Dawson Boating: Michigan here we come!!

Well the landscape has changed!! We went from clear water and rocks to clear water and SAND!
So beautiful. The water is emerald green to blue-green. You think that you are in the Caribbean except that the water is 67 degrees! VERY SWIMMABLE!

We did go to Mackinac Island and yes, it is touristy but beautiful. Gorgeous flowers, old homes, no cars, and The Grand Hotel with the biggest veranda in the US. You can look at it but can't go near unless you take a tour. We biked around the Island (8 miles) and walked through town. The sidewalks were crowded, fun shops, five fudge stores, ice cream galore and souvenirs.

In contrast to.....Beaver Island which is 60 miles west of Mackinac. We had heard about Beaver Island from our friend Larry in Ashland, and Janet, a nurse I worked with in Chicago. She recently remarried and her hubby Keith has a cabin here. There is one grocery, a couple of bars and a restaurant called the Shamrock. All the streets have Irish names and there are Irish flags everywhere. We bicycled here too, about 20 miles out to their cabin and back. Janet and Keith came to look at the boat and invited us to their cabin for dinner. They said that a few friends might come over to play music, if that was okay. Well of course! At the cabin, when we returned, were about 20 people(friends of their from Central MI), kids, fiddles, bass, guitars and a little girl named Claire who reminded me how to clog (I learned when I lived in NC). What fun we had and sweet connections made! Thank you Janet and Keith!

Thirty-five miles later we are on the mainland at Harbor Springs, MI. meeting up with several Looper couples that we have met and become friends with along the way. One couple, this is their home base and others were having prop work done from problems with the rocks up north. Geoff and I feel VERY lucky that we have had so few issues. A lot of laughs and good food and drink, of course!

From here we went the 20 miles to Charlevoix. We actually had made a reservation for 5 days at a marina. We usually anchor out but this weekend I was headed to Minneapolis for a Devine cousin reunion and Geoff's friends Vince and Dave came to keep him from being lonely without me! We both had fun and I got to stay in a hotel room with a huge comfy bed all to myself! The Reunion was planned by my sister Nancy and was a huge success. Many cousins I had never met, or were too little, or too much older for me to play with were there. So nice to meet family. One cousin has hand movements and expressions so much like my Dad it was uncanny! He said that he only remembers seeing my Dad twice. When I returned to the boat, I brought Geoff a surprise of a jug of his favorite beer. I swear that he turned a little green , his face fell, and he said, "beer???" I have NEVER seen Geoff react that way to beer. I know how Vince and Dave kept Geoff entertained!

We boated around Lake Charlevoix for several days, resting from our weekend and anchoring out while awaiting a weather window to head the 65 miles to South Manitou Island. This is a National Park off the east coast of MI. Heaven. White sandy beaches to explore, white cedar trees to hike through, shipwrecks to snorkle, a lighthouse to climb. Ahhhh. Could have stayed there for a week but the only bay is facing east and darn if the wind didn't change to that direction.

Up until now, we have been mostly in protected areas. Lake Michigan is a huge, open body of water that the wind loves to play with. We have to plan our passages carefully. Well, all for now. I am waiting for Geoff. He rode his bike to a Napa for fuel filters while I am at the library using the internet. Our kind of work day. We are having fun but we do miss you all!