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