Day 71 - 75, Aug 13th - Aug 17th, Petoskey and Charlevoix, MI

We hate to miss a party but we will be missing the "Festival on the Bay" in Petoskey this weekend. It sure sounds like it's going to be awesome. For a small town, Petoskey has many things it can be known for: it's rich Native American history and culture, the former home of Ernest Hemingway and their million dollar sunsets. The Festival was born five years ago and has grown each year, offering something fun for all ages from live music entertainment to the Taste of Bay Harbor for the food lovers to childrens' activities to the triathlon for the athletes. One can always enjoy the upscale shops and boutiques. I suspect that it's the same Aug weekend each year. If you get a chance, plan your trip around the "Festival on the Bay."

One afternoon I spent some time at a stained glass studio, watching a couple of local artists work on projects. Stained glass has always fascinated me. One day when I'm retired, I may just take a class or two. They offered to make a stained glass out of a photo or sketch of anything I would like, and ship it to me. Sounds easy, eh? Just write the check!

We had a weather opportunity for Tues so we left for Charlevoix, about two hours south. That was a good decision because the winds have been high and we've spent four days in this lovely jewel on Lake Michigan. That's OK - we're still on schedule. It's beautiful and sunny but very windy so the lake is not safe.
Meanwhile, the town merchants were having their annual sidewalk sale and offering some prices that we just could not turn down.

My sister Betty will be proud to know that Lee and Rich are sporting new Keen shoes!
Can you believe I actually got him to try them? We were pretty convinced how comfortable they are when nearly all of Betty's family wears Keens and have done so for over a year. Erik, (Betty's husband) you are the holdout now. They are terrific and I can highly recommend them after walking Reggie for miles around Charleviox these past few days.

Charleviox/Petoskey were voted No. 2 on "Midwest Living's" list of 100 Best Small-Town Getaways from among the Midwest's 8,500 towns with populations of less than 20,000. The recognition is based on attractions, vibe, scenery, walkability, shopping, dining, lodging, arts scene, outdoor activities and proximity to major cities and festivals. Both towns have high marks from us - each has its own charm.

A really neat feature about Charlevoix is the 2 foot plantings of Petunias of all colors along the streets of downtown and beyond. I really should stop by the Chamber of Commerce to see just how far they are planted. Reggie and I have walked many blocks on either side of downtown and have never "run out of Petunias." We've not seen this anywhere else. The enclosed photo probably doesn't show the beauty but thought I would try to show you.

Lake Michigan is really rough today, with the winds blowing all night and day. Traveling on these Great Lakes is very different than on the ocean. The wave patterns are not big rollers with more time between waves. The waves build quickly and they're very close together. Often they seem to come from all directions. So we take the cautious approach and try to remember that we are PLEASURE BOATERS and carefully watch the weather. Wind and waves are supposed to quiet down tonight so most everyone will use the weather window to move on. Hopefully, our next port, Leland, will have boats doing the same so there will be space for us when we arrive. Leland is supposed to be one of the most picturesque places on Lake Michigan, so stay tuned for more on that later........

More Photos of Mackinac Island and Mackinaw City

If you look closely, you can see a big tanker coming under the bridge. We've read about a lot of commercial traffic on the Great Lakes, so far we haven't seen much.

Days 65 - 70, Aug 7th - 12th, Mackinac Island and Mackinaw City

We had a wonderful weekend with my sister and family from MN. Crazy Eights CAN accomodate nine with a some planning and flexibility! The two older girls slept on the flybridge and loved it. The love seat in the salon and the dinette seats provided sleeping accomodations for 3 more and Betty and Erik were comfortable in the the forward Stateroom. With numerous trips to and from their car, bringing on board only what was needed at that time of day, we managed just fine. St. Ignace Municipal Marina was really nice so we utulized their showers and facilities. We cooked on board but used the nearby picnic table for several meals. It was great fun.

Fri morning we boarded the ferry to Mackinac Island. We took the horse and carriage tour of the island and then like the hundreds of other visitors of the day, walked around town sampling fudge and cruising the many shops. We decided that it was 75% - 80% fudge and t-shirt shops with the rest being restaurants and trinkets shops.
It was good to visit - it's probably a "been there; done that" destination. Our fun was all the family being together making memories and enjoying the awesome weather.

The island has 500 horses, no motor vehicles, lots of bicycles and not many more than 500 year round residents. The Grand Hotel is the main attraction and gorgeous. We chose not to pay $12 to sit on the porch but did get as close as we could for photos. The grounds are exquisitely manicured with beautiful gardens throughout. I loved the horse and carriage covered in greenery! The horse drawn carriage is for Grand Hotel guests only.

The one photo is of "the Arch," a natural rock formation that looks like it's been carved. The seaside was indescribable - white sand beach, several shades of aqua colored water. Again, this all looks like the Caribbean or Mexico waters - SO pretty.

Sat we took everyone on a cruise to the Mackinaw Bridge and back to St Ignace and then anchored and the kids swam for awhile. The Mackinaw Bridge, "the Mighty Mac," is 50 years old this year. There are events and festivals in the area this summner celebrating the anniversary.

"The Mighty Mac" is one of the great engineering marvels of modern times. It is five miles long and 55 stores tall and is the hemisphere's longest suspension bridge between cable and anchorages. It took 2,500 men three years to build. Five of those men lost their lives on the job.

Four years ago when we were on a bike trip with Chuck and Nancy, my brother and wife from SC, we rode across "The Mighty Mac" with high winds. We all remember it was pretty scary between the bridge moving in the wind and riding on those grates with motorcycle tires. We hardly dared to look at the water below!!

After saying our goodbyes on Sun morning, Betty and family were on the road again for another 11-12 hours to MN. Such a long drive for a short visit; however, we are so
grateful that they could all come. What a treasure - thank you, all!

We motored on to Mackinaw City across the bay. They claim to be "The Gateway to Mackinaw Straits." Since it was a short trip we enjoyed the remainder of the day. Reggie loved it because of a wonderful park and lots of new areas to explore. There were many more shops (not ALL fudge and t-shirts) for Lee to peruse. There was Mackinaw Crossings, a unique shopping area of with dining and entertainment. It reminded me a bit of Myrtle Beach's Barefoot Landing. Rich doesn't understand the "therapy" of just looking in shops - ladies, help me out here!

We met eight other Looper boats there. We're meeting up with more and more new Loopers since we're all heading south to be off Lake Michigan by Labor Day or shortly after.