August 15, 2021, Sunday, Milliken State Park

Peter arrived promptly at 7:45 for his cappuccino. I opened the new box from Amazon in front of him so he could smell that just opened fresh K-cup aroma of 42 new cappuccinos. He said they were as good as the last batch. This time we had whipped cream to enhance his drinking experience. It was just a one drink morning as he was anxious to get underway. 

We left at 8:45, a few minutes after Brillig. We passed them rather quickly, but Peter had Brillig steaming and we only beat them into Milliken by 45 minutes. The trip was 32.8 miles, and took us 3 hours and 45 minutes at an average speed of 8.8 knots. We hit 15.2 one time as I ran Annie fast for awhile to clear carbon out of the engine. 

The trip was fine except for very annoying power boat wakes. One time 2 huge boats with big wakes passed within 20 yards of us. It rocked Annie so hard that a 2 1/2 gallon plastic water container fell out of our cabinet and splattered all over the floor along with all the water. Kerry made me speed up to get out of Lake St. Clair and said she dislikes traveling this lake even more than she does Lake Erie. 

I asked 2 captains sitting on the dock about going under the Belle Isle Bridge. I have always wondered about that. They said that you can, and that you go through pillars 5 and 6, the opening that has green lights. The whole area next to Belle Isle is a no wake zone, and the Coast Guard will stop you if you go too fast. Sailboats can't go that way as their masts are too high. 

We're planning to go to the Doubletree Inn for diner tonight. Kerry designed the restaurant. I will try to use my Uber account for the first time. Peter is experienced so he can guide me if I have trouble.

We had a leisurely afternoon. I started a John Grisham novel. Kerry cleaned and straightened. We had plenty of music as I think boats on either side of us were trying to see who could play their music the loudest. I would call it a tie. The selections could have been worse and the quality of the sound, though ear splitting, was very good. Thank God for small favors. We managed to get showers through the sound waves. By 5:30 a number of Looper boats came in and the sound level diminished significantly.

We had a plan to go to the Doubletree Inn where Kerry designed the bar and restaurant when she worked at Deitrick Interiors. And we made a backup plan to go to Greek Town if the restaurant menu was not satisfactory. I could not get a good Uber price but Peter was able to get an OK one so he ordered the first Uber.

It was fun to see the Inn and their restaurant and bar. Kerry took a million pictures and told us stories about the design process and challenges. The restaurant was not open as it turned out. They were just serving in the Round Bar she designed, so we decided to go to Greek Town for dinner. This time I was able to do my first Uber. The area was packed! I have not seen that many people since I last went to an OSU football game. To call it a happening place would be an major understatement. 

We ate at "The Greek" restaurant. We split an eggplant, potato, and spicy beef dish. It was rather mediocre, and not as good as the food in the Greek restaurant we ate at in St. Clair Shores. Peter ordered the final Uber home as my phone would not connect. It was really hard to find the Uber car at the designated pick up spot, but we finally did. Traffic was just crazy in the area. 

We all decided to pass on cordials and cookies tonight. We are tired and have a long, perhaps early, day of travel. It's 50 miles to Middle Bass Island where we plan to spend the last night of our cruise. Brillig could leave at 6-ish. Annie won't leave before 7:00 AM. The weather forecast is for higher wind and waves tonight, diminishing to 10 knots NE and 1/12' waves later in the morning.