Pontoons, baseball tours, Anthony Bourdain Trail, Indiana Chinook stocking survey

Kevin Mulvaney watched with a beatific smile as several of us surveyed a high-end pontoon with a blue theme at the Chicago Boat Show.

It started an orgy of three outdoors shows in less than 24 hours for me. After nearly three years interrupted by Covid pandemic impacts, I began with the Boat Show Friday evening at McCormick Place, then did the Chicago Travel & Adventure Show at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont and the Spring Lake Izaak Walton Outdoor Show in Hobart, Indiana.

I needed the human contact, others milling around with mutual interests.

Years ago big go-fast boats put on the glitz at the Boat Show, now pontoons dominate. With good reason, they have changed remarkably.

Ryan Kloppe in boatingindustry.com noted, “In 2021, pontoon boats made up 22% of total marine units registered that year, outperforming others in the main powerboat segment.”

“We were laughing today about how it used to be where the pontoons were in the basement,” Mulvaney said. “Now the average pontoon does 40 to 50 mph anymore and they are turning. It’s like a living room that goes fast. That’s why all the old performance guys started to do pontoon boats.”

With the blue-themed pontoon, I could see why. He said it can go 60 mph and consistently does 53-58. The speaker system was Roswell designed.

Mulvaney, who has the good looks of a beach bum who’s weathered the decades, has worked around boats for 30 years.

As to working the show, he said, “Beats working as a greeter at Walmart.”

Human contact comes in many forms.

My main goal at the Chicago Travel & Adventure Show was learning about the Anthony Bourdain Food Trail in New Jersey.

But my biggest surprise came at the Premier Baseball Vacations booth. Doug Lawson, who has been to all the current MLB stadiums except for the Rangers’ new Globe Life Field, does baseball tours with good seats and good hotels. It’s smarter than the way I would love to do it on the cheap.

“People can knock out [up to] six stadiums in one week,” said Lawson, who learned serious traveling while a piano player with “The Lettermen.”

The Heartland Tour, for example, goes from Cincinnati to Toronto with stops at Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit. The Hall of Fame Tour includes the Yankees, Red Sox and Cooperstown.

Tour information is at grandslambaseballtours.com.

I dreamed on baseball before flowing back into the crowd.

Human connections make life livable.

Indiana Chinook survey

The Indiana DNR’s survey on stocking Chinook has multiple options. The one that would eliminate stocking at East Chicago and split stockings between Trail Creek and the Little Calumet has anglers, understandably, riled. Those with an Indiana fishing license in the last two years should receive an email with the survey (mine arrived Tuesday), otherwise, it should be accessible this week at facebook.com/INdnr.

Stray cast

History will rate the Do-Nothing Worm far higher than the 2023-24 House of Representatives.

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