After You - Calhoun and Isles

Jill dropped me off in the evening as she took the kids to art class. I had three hours to putt about and explore the chain of lake. I'd always wanted to do this! You know that the lakes are connected, but until you actually get in there and go through the channels and under the bridges it's just not "real." I was not disappointed.

Between Cedar and Isles is a very long canal that passes some very nice homes. As I passed one of the last ones a guy ran out and took my picture. Every time someone takes a picture of the boat all I can think of is how to search the Internet for that image. Twitter? Flickr? Buzz? Still haven't found a serendipitous image of the boat. But I'll keep looking.

Between Cedar and Brownie lakes is a 50(?) foot long tunnel. I wasn't sure I'd make it, if it was deep enough, or what was on the other side. Weeds? Shallow? Bandits? But I made it through just fine. It was really cool to be under the roads like that, and when I got to Brownie I found a quiet little lake. There were some fishermen on it, but had they not been there it would have felt like I was the only boat in the world. I will return!

One of the fun elements between the lakes it being able to see all the graffiti. Love it or hate it - it's interesting at least!

When I returned to Calhoun I found it full of boats. Apparently I put in before the evening ramps up. The sailing school was going full swing and there were other sailboats out as well. Still don't like how they tack straight at you and then come about with no warning. I keep thinking they're going to cross my path - an indication would be nice.

I had a bit of time left and was concerned about my battery running out, so I anchored just off the Colorful playground and did some reading. Bliss.

Click here for the full Photo Album

A bit of video:

After You - Lake Harriet

We were going to go out yesterday, but by the time the family dust settled the rain had begun. And today we were going to take the boat to the milk carton boat races put on by the Minneapolis Aquatennial, but logistics would have none of that. Lake Calhoun has a great ramp but crap parking, and given the activities of the festival we weren't very confident we'd find a place to park the car and the trailer combined.

So we headed to Lake Harriet, sure we could get good trailer parking. Turned out there was "old people music" in the park, so parking the trailer was a trick. But we managed. Popped the boat in the water easier than ever and tied up to the docks to prep the boat.

Lily and Grandpa guard the boat while I help Jill get the parking sorted. Walking from the lot to the dock I heard at least three "oh look at that boat!" comments -- all positive. But it was surely an indication of how the day was going to go. For someone who doesn't like talking to strangers, I sure do a lot of things to attract them.
We headed out onto the lake with the kids and Mother In Law on board. Lake Harriet is a round lake with no interesting outlets, inlets, bays, or bridges. So I spent most of my time trying to figure out which part of the circle had the least sailboats.

I knew there was talk of a lake monster on Lake Harriet, and had seen something on the other end of the lake a few days ago from shore. So I headed toward the typical "lake monster hangout" and warned the passengers to keep a sharp eye for monsters.


Eli sights something off the bow. You can just barely make out the "Nessie" type profile near the shore ahead!

As it happens the Minneapolis "Lake Creature" is a friendly one. We kept a bit of a distance, and I told the kids we could NOT land on it and explore it. Just in case.

Grandma Judy had a ride on the boat and was very patient. :)
After I dropped everyone off at the dock I motored out just off the swimming beach the kids were swimming at. I dropped anchor and headed in the cabin. This photo is from the cabin just before I laid down for a short bit. I also took the opportunity to post some pictures to Facebook. Nice! A very successful day. Taking her out of the water was as easy as dropping her in. Jill even did some trailer maneuvering!

I do so love my boat!

After You: Launched!

The ship launched with great success!  She handled, floated, steered, and powered exactly as I had hoped.  Huge relief!  More story and video and pix later..

After You: Ready for Launch

A view almost as pretty as the boat herself -- a less than jam packed garage.

Trailer assembled and boat loaded.  Took them on a road test tonight and they both performed on the road as hoped.  We'll float her on Saturday up at Bear Lake.