Birds, Boats and Booze.

The weather was horrid on Saturday as our guests arrived at the condo. David and Reenie, and Bill and Judy arrived in separate cars and I met them individually at the front parking lot to escort them to the underground parking where they could enter below without getting soaked.

The wet, cold weather didn't stop us from having a good time though, as talk was abundant. We got caught up on all the latest especially since there were new grandchildren in both families.As usual at these condo visits with friends, the food was plentiful and very tasty.

On Sunday the weather miraculously changed for the better. This was good because weeks ago I had booked a cruise. We drove down the U.S. side of the river to Metropolitan Beach to the mv Clinton with Captain Greg for an excursion called "Birds, Boats and Booze".

The Discovery cruises, subsidized by the Metro Parks Commission, and University of Michigan as well as numerous sponsors are very well done and this one turned out to be exceptionally good. If you follow this blog you will remember the two other cruises we've done with the Discovery Tours CLICK HERE.

Bill is always watching for older boats for sale so he enjoyed the departure from the docks.

We were headed to the St. Clair River delta; an area known as "the Flats" a few miles north-east for a total of about 12 miles each way.

This map shows the close proximity to Detroit and the dotted line shows the track where we went on board the mv Clinton.

The obsolete range lighthouses greet us as we arrive at the Flats. You can read more about them HERE. We entered the area by the old, original channel. Over the years the main shipping channel changed and was straightened to accommodate newer, larger ships.

Julie Champion, our knowledgeable commentator, hands out informational materials.

 We didn't see too many birds on our "Birds, Boats and Booze" tour but our very knowledgeable commentator Julie Champion gave us hours of interesting facts about the boatbuilding industry (Chis Craft Boats originated nearby in Algonac) and the Prohibition Era. Rum-running was one of the main industries of this region in the 1920's and 30's. Tourism on the flats flourished from the turn of the last century on as huge steamboats brought eager customers from Detroit, only a few miles south, across Lake St Clair.

Julie had lots of pictures so we could see "then" and "now" . Actually they looked pretty much the same one hundred years ago.

It's  easy to imagine the booze runners crossing the narrow waters of the Flats with their illicit cargo. It was legal to produce but not consume alcohol in Canada but illegal to make it at all in USA so our Canadian distilleries rose to world status with the export of liquor to Europe and Cuba - wink wink! Some boats made the trip to "Cuba" 3 times in one day.

Whenever there is something illegal going on you can look for organized crime. Al Capone was in Chicago but "The Purple Flower Gang" of Detroit made big bucks with watered-down booze sales and extortion "insurance" payments to keep your illegal speakeasy running and free of the feds.

Most of the waterfront locations are now owned by the wealthy or yacht clubs.

They did discuss the bird part of the Birds, Boats and Booze Tour and managed to show how even a very natural topic tied into the theme of boats and booze through the massive amount of tourism and hunting in the area.

After the cruise we were all hungry so we drove upriver back to Port Huron and decided to try a new restaurant "Rix on the Rocks" located in the former "Pilot House Restaurant" building right on the river across from the refineries of south Sarnia.

Bill had the "Polish Special" of the day. Even he could not finish the generous portion of cabbage rolls, sausage and perogies. I had the wings (big surprise)and so did Judy. Wendy had a huge Ruben sandwich and fries. All in all a wonderful day was had by all.
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