June 23, 2011 Wolverine Park, Erie Pa.

After a very pleasant evening on the hook with just a minor storm we pulled up anchor for the 2 mile motor to Wolverine Park in downtown Erie. The whole gang was waiting for us when we arrived about 9:30.

Kerry decided to do laundry upon arrival, so I paced and fretted until that was done and we could go exploring. Lew and Philip decided to go get their empty propane tanks filled. Ask them why the spent $42 in cab fares to get a $9 propane refill! :-)

Kerry and I walked downtown and found a fresh fruit and vegetable stand, and some other little stores. We had planned to lunch at a pub with "All Day $3 Guinness" but decided to join Lew and Gretch at Smuggler's Cove instead. We sat outside in the rain for a while but fortunately decided to go inside before it really started to pour.

After lunch we were fortunate to find a marina boat store to shop in while we waiting for the rain to stop. Then we went to the maritime museum to tour it and the Niagara which was in port. Very interesting. I know now I would much rather sail on Excalibur than the Niagara!

Cocktails were on Finnbar tonight. All the first mates did heavy appetizers while I contributed 3 pitchers of margaritas. I shared my not to secret margarita recipe with Kevin, and he is now authorized to go forward and nourish needy sailors in any port.

The weather forecast has been terrible all day, especially for the two yachts planning to go West. High WSW winds and seas are forecast. We even wondered if we would be able to go East. Tonight the forecast has been moderated to SW winds around 15 knots, but with rain of course, after storms tonight. We should be able to travel tomorrow. We only can have one weather day before we get to Toronto because of scheduling around the big Canada Day holiday.