We pulled out of Mackinaw City shortly after daybreak anxious to see Charlevoix the Beautiful - home of mushroom houses and petunias. We passed under Big Mac Bridge at daybreak and the rising sun made the bridge appear golden.
One of the many surprises on this trip are the beautiful waters of Lake Michigan. The many blue hues of the sky and water fused
together are stunning. So much so that when a barge or lighthouse
enters the picture, they stand out more than they would normally.
In 1947 the State of Michigan created an excepional Safe Harbor
of Refuge System so that boaters can enjoy the Great Lakes safely with
facilities readily available when needed. The harbors are particularly important as
weather can roll in quickly and the lake can turn from a lamb into a lion in a
very short period of time. In fact, they
made a safe harbor available every 15 miles for this very reason.
We greatly enjoyed the benefits of this system as we made
our way down the east coast of Lake Michigan.
The system has allowed many small towns to be creative in their offerings
to boaters. We fell in love with so many
small towns along the way – each with their own unique character. The first such town is known as Charlevoix
the Beautiful. We entered the harbor and found the marina in the heart of
downtown.
Pulling into the safe harbor.
Most harbor entrances have a lighthouse and public beach.
A harbor tour vessel was right behind us.
We had a prompt bridge opening.
Most safe harbor marinas are in downtown areas and
are separated from "main street" by beautiful city parks.
There was an old timey car show in the area the day we
arrived, and we saw a lot of old cars downtown.
We also caught up with some of our old buddy boats and all had dinner
together at the local pub – Freya, In My Element, and Lady KK were all there. Over the next couple of days Barefoot’n arrived, and we shopped the
quaint downtown area while Heidi enjoyed the trout pond.
Each spring before Memorial Day the citizens of Charlevoix
get together and plant over 1200 flats of petunias along the main road from one end
of town to the other. They also plant
over 80 hanging baskets that hang from the lampposts downtown. It’s just one way they keep Charlevoix
beautiful.
The next morning, we delayed leaving due to rain. The seas were somewhat choppy at first, but
leveled out, and it turned into a delightful day while in route to the next
harbor of refuge. Next up in the safe harbor
lineup was Leland, MI. Leland is one of
the only working commercial fishing villages in Michigan. We enjoyed walking amongst the docks,
smokehouses, fishnets, and shanties.
Many of the old shanties have now been turned into shabby chic
boutiques. After shopping and strolling about, we enjoyed lunch
by the docks.
While shopping we heard about Leland bluestones, which are
found along the shoreline. They range in
color from shades of green, blue, and purple and are actually not stones at all
but slag from an old ironworks located in Leland over 100 years ago. The slag was used to build an old pier out
into the lake. The pier is long gone,
but the slag still washes ashore, and the stones are quite a prize to
find. Lucky for us, the earlier choppy
seas stirred things up in Leland, and we found several bluestones much to the
surprise of some of the locals.
After a busy day, we enjoyed chilling on the porch at the
marina and planning the next day’s adventure.
Leland marina.
We pulled out the next morning with dark skies on our stern - next stop,
Frankfort, MI. Along the way we passed Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Park – once known as Good Morning America’s choice of The Most
Beautiful Place in America.
Sleeping Bear Dunes.
We also passed the Point Betsie lighthouse as we entered the
harbor. Once again the marina is located
in the heart of downtown and is separated from "main street" by a public park. So, it’s very convenient for boaters, while
serving as a gathering place for the locals to enjoy the waterfront. We met so many interesting folks as a result. Locals are always happy to talk about their towns, and we are all ears when it comes to learning about them - each one unique and charming.
Point Betsie lighthouse.
Safe harbor entrance.
Frankfort marina.
Wild swans are so enchanting...
Downtown Frankfort.
Frankfort park.
We pulled out of Frankfort in
cloudy conditions and as we passed Point Betsie lighthouse fog started setting
in. Thinking the fog would soon lift, we
continued on. A little later the Coast
Guard issued restricted visibility warnings, and we found ourselves socked in
by fog. Surprisingly, the fog worsened
at 1:00 pm! Rather late for fog, I
thought. Jeff enabled the fog horn (that
I never even knew we had), and he estimated that our visibility was reduced to
100 yards.
We learned to appreciate our radar
as that was the only way to “see” any vessels around us. A small boat ran up on us from astern, but
swerved to avoid hitting us – apparently running too fast and loud to hear the
"boo whaaa" of the fog horn. We also saw some
of the deepest water yet on the trip – as much as 463’.
Point Betsie lighthouse.
Socked in by fog - fore and aft.
Strangely, as we made the turn to enter Ludington's safe harbor, we exited the curtain of fog. Suddenly, it was a beautiful sunny day - we were quite surprised by the difference.
Leaving the fog bank.
Looking back at the fog bank from inside Ludington safe harbor.
Ludington is another historic quaint town -
full of antique stores, art galleries, and local breweries.
The marina was convenient to everything, and
the home of many local fishing boats and a couple of huge ferries.
The local park has beautiful sculptures,
artifacts,
playground equipment,
and fish cleaning facilities.
This lucky guy caught 19 salmon!
The next morning we were off to an early start as we saw the ferry warm her engines and the fisherman already fast at work on the day's catch.
As we pulled out of the harbor, we were greeted with incredibly flat seas and a picture perfect sun rise.
A migratory flock joining us on the journey south.
Hard to imagine this tranquil lake rising up to engulf thousands of vessels from small pleasure boats to huge ore carriers.
All along the east coast of Lake Michigan, we passed numerous sand dunes. Today we headed to an anchorage off Muskegon State Park so that we could actually climb some of the dunes - one of the "must do" items on my list. Here's several of the dunes we passed.
Muskegon State Park beach.
Pulling into the harbor.
The USS Silversides.
The view from the anchorage of the sand dune we climbed.
Dinghyed to shore and
climbed up top
with Barefoot'n.
Jeff climbed even further...
View from the top of SeaGlide at anchor.
More graceful wild swans.
Barefoot'n and SeaGlide at anchor.
Huge barges and ferries passed by,
but we enjoyed a tranquil waters with a beautiful sunset.
The following day we were looking forward to seeing our friends on Great Laker in Grand Haven. We spent time with Great Laker while awaiting the Erie Canal in Waterford, NY. They live in Grand Haven and invited us to come for a visit while they acted as our personal harbor hosts. It was a quick trip from the anchorage to the harbor marina.
Grand Haven marina.
Larry and Anne of Great Laker
We first went on a tour of the boardwalk around the marina and then out to the lighthouse.
Along the way we enjoyed meeting some local fishermen,
and seeing the sights.
In route to the lighthouse, we had to stop by the locally famous Pronto Pups corndog stand - yum!
Next up was the downtown shopping tour. Grand Haven is another quaint town with lots of shops, galleries, and breweries.
Then we were off to Great Laker's family lake cabin. Originally built in 1928, the cabin is accessed via a wooded trail and overlooks Lake Michigan.
We then headed to their gorgeous home and enjoyed dinner together before getting back to the marina in time for the musical fountain light show. We had a great time and very much appreciated Larry and Anne spending so much time with us.
The next morning we were off to South Haven for a couple of days. Before getting there we could tell that South Haven was going to be larger and busier than most of the small towns we had visited thus far. Plus it was Labor Day weekend bringing even more folks to the waterfront.
The public beach.
Lots of cigarette boats.
The line of boats entering the safe harbor ahead of us.
Luckily, SeaGlide got a front row spot at South Haven's version of ego alley.
It was a great place to be for a long weekend of people watching.
Downtown park.
Our buddies on Bucket List once pointed out the beauty
of manhole covers in some cities - something I had never noticed before.
Since that time, I too have been intrigued - thus far, South Haven wins the
award for the most artistic manhole cover!
Arts and crafts festival.
Sunset stroll down the boardwalk.
The next day we were off to Michigan City, Indiana. With our days on Lake Michigan numbered, I hope that I can always remember how the beautiful the waters here are - crystal clear and topaz blue.
Approaching Indiana, the sand dunes gave way to industrial areas.
But at Michigan City, the "ugly" industrial area didn't stop them from developing a beautiful park across the water. Washington Park is huge - having a marina, beach, zoo, and ampitheater. We had a great time biking the area and walking on the beach. We were also close to the outlet mall, and were even able to get in some shopping!
Up close and personal at the Washington Park Zoo...
We climbed the tower at the zoo
and were rewarded with awesome views.
The next morning we said goodbye to Indiana as we had Chicago in our sights. Heaven only knows the adventure that awaits us there....
No comments:
Post a Comment