The Quaint Towns of Michigan Begin

Petoskey and Charlavoix 

On Monday August 22nd we headed the 48 miles to Petoskey, Michigan. It was another blue bird sky cruise with ver comfortable temperatures. Translate that to low 70s and low humidity. We were pretty excited as we had close friends, John and Megan Gawn headed our way. Petoskey was a bit of a surprise in that it had a very nice downtown with plenty of shops, restaurants and bars.

It was also close to Burt lake where other friends of ours Bryan and Jamie have a family cottage. Why they were not there we still don’t know but we certainly see the attraction for them to come up to northern Michigan every summer. Bryan turned us onto Murdicks famous Carmel popcorn. It is an local institution for sweet stuff. They might as well sprinkle cocaine on that stuff because the addiction is the same once you try it. Thanks Bryan! Sue and I made a quick run though town and then decided to do some provisioning for our guests. We were in luck as some Looper friends of ours in the same marina had a car so Sue was able to make quick work of getting what we needed. While she did that Bill and myself enjoyed a cold beverage on his flybridge. We had a great sunset that evening that warranted the sounding of the conch horn. Sometime after midnight our stowaways snuck on board and found their berth. In the morning we enjoyed coffee and a light breakfast. After we went into town and strolled the streets packed full of shops. Later pulled off the dock and went around the other side of the break wall and dropped the anchor in 10’ of crystal clear water that rivals the Caribbean. Everybody slept well to the gentle rocking of the boat at anchor. 

Charlavoix

On Wednesday morning we headed to our next port of call at Charlavoix, a 18 mile cruise down the coast. Charlavoix is considered a Looper favorite with looks and convenience of everything boaters need. The main street is right in front of the marina separated by a well manicured grassy hill with the usual compliment of flowers. There were a number of Loopers in port some of which we had not seen since the Hudson. It’s funny how quickly it becomes a reunion of old friends. We all enjoyed strolling around the town. Highlights were the Mushroom Houses and the Cherry Republic. 

The Mushroom houses were these collection of homes designed by this architect where they kind of resemble life size fairy homes. Curvy wood shingled roofs heavy stone accents and a very old world feel to them. Quite unique. 

Cherry Republic is a store that is all about, well Cherries and when I say all about I mean just about anything you can eat or drink they have it with some portion of cherry in it.

From wine, beer, BBQ, salsa, hot sauces, mustard, coffee, to dried cherries, chocolate covered and cherry flavored pretzels. You name it. We wound up spending over an hour in the store. They had a wine tasting we did which was a blast mainly because the guy conducting it not only was a riot but he knew all things cherry. Turns out Michigan is one of the largest producers of sour cherries in the country. Well what was supposed to be 6 samples turned out to be their whole offering of 100% cherry wines and blended wines. Who knew! We have some of the cherry salsa that we are planning for grilled pork chops! Yum.

Oh shoot I have to wipe the drool off the keyboard now. We had docktails with Kim Russo who is the director of the Great Loop Cruisers association. She is on her maiden Loop voyage also. We finished the night with John and Megan treating us to a great diner in town. Thanks guys! 

Cruising is certainly has it’s challenges and can test one’s fortitude.

The statement, “its always something” is about as true of a statement as I have ever come to know. Since about the end of week 2 on our trip I began to monitor a very small coolant leak. Over the past four months I  could not figure out where the coolant was going. The worst case scenario would be a head gasket leak which means a pretty significant repair and down time.

So you have to learn to live with theses constant uncertainties which for those who know me well know that that is not my strong suit. I have always told my girls that true growth never occurs without pain. So having to live with that uncertainty has been painful especially as we move closer to entering the river system below Chicago. Repair facilities are more sparse along with actual towns with any sizable population.

So I finally tackled the sleeping demon and went into diagnostic mode. I picked up some coolant dye that would show if there was an external leak inside the engine compartment. No luck there. The next step was to pressure test the coolant circuit with a pressure tester. So off on the bike to Auto Zone to get the rental tester. Once back to the boat I pressure tested the system.

If it was a head gasket leak the pressure would drop slowly over the course of an hour. So I pumped it up and the pressure started to drop. CRAP! Then I looked around and saw coolant dripping from a hose connection. Maybe that was it. So I tightened the connection and the leak stopped. I pressurized the system and let it set. Sue dragged me out of the boat to go on a bike ride. We came back two hours later and with breath held I went into the engine room to look at the gauge. This is probably a good point to end this blog as it creates another cliff hanger. PS I hate cliff hangers but it’s really fun setting them up!

Old classic boat

Sunset at Petosky

Inside a converted church that was an art center and theater

We so enjoyed sharing a small part of the Loop with our great friends John and Megan.  Seasoned travelers, meeting us was no small affair, but they arrived at 1:00am in the morning and jumped right in to boat life.  The first morning Megan and I  walked to the marina showers to shower.  I returned to the boat before Megan and soon learned the reason for her delay.  Turns out there were TWO “Next Chapters” on the dock and Megan fresh from her shower and towel in hand stepped aboard the “other” Next Chapter.  

If Disney Owned an Island

Mackinac Island

 

Sometimes you just hit a place that you have trouble finding any fault with. Well Mackinac Island, pronounced Mackinaw, is is just such a place. In fact to out a better perspective on it as the title of this blog states, if Walt Disney owned an island this would be it. On Saturday August 20th we had a 16 mile cruise to the the Island with one catch, no reservation for a slip.

As you can imagine the island is wildly popular with day trippers and boaters alike. The reservation system that the state of Michigan uses showed it completely booked. We had been checking for weeks hoping for a cancellation. Well we took a chance and just showed up. A stroke of luck and we were tied in island paradise up for a two night stay. The island is very unique in that there are no vehicles of any kind allowed with the exception of one ambulance, a fire truck and one police car. No golf carts, scooters, mopeds or motor cycles. Only horse drawn carriages and bicycles. And I mean bicycles by the thousands.

The island like many has a heart beat all driven by the ferries that serve it. They begin to show up at 7 with employees that come to work and at 8 am with the first load of passengers. Through out the morning the island swells with day trippers all seeking to experience one of the most unique islands we have ever been to. The whole island is impeccably manicured to a tee.

Flowers paint the landscape from top to bottom with the houses all designed to a fitting motif. The clop clop of the horses is enchanting with the smell of their droppings covered up by the aroma of fresh made fudge from multiple stores along the main street. Bicycling on the miles of paved roads and trails is a joy never having to worry about vehicular traffic other than the occasional horse drawn carriage. We did a bunch of it and loved every minute. 

We visited the Fort Mackinac that looks down on water front. On Saturday afternoon we were invited over to the boat next to us for Docktails. They were local boaters and were so hospitable. We hope to meet up with them in their hometown near Leland. Woody is a DIY guy on steroids with his collection of tools including a sawmill, heavy equipment, a blacksmith furnace, well you get the idea.

 

After Sue and I boarded a carriage and went to dinner at a restaurant called the Woods. It is a Bavarian style Tudor that has a Swiss hunting lodge feel with the walls adorned with various animal mounts from all over the world. 

On Sunday we went to the church service in town and then rode all over the island on the bikes. 

It was a bright blue filled sky with temps in the lower 70’s. At the end of our tour around the island we stopped at the Grand Hotel. It does not come short from it’s implied name. It reportedly has the longest waterfront porch in the US. It is truly a AAA four Diamond property. It was built back in the 1800’s and has been extremely well maintained without loosing it’s old world charm.

When you walk up the stairs they lean to one side giving you that unmistakable feeling that this is an old place. After dinner aboard we joined a group of Loopers and walked into town to visit a few of the local watering holes. We were sad to pull out of the harbor on Monday as it was certainly one of our favorite marina stops to date. We could have stayed a week and never been bored

Sometimes things happen to us on the Loop that we just can’t explain. So on Sunday I was coming back to the boat and low and behold I ran into John, the owner of Queens Head Tavern whom we met in Cheboygan. Not only did I run into him he was in his boat in the slip right next to us! We enjoyed a drink with John and his lovely wife Marsella on their boat. How do you explain it?

For those reading this we can highly recommend Mackinac Island as a land vacation as there are many charming B&Bs on the island that would satisfy the most discriminating traveler. 

View from the Cupola on top of the Grand Hotel

Sugar Loaf Rock

          Carriage from the Grand Hotel. When you spend the big bucks you get the big ride!

Arch Rock

                                View from the Fort Mackinac

View of town

Back to the USA Sort of

 Harbor Island and Cheboygan

On Thursday morning August 18th. Sue put her culinary talents to work and made a dockside breakfast for the Loopers at Thessalonia. And let me tell you she knocked it out of the park with a egg bake that had the masses clambering for more. We finally pulled away from the dock at 11am for a 20 mile cruise across the open waters of Lake Huron. Fortunately it was a dead calm day. We weaved our way into a nice protected anchorage in Harbor Island which is back in the good old USA. We were required to report our arrival but could not get any cell reception so we were very quiet. LOL. Razor’s Edge and Odessey

followed us and we all rafted up for the night. We did the usual dinghy exploration and some swimming. After dinner we collected on the Sundeck of Next Chapter and had a Canada debrief. basically what we liked, what we didn’t like and what was most unexpected. It was great to hear everybody’s perspective. Everyone agreed that the Canadian people were the highlight of the show. I must admit Sue and I were quite sad to leave the beauty of Georgian Bay. 

The next morning on the way to De Tour Village we reported our arrival to immigrations over the CBP Roam app. Super easy and we received authorization to enter within a couple of minutes without ever talking to anyone. De Tour was only 24 miles. We stopped to get some much needed fuel and pick up a couple of packages we had sent there. We pulled off and headed 16 miles to Cheboygan which would be our port for the night.

We arrived to the marina and were given our slip assignment. Upon backing into the slip I felt a bang. “What was that,” I yelled. Sue said we did not hit anything but then yelled back, “There’s a rope caught in the prop.” Now we are dead in the water. Fortunately an experienced dockhand and a boater came to the rescue and helped rope us into the slip. Now it’s Friday at 2:30 and the last thing I had on my mind was diving the bottom of the boat and unfouling the props. 

But there’s no cryin in boating. So I grabbed my dive gear and into the water I went. 15 minutes later the props were clear and we could get focused on more important things like laundry and a place for Happy Hour. Cheboygan is a really nice small Michigan town. We explored on bikes and stumbled across a Moose Lodge. We went in and asked if we could get a cold beer.

Well after a little scofflaw a kind member signed us in and cold beer was had. We then went looking for some grub. We stumbled across this neat looking little place called Queens Head Tavern. It was neatly appointed and nicely decorated. The owner John, originally from the UK jumped up and greeted us. I said, “ If you are the owner and took the time to greet us we will stay for dinner.” Turns out John and his lovely wife own several businesses 5 of which are all connected right at the restaurant. They have a small intimate theater called the Lark and three retail shops all with small bars in them so you can shop and drink at the same time. John was gracious enough to give us a tour of all of it even though they were closed for the evening. He was quite the host. We capped off the evening going to a nice bar across the way that had a couple of young guys playing guitar. They were pretty good and had the crowd jammin.  The next morning we went to the Farmers Market and stocked up on some great Michigan produce, farm fresh eggs and a couple of homemade quiche’s. 

They were tearing up the place

                                                              Inside Queens Head Tavern

Bear Droppings and a Letter in the Bible

 Bear Drop and Thessalonia  

On Tuesday August 16th the group of four boats headed off to our last anchorage in Georgian Bay. It was a scenic 23 mile cruise. We picked a protected spot in the cove and rafted up for the night. A fleet of four dinghy’s launched into the islands for an afternoon of exploring, swimming and rock climbing. One of our crew, Dan made it clear that he was quite anxious about running into the infamous local rattle snakes.

We of course took full advantage of that and had some fun. Along the way I tinkered with our dinghy engine as it was not running smoothly. After an afternoon of adjusting and readjusting I finally got the carburetor dialed in and purring like a kitten. Unfortunately we didn’t see any bears and not so much as any bear droppings. I guess the anchorage did not live up to it’s name sake. 

The evening was fairly tame as some of the crew had extra innings the night before so Razor’s Edge hosted a movie and popcorn night. 

The next morning we headed of on a 46 mile cruise down a fairly barren stretch of the North Channel. We could see the topography changing from rocky granite shore line to more of a flat conifer shoreline.

About 15 miles from our destination we heard a beep. We were not sure wether it came from the chart plotter or the gauge set. So I quickly reviewed the gauges to confirm all values were in normal ranges. As we have a lower helm station I went below and did the same thing only this time I found the fuel gauges were pegged on empty! “What” I thought. I quickly got my log out and began to do the manual calculations of fuel added and hours ran.

This is something that many do as a backup to the gauges. We were running light on fuel as were were close to the US where fuel was over $2 a gallon cheaper. When you are boarding 500+ gallons a $2 per gallon is a savings. My numbers showed we should have at least 75 gallons on board. So we held our breath and made it to Thessalon, not Thessalonica as in the letter from Paul.

On the way in we called the marina to inquire about the availability of Diesel. No benuo. From Thessalon it was 24 miles to the nearest marina that was both in the states and had fuel. So we pushed on to Thessalon. Once there I jumped on the bike and bought a gas can and headed off to the gas station. Our boat burns about 4 gallons an hour so we only needed 12 gallons to make it to the US. Have you ever tried to carry a 5 gallon can of fuel 2 miles on a bike? Well its next to impossible. Some kind Canadian soul pulled over and asked if I needed help. He kindly offered to drop the fuel at the marina for me. 5 gallons in 10 gallons to go. The kids running the marina were so young that none of them had cars so I was out of luck there. I the spotted an old guy sitting in hi car looking out at the water. So I went up and started a conversation. I told him about my dilemma and he offered to help. Turns out Frank lives one house down from where he was born in Thessalon. He is now 84 and loves to tinker with cars to keep himself busy. In no time flat I had 15 gallons on board and we were good to go. After a little more investigation on the gauges I discovered a loose ground and then saw we had 1/4 tank of fuel, which was what my manual calculations told me we had. We then walked over to the Royal Canadian Legion and met the local bar tender, Al. Off on the side we saw one of those vintage shuffle board tables. Well I couldn’t resist. Ther was 8 of us so we set up a mini tournament. What a hoot! We laughed until we cried. Andy and Miguella invited us back to their boat to share a wonderful dockside dinner. The rest of the crew had pizza in town. All in all it was another fantastic day with a little stress sprinkled on top for good measure. 

A Game of Opposites

                                        Little Current & The Benjamin’s

When we woke from our peaceful little anchorage at Mary Ann Cove there was a noticeable chill in the still morning air with a little mist slowly rising from the water. Was this an early sign of impending seasonal change? It certainly made me think it might be time to begin aiming the pointy end of the boat south. The thought of leaving one of God’s masterpiece landscape portraits was too much so we quickly erased the thought and continued on.

We only had 16 miles to our next port of call, however we had a swing bridge we needed to pass which only opens at the top of the hour. So we weighed anchor a bit early so we could make the bridge at 10 and get an early start on boat chores, laundry and stock up on provisions. Contrary to what we have portrayed in our blog it is not all rainbows and lollipops. With that being said it is still leaps and bounds better than functioning from a dirt dwelling.

 

What ever the name of the town may try to suggest it is quite the opposite when it came to the current. Ever since we the St Lawrence seaway we have essentially been in calm waters. Not the case in Little Current. The town is in a fairly narrow channel between to big bodies of water creating quite a current. It made for a challenging docking experience but we managed to overcome it.

The town is located on Manitoulin Island that originally inhabited Indians. It is claimed to be the largest fresh water island in the world.  Little current was first established as an outpost where an entrepreneurial chap set up and processed firewood for the steamers back then used firewood to drive their boilers. As the shift went to coal the town built a coal pier that was still in use up to the late 80’s.

 

One of the common themes we have seen in these little towns is the effort to make the most of what they have. First off is they are all fairly neat and very clean. It is remarkable to see the use of flower gardens, planters and hanging baskets that are watered everyday by town workers. When you don’t live in a blast furnace during the summer it makes growing vibrant colorful annuals easy.

It is funny how much it brightens up some of these older towns. We biked around the area and later had a couple of local boaters onboard for Happy Hour. It was great to hear some of their perspectives surrounding Covid, their current political administration and life in general. 

We were quite surprised to wake up Monday morning August 14th and find a big 400 stateroom cruise ship tied up to the waterfront wharf. Apparently the town is a staging point for the cruise line to take passengers to some of the local sights. It’s no surprise to us why so many want to experience this stunning area.

We were excited to get underway and head to the Benjamin’s as we would be meeting up with some Loopers Dan and Deb, we had not seen since the Shady Harbor Pig Roast. The Benjamin’s were 22 mile cruise leading to a cluster of small granite islands with hundreds of nooks and crannies to explore. When we arrived we were greeted by the crew of Razor’s Edge and Oddesey, Bill and Diane form Boston. 

They invited us to raft up and help us with our first Mediterranean Moore. A Med Moore is where you drop your anchor, back up to an island and tie the stern to a rock or tree. There was over 15’ of water right close to the granite shore so no worry on damaging the running gear. In quick order we were secured, dinghy splashed and off we went to explore the area. We spent the better part of the day swimming, hiking and exploring on the dinghy. Once back to the boats we foraged for some wood to setup for a shore fire. Beers were cracked a little early that day which gave us a indication that this would not be a early to bed evening. The chemistry was quite clear that we were in for some fun. After dinner the fire was lit and the crew from another Looper boat Mike and Cindy form Alabama joined the foray. Razor’s Edge had his stern lights on illuminating the crystal clear water between the boats and the shore. Bill shouted, Look at that huge fish!” I looked and saw a air bubble come up from it as it swam by and I said, Last time I checked fish don’t hold their breath underwater.” Turns out it was a beaver swimming by. It was a big evening of Rocktails and laughs. How nobody slipped up and tumbled into the water we will never know. 

                                 

The weather is changing evident in fewer mosquitos.  We went through the whole evening mosquito free.  On board from the prior owners I found a perfectly intact first aid kit.  Curious if its contents had expired, I brought it to Station 8 on Old Donation just before the trip.  The EMT said, “I would use it.”  He suggested replacing a few items.  The bug repellent made the cut, however when I opened the little packet what came out was very similar in appearance to what comes out of a LAMAS nose…well they say, “you get what you pay for.”  Even though mosquito season is coming to a close, I still will get a new spray asap.  Something in the color of “mist.”  

These boats were tied up right on a rock wall tucked into a little small cove. It allows them to step ashore just like a dock. 

A view from atop the cliff we were Med Moored to 

 The crew

                                               Sue does cliff diving