All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

Kincardine has a very narrow entrance- maybe 30 ft. (Good thing we are used to going down the canals at home.) On both sides you have huge rocks. When we started you could feel how strong the current was and of course a following sea. (Once again, I asked myself, Why am I here?) We sailed in and docked like it was nothing. Kincardine, the Scottish culture is everywhere. I never saw so much plaid, even the fire hydrants were painted plaid. We took a tour through the Lighthouse, built in 1880. We saw where the keeper and his 10 children lived. All the way up to the top, the view was 360 degrees, the water, harbour, beach and town. A turn of the century Scottish man and his family were going to Kincardine to settle. They were caught in a storm with fog and he thought they were all going to die. As a last prayer, he started to play the bagpipes. In Kincardine a man heard the pipes and started to play as an answer. The family on the boat heard the pipes and headed towards the music. They made it safe into the harbour. The man was so grateful that every night at sundown he played the bagpipes for the rest of his life. Now, every night a phantom bagpiper climbs to the top of the lighthouse and plays until the sun goes down. On Friday night in downtown Kincardine it's Cruise Night. Classic cars, 125 to 150, parade up Main St. quite a show. On Saturday night there's a Bagpipe parade. About 50 bagpipers march. Anyone, and many do, can join in. We went into town for dinner with MJ and Jay. We decided to eat outside. Just as we were served, it started to rain, it came down with a vengeance. We picked up our food and ran inside. We were able to get a table by a window. The parade started, they were soaked to the skin. They marched past us to the Hawg's Breath Saloon. One quick drink and then back up the street past us again. What fun to watch. We got lucky, it wasn't raining for our walk home. There was a triathlon today, about 400 women were participating. The group was lead by a lady bagpiper to the edge of the water. The air is 68 and the water is 67 degrees, it's raining and I'm cold. They have to swim against the current. We watched the 1st girl come out of the water, no wet suit. She walks quickly to her bike, dries off a little and puts on her sneakers and her helmet (a must) and takes off. The bike ride was next, about 6 miles and there are a lot of hills here. After that it was a 5 mile run. Watching these women gave me a since of pride. If I were to be involved, I'd want it in a 3 day period. First day swim, second day bike ride and third day run. I guess I'd want the fourth day to celebrate that I made the last three days.

Detroit, Lake St Clair, St Clair River

No one encouraged us to stop at Detroit. Lots of vacant buildings, really sad. We wanted to visit the Henry Ford Museum. We were told that even the cab fleet was unimpressive. There are no marinas for transients, it's a heavy industrial area and large freighters cruise 24 hours. We just rode through the city. Lake St. Clair is absolutely beautiful. The water is the color of tidy bowl, a beautiful blue. It's even more colorful then the Caribbean. St Clair River and St Clair Lake connect Lake Erie to Lake Huron. The homes along the river can not have a boat in their yards; the current is too strong. Our necks were sore from going back and forth, like a tennis match - one house was more spectacular than the next. On port you had the USA, starboard was Canada. We were moving right along when we noticed some black clouds. It started to get very breezy. We pulled into the next marina. Better to be safe then sorry. It was hotter then usual so we spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool. When the storm did come it was no big deal, if we kept going, you know it would have been much worse. There was a magnificent rainbow of colors after the rain. Next leg, Port Huron to get supplies before going back to Canada. I wouldn't want to live there. The economy is really bad.. Sarnia, Canada just across the river from Port Huron. Very pretty area, nice pool and Mike found a casino in Port Edward. His union number was 638, the last song sung in church this morning was 638. The slip number on our registration form was 5, Mike's lucky number. It's all on our side, we're gonna win big!!! Sue and Larry drove up from London, Ont. to spend the day with us. We sat on the boat and caught up on the past couple of weeks and then off to the casino. Guess who won really, really, really big? Both Sue and Larry. We let them take us out to dinner. After all it was Mike's lucky numbers that helped them win. The next day we planned the next part of the trip, a little sightseeing, swimming in the pool and in the evening back to the casino. Guess who won? ME- I did- enough to cover my honey and another nice dinner. His luck was good for all but him! When we returned to the marina we met MJ and Jay. They were heading to the same port as we were the next day, Bayfield. They were leaving at 6:30, we told them we would meet them there, it was a little too early for us. Bayfield, another pretty little town. As Jeannie F. would say, "Present Land". Lots of little shops and galleries. All the homes had an old fashioned charm with wrap around verandas. It was a hot day, you could fry an egg on the back of the boat. We went to the beach, to my disappointment you had to walk way out just to get waist high. It was very rocky, I'm glad I had my water shoes. It was too hot to cook, we had to eat out.

DON'T DREAM YOUR LIFE, LIVE YOUR DREAM

We have been out for a number of weeks now and Mike needed a haircut. I was so flattered that he trusted me enough to ask me to cut it. Believe it or not, I was very nervous; I was afraid of making him look like a fool. Then I said, "So what, a hair cut only lasts a couple of weeks, he'll be back to normal in no time at all." Besides, he's made me look like a fool once or twice. The set-up for the make-shift beauty parlor was half the fun. I started to shave the back, then the sides when I got to the top I realized I had to be very careful, there's not that much up there. All in all it came out fine and I got a nice tip. Do you remember the movie "The Long Long Trailer" with Lucille Ball? She started to collect rocks from every place they went on their honeymoon. Finally, Ricky couldn't get the trailer up a mountain because she had so may hidden rocks in it. Well, I have to be very careful because I keep finding driftwood that I would like to bring home. Some of it would look beautiful in the garden or in the corner of the livingroom. There's really no place for me to hide anything. I wonder if Mike could put an extension on the boat! Next stop...Kelleys Island, Ohio. I never imagined such a beautiful place in Ohio. It's very small with a laid-back atmosphere. You rent golf carts or bikes to get around. The first thing you do is go to the Village Pump and have a pitcher of Brandy Alexanders - like going to Block Island 's Oar House and having a Mudslide. You must take the bikes to the other side of the island and see the state park and its glacial grooves. It is the largest left in the world. You can't miss taking a ride to Kelleys Winery. A quick tour and then relaxing at picnic tables and playing horse shoes. They make the best pizza with wine and corn meal. We also took a dinghy ride around the island. We stopped and saw a flat-topped limestone boulder with pictures of men, birds and animals carved by the Erie Indians 300 or 400 years ago. Off to...Put-In-Bay, Key West of the North. The real name of this island is South Bass Island. When Commodore Perry 's fleet defeated the British Navy in the Battle of Lake Erie he was asked what to do with the fleet. He said, "Put them in the bay." Now that fleet is replaced by hundreds of boats like ours. This island is not at all laid-back; in fact it's a combination of Nashville and New Orleans, with beads and all. During the day it's a real family place, at night it goes a little wild. We were real tourists during the afternoon. We took a walk along the docks where they raft-up as much as 4 across. In town you have your boutiques of all description, a shoppers paradise. There's a 1917 hand-painted wooden merry-go-round. The pictures on it are all island scenes and animals. I could not count the number of bars; as long as they serve something, they're called restaurants. Of course there is a huge memorial to Commodore Perry, telling a lot of history; which Mike really enjoyed. It's the 4th of July. We spent the day in the dinghy, it was a little chilly for me to swim, my polar bear did go in for a while. That night we went to dinner at the Boardwalk Restaurant with Jack and Cathie Spayde. We left them; they had their whole family with them grandkids and all and went back to our marina. Turns out we had the best seat in the house. The fireworks display was on a barge in front of our marina, it was an array of colors and sprays of design that tickled everyones fancy. Around 11:00 we took a walk into town. We ended up at a place called Tippers. What a blast, they had a duo, Allie and Daryl. They had the whole place going; singing songs we all knew. They called up on stage 5 year old twins, a boy and a girl. They sang "Proud to be an American"; I had goosepumps. We're going back to Canada tomorrow. Last time we were in Canada for 2 weeks. With roaming charges, taxes and all, my Cingular bill was beyond crazy. We'll be in the Georgian Bay and North Channel. Think of us and keep us in your prayers.