Spring is springing here in the Wolverine state.

Although the hydrangea bloom looks a bit "used".

So with the promise of warmer days ahead, I started the 2015 boating season...sort of.
I took a drive with friend and polishing expert Jim to the Cheboygan Village Marina to visit my boat and spruce up the hull sides before spring launch.

This was the first I'd actually seen the boat in the storage area and was quite pleased with the handling and care they use in storage.  The boat is stored on a cradle and covered to prevent anything from dripping on the boat from another boat above.

In my case, there were no boats above it anyway.  So Jim and I spend the next few hours cleaning and waxing the hull.  Unlike most of my former storage facilities, there was plenty of space between boats to be able to work on it.

We gave it a good shine.

After finishing up that task, we drove up to the Mackinaw City marina to check out the summer slip and conditions there.

Yup, lots of water, one boat, and...

Yes, that's ice clogging the harbor entrance.  It's not quite so "Springy" in the Straits area.  We noticed a little ice here and there along the drive north between Cheboygan and Mackinaw City.  It's going to be a couple weeks before that place is going to be very inviting to boaters.

I learned there is an all new management and staff at the marina this year.  That's a little disappointing because the former staff was so competent.  I met the new dockmaster at the marina and he seemed enthusiastic so we'll see how it all develops with the new crowd.  The bar was set high by the previous management.

Anyway, at this moment, the scheduled 2015 launch day is May 13th.  Weather might alter that a bit, but I picked a day to at least get on the schedule.  Because of the timing of the Memorial Day, that's only one week ahead of the holiday.

I'll be hoping for a warm-up.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I've been tackling a task that's been waiting about 20 years to be completed.  The wiring in the basement was a mess.  A previous owner's attempt at a basement rec room and wiring was something to behold.  I've got it mostly cleaned up now with just a couple minor issues to fix.  It looks much better now.

Need to get all those little jobs finished up by the 13th of May when the real fun begins.

The Straits has gone from frozen to slush...

 so it's about time to point the minivan north and let the natives enjoy this 90° Florida heat.

The pool is even approaching the "too warm" state.

We decided to go "celebrate" our imminent departure with a casino cruise out of Port Canaveral.

We caught a shuttle van near our place early this morning and traveled to board the Victory 1.

According to articles I dug up, it's a 300' ship with 4 passenger decks and 600+ slot machines and a couple dozen gaming tables.  I thought the ocean would be a nice place to enjoy a 90° day.

We boarded as a couple tugs left the harbor to tend to barges offshore.

Then had to wait until a cruise ship passed.

Lines were cast and we were on our way out of the harbor.  The beach was busy.

The boat motored the required 3 miles offshore and motored at a slow pace in a couple mile lap just north of the port.  We spent the first hour dining at the buffet lunch on board, played for a couple hours, then enjoyed the slow cruise for the end of the trip.

It was a nice trip.

About the time we docked, we were treated to a launch from the Kennedy Space Center.  That was cool but not nearly as impressive as I thought it might be.  This was an unmanned payload headed to the space station.

So that's it for the winter.  Friday the trek north to the land of leafless trees begins.

Can't say I'm not looking forward to going north.

Need to get the Sea Ray ready for launch next month.