We have been in Grand Haven, MI since the 28th and will spend one more night here, although we have to change our slip because of some incoming boats with reservations wanting to be together. Grand Haven is the home of the Coast Guard and has a big festival honoring the "Coasties" every year. We just missed being here for it. One can see from these two pictures that the Coast Guard presence here is strong. This boat was cruising up the river behind our boat followed closely by the Coast Guard boat in the next picture. It was just a funny sight to see such a small craft with two guys in it and then to see an obviously overmanned Coast Guard boat looking like they were about ready to pull them over and search for contraband. One wonders how they would have managed to "board" the little tug.

We have enjoyed Grand Haven. We really got to use our bikes for the second time, circumnavigating the city looking for a place to get our propane tank filled. Apparently, we biked right past the place, missing it because we were both distracted by a lawn mower on our side that we thought might throw grass toward us as we passed. Several miles later we pulled into a Wendy's for a belated lunch. (Gary had a Mandarin Chicken Salad, Annette a BIG burger melt.) We then visited AAA for some maps of the territory we will be navigating on the rivers. Finally we went to Walgreen's where we spent a frustrating hour plus trying to get a prescription filled. We had to give up and return to the boat. Later, Annette was able to get a ride from a fellow boater to get groceries, propane and the prescription. So after some frustration, the day ended well. Grand Haven is also home to the world's largest musical fountain which is right across the river behind Sabbatical. There are nightly performances which last about a half hour. Each show has a theme such as last night's rock and roll.