July 13 - 14, 2013
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| Peggy Sue's Cafe ~ Willow River, MN |
It's always good to be back in Knife River. The marina is quiet. Mystic needs a LOT of cleaning. I spent 2.5 hours cleaning bug guts with elbow grease and soft scrub. Dave attacked his list of projects generated while we were cruising. He got the better deal!
We went for a run along Scenic 61. These are the same roads we ran Grandma's Marathon on in 2008 and 2011. The road is very busy with a speed limit of 55 mph but there is a wide shoulder for us to feel safe. It is a popular biking route. When we got back we went straight to the beach that sits just beyond the marina breakwater. People were collecting rocks on the beach and playing along the shore. We took our shoes off so we could jump in the lake to cool off. All eyes were on us as we took a quick plunge. You would have thought we were naked. The water temperature is only around 49 degrees even in July. I couldn't breath when I first emerged from underwater. Back on shore, everyone avoided eye contact with us but I noticed a few smiles; they were humored by our chilly dip!
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| Grandma's Marathon ~ Scenic Rt. 61, Two Harbors, MN |
Scott Moody texted Dave to say that they were in Silver Bay, 30 miles North of us. He wanted to know if we were interested in coming up for a free outdoor festival with GB Leighton. We ate dinner aboard Mystic then headed to pick the Moody's up at their marina. The concert was fabulous. We had a great time getting to know Scott and Yolanda. It was fun singing along to the music. After dropping the Moody's off, we made our way back to Knife River, pulling into the marina at 1:00 am. We haven't stayed out that late in a very long time. While walking down the dock two other boat owners joined us. They were returning from their own night out. One smiled, waved hello then said, "I know that water was COLD when you jumped in the lake today!" We laughed and said, "Yes, it was!" as we smiled at each other.
It got cold overnight. Dave brought a small electric heater that warmed the cabin nicely. We can only use it when we are plugged into shore power. Mystic has a coal burning cabin heater as well.
We went out on the lake for a couple hours on Sunday. We couldn't find consistent wind but we sailed around Knife Island anyway. Dave scanned the shoreline for landmarks and bearings so we can recognize home one our way in.
Mystic came with a Code Zero sail. It's really big and meant for light winds. Dave wanted to raise it out on the lake but decided to wait until we were at the dock under controlled conditions. The sail is stored in a sock with two lines hanging out. To raise it, you pull one line and the sock lifts to expose the sail. If you pull the second line, the sock slides over the sail, essentially bagging it. This sail is beautiful, colored in bright fuchsia and deep blue. Once raised, the wind filled the flowing silk. You could see us from every slip at the marina. Our dock neighbors started coming over to admire it and ask about Mystic. Jen stopped by first. She lives aboard a Bayfield 25 and dreams cruising in tropical waters. Next Tom from Scotia, a Cape Dory 27, sauntered by. We've met so many people that we've had to write down their names along with their boat info so we learn who they are. Rob & Larissa are docked directly across from us. They offered to help with our docking lines when we came back from our sail. An older sailor named Dave who is around 80 years old still sails solo in his Catalina. We saw him come in off the lake earlier today. He docked his boat alone, then washed the deck. He looks like someone who has lived a lot of great stories. I can't wait to sit and chat with him a while. He was quite impressed with our jump in the lake and called us "Tough"!
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| Dave raises the Code Zero |
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