2010  LAKE MICHIGAN

8/29  a 26 mile trip to New Buffalo. A real hot day. Our sailboat neighbors Anna & Garry from Chicago and
Rick invited us  to go out to dinner with them and we went to the  Big Dog Restaurant.




8/27 We really like St Joe even with the long bike ride to town. We stayed two days and had a nice dinner
at the St Joseph River Yacht Club. They were real strict  about being a member of a Yacht  club and you
had to show your membership card.

We had fun in the White Lake area: went to an old car parade with over 50 cars,  eating out with

friends Dan & Donna that we met last year in Leland, especially liked the Michillinda Lodge. I even

Sailed in a Cal 40 sailboat in White Lakes Maritime Festival - So after many dinners and visits we cast

Off early on 8/24 and plan a quick trip down the windy Lake Michigan. Our first stop is Saugatuck

part of the art coast of Michigan. A very busy little town and expensive 1 dockage was $250 a ft and the

Facilities were not great. Two days here and a day in South Haven with beautiful beaches.

8/5 Thursday the Veihl's took us to Grand Haven for the Coast Guard celebration and we had a tour

of the Canadian Vessel CCGS SAMUEL RISLEY. After lunch we went to Sam's and we got a TV

for the boat!!!!!! Really nice for the rainy days or days in a Marina.

                                          Many dinners with friends before we start down the BIG Lake

7/20/10- We were picked up at the airport by Norma Jean and had a great dinner and visit with the Chrisoff's. Wed morning Noel drove us to Muskegon were we picked up our car rental and drove to Whitehall checked in a

motel and started working on getting the boat ready to launch.

7/23 Boat in the water and we moved aboard on Friday in the rain.

Have been busy with Alameda People.

7/25 Chrisoff's pick us up and we drove to Doug &

Carolyn Veihl's for a cookout and boat ride on their lake - Upper Silver Lake.

Had a great time - lots to eat!

7/31 Dennis and Maureen Mitchell stopped by and with a quick phone call to the Veihl's we had a great dinner on the deck of Crosswinds restaurant - eating again.

July 22, 2010  Launch

We haul the boat on 9/3/09 and after
84 days on board we head for a side trip to Annapolis and New York before heading to Florida on 9/22.

8/27 Off to White Lake and Crosswinds Marina where we will store the boat for the winter in a heated shed. Six miles long White Lake has two towns at the end of
The lake -Whitehall and Montegue- with many good restaurants, flea market, specialty
Shops and supermarkets. There is also a great bicycle path that joins a 24 mile long
Bike path that follows an old railroad track line.

8/24 good weather so off to Pentwater where friends Carolyn and Doug stop by and gave us a tour of the area, and some Lake Michigan salmon. This is a great little town and we even got to watch an Ensign sail boat race. Doug drove us around Whitehall and Muskegon as we were looking for a place to store Duchess for the winter. And of coarse a tour of their lake -Upper Silver Lake - and home.

At FRANKFORT we are weather in for 4 more days. We had one nite at a marina and anchored for 3. There was a fishing tournament going on that had 500 or more fishing boats and every one passed us at anchor. What a site - all trying to haul their boats - starting before dark and lasting till after 11PM.
8/23 Finally a break in the weather and we leave before dawn with all the fishing boats and head for LUDINGTON a 45 mile run. Ludington is the home of SS Badger, a large coal operated car ferry that operates between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wi. several
times a day.

 8/14/09  before light---Had a real fire drill taking the anchor up as Charlevoix has a Bascule Bridge that opens only on the half hour. We over slept and Bob had to pull up all that chain and rope! We made the bridge. And off to Leland
Where we got weather in for 5 days. Nice little town but no laundry or services at the marina as the building was not completely finish with remolding. Docks were all filled and when anyone tried to leave they soon returned.

Thursday 8/13/09-- Charlevoix, MI
We arrive here early to find that there is no dock space because of a boat  so we anchor in 55 ft of water ! Bob not too happy but Round Lake is very protected and no wind. 

We arrive in Harbor Springs at 2:PM and our 55 mile run was not too bad, only an 8 hour run. -We anchor in this quaint village harbor in Little Traverse Bay

This 100 year old town  is very up scale

with many beautiful homes boats like this one that sailed around us with a full crew serving a small dinner party.

We enjoyed walking around this pretty town and investigated winter storage here........ toooooo expensive.

8/10/09           

This is what you see when you enter Mackinac Island--Fort Mackinac complete with gun and canon

 enactments. When you go on shore of this delightful island all you see is bikes and horses as automobiles

 are not allowed on this small Island.

We arrive early - got lucky and got an inside slip as the harbor is very busy with plenty of ferry boat wakes . Took the bikes down and joined the crowds .  We biked to the Grand Hotel (from the movie “Somewhere in Time ” fame) and found out there is a fee to walk on the world’s longest porch if you are not a guest of the Hotel  so we took pictures from the driveway.  Great restaurants and  FUDGE shops! and beautiful gardens

We biked to the Arch Rock stairway and I climbed around a  mountain to get to the top while Bob watched the bikes, only to find at the top lots of people that took a horse and buggy ride and saved taking all those stairs! 
The view was defiantly worth the hike.

We wanted to stay longer but a weather window  for our next long leg looked good to go for Tuesday 8/11.

We leave around 6 am  with a light breeze and patchy fog  and pass the Straits of Mackinac and enter into Lake Michigan by passing  under the 4 mile long Mackinac Bridge