years ago we ran into them at a campground in Florida, unplanned & a total surprise.  Porter saw Doug & thought he looked & acted like Paul, boy was he right!!

Bootjack

It was really hot today. I think it got up to 90 degrees!  Yes, we are in the UP of Michigan, where they had substantial snow in May and it hit 90, unbelievable! Doug took his first total body dunk of the trip in the Keweenaw waterway.

Saturday evening, we enjoyed a great meal on board Waterford of fresh white fish.  After dinner, we were interviewed by Cindy, who is the Harbor Master, Scott's wife, experienced boater & freelance writer & editor.  She is interested in our story.  We had a great time visiting and swapping stories with her.  Thanks, Cindy!

The Ranger ferry takes hikers to Isle Royale

This guy is surfing behind this boat without a rope!

Snowfall marker, the arrow is last year's snowfall.  The top is record snowfall

 *Have to apologize to Marty & Suzanne, I've been spelling Alizann wrong all this time, I think I went back & corrected all of my errors.  Sorry!