Day 241

Daily Stats
Start: 5:45 AM - Port Inland, MI (1 mile east)
Finish 12:00 PM - Manistique, MI
Time: 6:15 hours
Daily dist: 19 miles
Total dist: 4500+
Companions: None
Weather: Partly cloudy highs in the 80’s and humid
Notes: Amazing reception in Manistuque and caught up w/ Mom and Dad

My sincerest thanks must go out to Rick Schwartz who went through no small effort to make sure my visit to Manistique was a good one. After serving on the police force in the Detroit area for several years, Rick was a bit disturbed by the callous welcome I received when my friend Ed got a parking ticket (and comment from the police officer that we were lucky he didn’t cite us for landing my kayak without a permit) while he was picking me up on Bell Island in Detroit. In response to that Rick wanted to make sure my Manistique visit was a good as it could be. So Rick (with the help of his girlfriend’s father Dale) brought out the City Manager to welcome me to town and helped me find a place to keep my boat overnight while I camped with my parents at a state park just outside of town. On top of that Rick even bought lunch for me, and my parents, at his favorite The Upper Crust Deli right on the waterfront in Manistique.

Rick and his crew with my parents and I

Today was to be a relatively short run into Manistique Michigan where I was due to meet up with my parents who were driving five hours up from Central Wisconsin. Rick and I had talked on the phone in the preceding days trying to script my arrival time so that my parents would be there along with the local press and a reception committee from town. Unfortunately, my desire to not spend another afternoon pushing into strong headwinds had me on the water pushing west early to avoid just that. I’d called and left a message on Rick’s phone that I was due to be in town a few hours early but the message was never heard. So, despite Rick’s efforts to organize a crew to see me at my arrival, I managed to glide in to an empty and silent boat ramp just after noon today.

At frist it was a quiet arrival in Manistique

I hadn’t even begun to empty my boat however, when Dale (Rick’s girlfriend’s father) arrived at the boat landing and gave me a hearty welcome. A few phone calls on his cell summoned the City Manager, Sheila, and a crew to haul my boat over to the city garage for safe keeping overnight. A few minutes later Rick and his girlfriend arrived and we all went to the nearby deli for lunch. While we chatted about the town and my trip I kept careful watch out the glass doors for my parents who were due to arrive within an hour or so. Sure enough, right on schedule, my parents walked into the café. Of course many hugs and hellos followed then we all sat down to get caught up on all that has happened in the last eight months since they last saw me.

The Ikkuma got a nice ride on a 20' flatbed trailer to the city garage where it was kept for the night.

Original Quick Update

The winds held off and I had a great day paddling in to Manistique where I got a very warm welcome from what felt like half the town.  In addition my parent's caught up with me after driving all the way up from Wausau, WI.  I hadn't seen them since paddling away from the boat landing on the Mississippi River above St. Louis last December. 

As you might imagine we had a very busy evening getting re-united so I didn't have much time to write up the blog post.  I'll try to fill in with more details of the day when I have time.