Sunday, September 13, 2015

A beautiful day for boating!

Detroit

We didn’t make any special plans for Labor Day weekend, but on Friday night I got a facebook message from our friends Nancy and Andy, inviting us to go boating with them on Sunday.  It promised to be a beautiful day, and we had been wanting to catch up with them while we were in town, so of course we said yes.  Nancy runs a daycare in her home, and provided the best care I could ever have found for my two boys, and her husband, Andy, is a retired “Ford guy” – even after the boys left Nancy’s daycare to go to school, we remained friends and have kept in touch over the years. 

We made plans to meet at the marina in Detroit where they keep their boat, at 11am on Sunday.  Their boat had been taken out of indoor storage and placed in the water before we got there.

Indoor storage

Our chaufer

 

We loaded up and headed out into the Detroit River.  Andy started out by taking us on the tour of the Detroit riverfront.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We passed under the bridge to Belle Isle State Park, an island in the middle of the river.  When I was in college, we used to come to Belle Isle to ride bikes and have picnics.  In our last summer of classes, a bunch of us engineering students took a photography class, and we all came to Belle Isle to photograph some of the great old architecture!  It’s a beautiful park, especially now that the state has taken it over and it maintaining it.

 

Belle Isle Bridge

 

As we made our way south on the river, we passed by the Manoogian Mansion – home of the Mayor of Detroit,

Manoogian Mansion

 

and other stately homes along the river.

Kid Rock's house?

This one is rumored to belong to Kid Rock.

 

As we got closer to downtown, we could see the Detroit skyline.

High Rise Apartments on the Detroit River

 

It looks pretty impressive from the water!

Downtown Detroit

Renaissance Center - GM Headquarters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Across the river is Windsor, Ontario,

Caesars Windsor

 

and the bridge across the river is the Ambassador Bridge.

Ambassador Bridge

 

We turned around and started heading north towards Lake St. Clair, leaving Detroit and Windsor behind us.

Two countries connected by a bridge

 

We passed the Coast Guard Station, and entered the lake.

Coast Guard Station

 

There are lots of beautiful estates on the lake,

Estates on the river

More estates on the river

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

including the Edsel & Eleanor Ford Estate.

Edsel & Eleanor Ford Estate

 

There were a lot of really nice boats out on the lake, too.

Sailboat on Lake St. Clair

Sailing Lake St. Clair

 

We floated around for awhile while we ate our lunches and enjoyed the warm summer sun.

It was a perfectly beautiful day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bryce enjoying the day on the lake

Nancy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solving world problems?

 

After lunch, we took a cruise through Jefferson Beach Marina,

Jefferson Beach Marina

 

where there was a wedding going on in the gazebo.

Wedding Party

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their reception venue was parked alongside the dock, and we could see the guests lining up to pick up a glass of champagne as they entered the boat.

Wedding Boat

 

There were lots of beautiful boats in the marina, including this original cigarette boat.

Cigarette Boat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the marina, we made our way back down the river.

Tom and Andy

 

Andy pulled the boat up alongside the dock, and got it ready to go back into storage until the next time he takes it out.  That’s a pretty good way to go – the boat stays nice and clean, stored inside out of the elements, and all he has to do is call ahead and they put in in the water for him!

Buttoning up the boat

We visited for a little while longer in the “Tiki Bar” before we all headed for home.  It was a beautiful day on the water, and we’re glad that Andy and Nancy invited us to spend the day with them!  Thanks guys!!

1 comment:

  1. If we'd have know of your boat trip we could have waved to you when you were near the the coast guard station. As a fact it would have been within shouting distance. Glad you had another enjoyable day.
    Looks like Bryce is trying to show his maturity.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete

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