O beautiful for spacious skies

We arrived in the U.S. of A. on Monday and checked in with customs.  I tried hard ahead of time to figure out what would be needed but I didn't quite get it right. Our Nexus cards made getting us into the country straightforward but the boat is a little trickier. Since there is a possibility that weather delays might require us to leave the boat in the US for longer than 6 months we need a cruising permit for the boat itself (this doesn't allow us to stay longer than 6 months less a day - we would have to leave the US briefly and return).  Unfortunately a cruising permit takes 48 - 72 hours to obtain so we are here on Drummond Island until Customs and Immigration gives us the green light to leave.

Not wanting to let the time go to waste I have completed a few boat jobs.  The wood under one of our water tanks as partially rotted out over the years so I went into town and got some plywood to replace it.  I'm glad I kept a jigsaw on board - it sure came in handy today. I also pulled the sink out and replaced all the hose clamps on the water line and the drains.  There had been a small water leak in that compartment and I think this is the cause. The best part about today was the marina loaner car.  On old Chevy Suburban complete with a wood interior.

I am optimistic that the permit will come in today.  We have a couple of meet-ups to do with friends on Lake Michigan and I don't want to have to rush to get there.  Rushing on a boat can easily lead to poor decisions.

We have been watching some local TV on the boat.  Apparently in Northern Michigan there is a problem with youth becoming addicted to chewing tobacco so there is a fairly heavy public health campaign to warn of the dangers.  Ewww!