Ludington MI to Grand Haven MI - Aug 29, 2016

Aug 27^th – It was a rainy morning with thunderstorm warnings throughout the day.  The Ludington anchorage was getting a little choppy and the mine close by made noise all night long thus we decided to travel a short distance (15 miles) for another anchorage.  The winds were blowing off-shore thus it made for a calm run from Ludington to Pentwater MI.  We anchored in the bay across from a number of marinas.  Later in the day 3 Canadian Looper boats pulled in.  We already met Pat and Lynn from “Adamant I” in Gore Bay and they introduced us to two other boats with them:  Michael and Rene of “Sea Mist” as well as Harley and Janice from “Folly”.  We went for docktails on Adamant I with the crews of the other boats and enjoyed their company.  We then returned to our boat trying to decide what our next move will be.  This type of trip really keeps you on your toes.  You always have to research your options and ensure the weather is good enough to make a move.  You always need to have a Plan B just in case Plan A doesn’t work.

 

Aug 28^th – It was a sunny day with moderate winds that became light during the day.  We left our Pentwater anchorage in the morning to head for Grand Haven MI which was about a 57 mile trip.  It was a following sea most of the way and I was traveling at 18 mph which was a perfect speed for the waves ... in my mind I was singing a Beach Boys tune ... “Everybody was surfing, surfing USA”.  When we got to Grand Haven I could not believe the number of boats on the water ... there were hundreds of boats moving up and down the river.  We found a free dock that we tied to with some other Loopers and spent some time people watching.  We went for a walk to check things out and then met up with Canadian Loopers Henri and Kathy from “Kiddy Kat” for dinner at the Snug Harbour restaurant.  When we got to the restaurant there was a massive line, however it was for a corn dog place beside the restaurant that someone told us is very popular with the folks here.  In the evening, Grand Haven has a musical fountain light show that we watched and seemed to be popular with the crowd. 

  

Aug 29^th – It was a sunny hot day with no winds.  We decided to stay in Grand Haven since we’re really enjoying the area and there are a large number of Loopers here.  We went for a walk into town, up along the beach and then went swimming in the lake.  The water was Exxxcellent!  It was one of the most beautiful beaches we’ve ever been at and it was quite busy for a Monday.  We met a Canadian Looper, Dan & Kathy from “Odyessey”, that we’ve met years ago in Killbear park in Georgian Bay.  What a small world!  They offered us a cold one while we discussed our mutual connections and we finally figured out that we also met them while we were all anchored in Killbear during cocktail hour in the water around a blue floating serving area that belonged to friends of ours, Gary & Lynn.  After our get together with Odyessey we went to visit other Canadian Loopers, Henri & Kathy on “Kiddy Kat”, since they invited us by for a drink earlier in the day.  For those of you missing the monkey in our photos ... Maria says to you that he’s a “pain in the ass” to carry around!

Pentwater entrance

Pentwater

Have you ever seen an albino duck?

Grand Haven entrance

Lots of boats coming out of Grand Haven

Can you find our boat?

Fountain in the park

Homeless person in Grand Haven

Grand Haven beach

Grand Haven Musical Fountain show

Leland, MI to Ludington MI - Aug 26, 2016

Aug 23^th – It was a sunny and extremely windy day.  We stayed in Leland and enjoyed the nice weather.  We walked along a number of side streets to take in sights of the area and then walked along the beach in search of Leland blue rocks which seem to be sought after by many and sold in the local shops.  Maria has been growing a collection of rocks, however I don’t know if she has any Leland blues.  A sail boat that had engine problems left the marina today and we watch his boat rock and roll in the large waves and couldn’t believe he left in these windy conditions.  Apparently he had to get back, however he would be in for at least 4 hours of travel with a large following sea that was traveling faster than his boat could travel.  I wouldn’t want to be him.  We went for docktails with Mike, Deby, Bob and Judy, however Maria’s allergies were really bothering her thus we didn’t go with the group to dinner, instead Maria relaxed on the couch and we watched the last episode of the mini series that we started to watch a while back.  The winds are expected to continue until Thursday morning thus we will most likely have to stay in Leland for one more day.

 Aug 24^th – It was a stormy and extremely windy day.  We were awakened by a crashing sound of thunder this morning in the pouring rain.  The winds got stronger as the morning progressed and we started rocking and rolling in the slip.  It looks like it’s going to be one of those days where we’ll be doing a few jobs inside the boat and then watching a movie or two.  Maria’s allergies are still bothering her thus she spent the morning relaxing in bed reading a book.  As the day went on Maria started to feel better and the sun began to shine, however the winds were as strong as ever and I thought we were going to be blown away!  Mike and Deby came over to our boat for docktails.

Aug 25^th – It was a warm day with moderate winds.  We got up early to travel from Leland to Frankfort MI.  The winds have dropped and the waves have dropped as well to between 2 – 4 feet however our trip was somewhat uncomfortable since the waves were hitting us on the beam which is the side of the boat.  When we arrived in Frankfort we decided to stay in a marina since the winds are supposed to pick up again tonight, however they should drop enough that we’ll be able to travel again tomorrow morning.  We walked into town and found they had 24 cans of Molson Canadian beer on sale for $15 ... Wow ... I haven’t ever seen Molson Canadian for so cheap!  We also walked along the beach and out towards the lighthouse.

Aug 26^th – It was another sunny day with moderate winds.  We got up early to travel from Frankfort MI to Ludington MI.  The winds were supposed to be light with 2 foot waves, however the reality was that the winds were higher than expected and we had a following sea that consisted of 4 foot rollers that made it a little uncomfortable, especially when you hit rogue waves which were larger and caused us to rock and roll.  We decided to anchor today since the winds will be light tonight.  We went for a dingy run to check out the area and the clouds came out which made it a bit cool.  Once we were back at the boat the sun came out so we soaked up the sun and I went for a swim in 74 degree F water.  A boat that anchored beside us visited with their dingy and we found out that they are from Penetang ON and they are doing the loop as well.  Later in the afternoon a pontoon boat came up to us with 2 couples that are both gold loopers.  One of the couples were AGLCA Harbor Hosts and offered us any help we may need.  They were the nicest people and helped us recharge our internal batteries since Maria was getting a little home sick.  After dinner they came back to deliver us a taste of home ... a case of Molson Canadian.  Thanks Mark and Vicki from Blue Willow and Jim and Connie from Patriot!  You made our day :)

Beach in Leland

Maria on the Beach in Leland

Mike & Mike at Docktails

Bob, Judy, Maria and Deby at Docktails

Lighthouse in Frankfort

Frankfort's break wall with the lighthouse at the end

Frankfort beach

Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes

Ludington's lighthouse

Ludington Marina ... do you think they like to fish here?

The amazing Gold Loopers that surprised us with a case of Molson Canadian!

Could this be another looper ... or maybe a ferry??

Petoskey, MI to Leland, MI - Aug 22, 2016

Aug 20^th – It was a stormy day with high winds.  We decided to leave Petoskey in the morning to travel to Charlevoix before the thunderstorms were expected to hit.  There’s a bridge at the entrance of the river leading to Charlevoix that opens on the ½ hour thus we had to time our arrival so we wouldn’t have to hover in the river.  We met a bunch of Loopers at the dock and one of the Loopers has the same boat as us (a 44’ Tollycraft).  We went out to breakfast and then walked to the Irish Boat Shop, with our umbrellas, to get a Waterway Guide for the Great Lakes and the River system.  We’ve been looking for this book for a while now and we finally found one plus we got a 20% discount because it was National Rum Day ... Exxxcellent ;)  We did get a little wet, however the heavier rain hit after we got back to the boat.  It rained all afternoon into the evening thus we just relaxed on the boat watching part of a mini series.  The winds overnight were 35 km gusting to 50 km so we were bouncing up against the dock which made it hard to sleep.

Aug 21^st – It’s a cool and extremely windy day with chance of thunderstorms.  We woke up to high winds in Charlevoix MI and the forecast is for winds of 35 km gusting to 70 km thus we will not be travelling today.  I’ve been out adjusting our lines & adding fenders to ensure the boat is well secured and protected.  One of the ties on our Canadian flag broke thus I cut it down for now until the winds drop.  We went out shopping for supplies in town and then went for a walk to the lake.  You know it’s rough on Lake Michigan when you see people actually surfing on massive waves!  We then walked to a neighbourhood to look at the well known Mushroom shaped houses this city is known for.  It appears that the winds will be dropping tonight thus we should be able to move tomorrow morning.

Aug 22^nd – It’s a sunny day with moderate winds which will be getting stronger.  We timed our departure to ensure we could get through the bridge at 7 am and travelled to Leland Harbour which houses a fishing village that we’ve been looking forward to visiting.  We walked into town and finally found a 12x18” US Courtesy flag at a local marina.  When we got back to the boat I put up both the American and Canadian flags (we previously cut down the Canadian flag when a tie broke in high winds).  We enjoyed walking around the town, along a beach and then I went for a swim in Lake Michigan and tried to do some body surfing in the waves, however the waves weren’t big enough, yet.  It became extremely windy in the afternoon and our boat was been pushed hard against the dock as we were rocking and rolling in our slip.  The weatherman forecasts more strong winds over the next few days thus we may be stuck here until Thursday morning, however there are worst places to be stuck at.  We went for docktails on Moondance with Mike and Deby as well as Bob and Judy from Arkansas Traveler.  Afterwards we went for dinner at the Cove restaurant.  On the way back to the boat we saw a number of lightning strikes off in the distance ... A storm is coming.
 

Bridge to Charlevoix

Charlevoix lighthouse - It's rough out there!

Charlevoix - You know it's rough when people are surfing!

One of the Mushroom houses in Charlevoix

Our view from the slip in Leland MI

Fishtown in Leland

Fishtown in Leland

Sandy walkway to the beach in Leland

Swimming at the beach in Leland

One of the areas you can shop in Leland

 

Mackinac Isl, MI to Petoskey, MI - Aug 19, 2016

Aug 18^th – It was a hot and sunny day with a heavy rainfall in the middle of the day.  We got up early this morning and all looked good for our departure from Mackinac Island to Petoskey MI.  We traveled approximately 60 miles in mostly calm seas.  We were on a mission in Petoskey to get a new cell phone plan from Walmart and to see if West Marine had some things we were looking for.  When we arrived at West Marine a surprise heavy rainfall hit us and of course all the windows in the boat were left opened.  I waited for a bit however the rain wasn’t slowing down thus I decided to make a mad dash for the boat.  As I tried to cross the road a truck hit a large puddle and I found myself under a wave of dirty water.  When I got back to the boat everything was drenched and I quickly closed up all the windows and began cleaning the mess.  Once the sun came out I had everything clean however lots of things were still wet thus we left the boat open again to dry while we made trip # 2 into town.  We made it to Walmart (a 2 mile walk) and purchased a cell phone plan which we were happy with at the time, however when we got back to the boat we found out that we can’t create a hotspot on the cell phone which was the main reason for getting this plan.  The person in the store told us that this was possible so now Maria has been calling around trying to resolve the issue.  Today was not a very productive day :(

Aug 19^th – Another hot and sunny day with threats of thunder storms.  We stayed in Petoskey to resolve our phone issue.  I first rode my bike up to Napa to buy oil filters for the generator which was 2 miles up hill and then gliding on the way back and then I rode to Walmart which was another 2 miles up hill and then I was able to glide on the way back.  Walmart allowed me to return the phone, however they couldn’t help me with the cell plan thus I had to spend close to an hour on the phone with a service representative that did help me connect one of our old phones to the plan we purchased.  It was a terrible experience and I’m glad it’s all over and that we have a working US phone.  Maria was cleaning and doing laundry while I was away.  Once I got back I’m sure I didn’t smell very good and was in desperate need of a shower.  After my shower we decided to walk into town to check out a fair that was underway as well as the downtown area.  It’s a nice place, however I started to run out of gas so we went back to the boat and had a couple of cold ones and relaxed.

The Carriage House on Mackinac Island

Mission Point Resort on Mackinac Island

Sunset walk on Mackinac Island

The Mackinaw Bridge is the 5th longest suspension bridge in the world

3 of these planes buzzed us as we traveled to Petoskey MI

One of the Petoskey streets in the down town area

Blind River Marina, North Channel, ON to Mackinac Isl, MI - Aug 17, 2016

Aug 14^th – It was a sunny warm day with low winds in the morning which picked up in the afternoon.  We got up early to travel 45 miles from Blind River Marina to Drummond Island which is in Michigan.  As we approached the boarder we saw floating markers with flags indicating the segregation between Canada and the US.  When we pulled into the marina we were met by a US Customs Officer who checked our documents and provided us with our Cruising Permit that we applied for before we left on this trip.  After we moved the boat to our overnight slip we walked into town (about a 2.5 mile walk each way) and checked things out.  It was interesting to see beer and alcohol in the grocery store and it was especially nice to see the lower prices!  Once we got back to the boat we booked our slip for Mackinac Island for tomorrow night.  After dinner butter fingers (me, myself & I) dropped the carafe of the coffee maker and it blew up into a thousand pieces ... Oh well, I guess we’ll be drinking instant coffee until we can find a replacement.

 

Aug 15^th – It was a sunny warm day with low winds most of the day.  We got up early and travelled 47 miles from Drummond Island to Mackinac Island Michigan.  We arrived in the rain, however the sun came out shortly after we tied up at the dock and it was sunny the rest of the day.  Mackinac is a very interesting island since they have no cars.  Everything is transported by horse drawn carriage or by bicycles.  Lots and lots of people are constantly arriving and leaving on high speed ferries that create a rooster tail as they travel.  We also met other Loopers on the dock.  We toured the island by horse drawn carriage for the first couple of hours and then we rode our bicycles around the island (an 8 mile ride).  We walked around the town and definitely got our exercise today!  There’s lots of fudge and horse poop around the town.  Maria bought enough fudge to last us a year!  We had an excellent dinner at Milly’s and Bob, our server, was very helpful and funny.  Our bartender recommended a craft beer for us and as I was drinking it he told us it was called “Widow Maker” and I nearly spit out my beer ... I figured that Maria must be trying to get rid of me already ;)  At 10pm a trumpet player played an end of day tune ... I guess they’re trying to tell us it’s time for bed.  Maria must have taken over 100 pictures so it will be a very difficult task to select the ones to include with this blog post.

 

Aug 16^th – The day started out warm and cloudy with chance of thunderstorms however the sun came out by Noon and it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon.  We decided to stay at Mackinac Island another day.  At 9:30am a trumpet player played the beginning of day tune and then a cannon was fired.  I rode my bike around the island once again (8 miles) while Maria made some fresh bread.  We then walked into town and watched expert fudge makers make their fudge from scratch and had a number of taste tests along the way.  After lunch we walked up to the Grand Hotel and had a tour of the interior, balcony and grounds.  It’s an impressive place, however it’s expensive to stay and eat there.  If you want to dine for dinner at the Grand Hotel the men must wear a jacket and tie and women must wear a dress.  We talked to locals and they said the menu is very limited and the price is very steep and that’s how we selected Milly’s for dinner last night.  The wifi at the marina is spotty at best thus I’m waiting for good wifi before I post the next blog entry.

Aug 17^th – We got up early this morning to travel however there was a severe thunderstorm warning thus we decided to wait it out.  As the thunderstorm approached the winds became extremely strong and the waves built quickly.  After the storm had passed the waves and winds were still a concern thus we decided to stay one more night at Mackinac Island.  They are calling for light winds tonight and tomorrow thus, if the weatherman is correct we should be traveling tomorrow morning.  We’re not too upset since this is a pretty nice spot to be stuck in except the harbour is impacted by waves from the ferries as well as the winds thus it’s fairly normal to have the boat rock and roll a little during the day.  The other bonus is that we’re docked close to the Pink Pony Patio that has live entertainment starting at 3pm every day.  It’s great to be able to sit on the boat with a cold one listening to great live tunes from a couple hundred feet away.     

We have officially entered the US at Drummond Island

Sunset at Drummond Isl

A high speed ferry arriving at Mackinac Island

All travel is done by either horse or bike

Arch Rock at Mackinac Island

Yes, we actually do ride our bikes

Getting ready to defend the beach ;)

Meet Bob our great server from Milly's

The town is busy all day and slows down after the ferry people leave

There are many fudge making shops on Mackinac Island

The Grand Hotel

A church built from the rock on Mackinac Island

Sitting in the wine room of the Grand Hotel