Industrial Swift

I like big boats. I cannot lie. You other boaters can’t deny that when a ship sails by with an itty bitty waist and with big round turbines spinning in your face. You get sprung. You want to pull up to dock, because you notice that boat was stuffed.

I know that I’ve done this parody before, but this boat inspired me to do it again. Up here at the cabin, we regularly monitor the passing marine traffic. We even have an App for that. A salty or ocean going vessel (As opposed to the more common lake boats.), like this one is always a big deal.

Frequently, they require the services of a pilot, who has to be ferried out to meet them. We are positioned to see these down bound meet and greets. There is an area just outside the shipping channels that we refer to as the parking lot (Think a cellphone lot for big boats that I like, or did I mention that already?) and is where the courageous pilot leaps from his bobbing pilot boat onto the heaving gangway of the visiting international ship. Not a job for the faint of heart.

More than a few of these salties have been hauling these turbine blades. Always up bound, I think that they are made in Germany. Driving around the Midwest, it is now not uncommon to see windmill farms stretching as far as the eye can see. Canada seems to be even more aggressive in the adoption of this new technology. No matter what President Blowhard says, coal is dead. You can think of everyone of these Yuge fan blades as another nail in its coffin. 

I enjoyed a quiet birthday. We went out to dinner at Zorba’s on Portage, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year. Afterwards, back at the cabin, we enjoyed hummingbird cupcakes that Anne and I had made.

Today was laundry day. We got an earlier than normal launch to the laundromat, but in our haste, we forgot to bring Bubs and Harry’s laundry. Harry ran it into town, arriving at about the time that we were finishing up the first round. So, a day of double duty laundry. When we eventually finished, we went to lunch. We tried a new place, at least new to us, Superior Café. This is a multiheaded place that features outdoor recreation gear, beer, the accoutrements for live music, a full coffee bar, food and games. We had lunch there, but it looks like a great place to hangout. When the boys get here, I’ll recommend it to them. I’m sure that they’ll love it, with its excellent selection of gear, beer and joe.