Northern Michigan

After 10 days of being in Mackinaw City, Michigan we are finally back underway. The Tidings of Joy was pulled out of the water to have a prop fixed and some keel work done. Because there were no prop shops in northern Michigan it had to be sent to Detroit, which took a week to get back. It was quite the site watching the boat get pulled from the water and then sitting hoisted up along side the mechanics building.

While we were here we made the most of our time and toured all over the northern portion of Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. The first day we drove to Boyne Highlands and looked at the ski slopes and walked around recalling a time when we both were there as kids. They were having a huge biker rally so we watched as all the bikers poured in and swarmed around us. We also drove to Harbor Springs, which was super cute and boutiquey little town. I got some kitchen things at a little spice and cookware shop. A cabbie had mentioned to us to eat at a place called the Legs Inn famous for all of it’s stove legs decorating the roof and great locals restaurant. After lunch we made our way back to Mackinaw City and checked into our reasonably priced motel. We got a deal on Expedia and the room directly reflected that. It smelled awful like must and mildew. When you walked into the room the smell was overwhelming. I asked the front desk clerk if we could change rooms. The informed us there was nothing available despite the vacancy sign out front. I think what they meant was we have nothing available at your discounted rate but sent in a cleaning person to wipe down all the walls with this smelly cleaning product which made us both cough and they removed the filter from the air conditioning and washed it out. Neither thing removed the smell so I bought an air freshener at the market and we tried not to spend too much time in the room.

The next few days we drove everywhere from – Travers City, Petoskey, Boyne City, Cheboygan, The U.P. – Whitefish point, Tahquamenon Falls, Sault St. Marie and Saint Ignace. But of all the places we went both of our favorite had to be Mackinac Island. Not only was it total nostalgia for Jeff from his childhood it was also the first place where we met up with family- The Handlers (Cousin Hillary, Larry, Jake and Nicolette). Jeff and I have been traveling for two months and besides a couple of impromptu happy hours we have not spent time with anyone but ourselves so this was a very big day for us!! We took the 10a.m. ferry with our bikes and set out the meet the Handlers. Because they are regulars on the Island and we are not we spent part of the morning doing different things. Jeff wanted to do the touristy things like see the Grand Hotel and walk through Fort Mackinac while the Handlers rode bikes and had breakfast. Finally after lunch we met up with them in the park.

We were all so excited!!! From there we sat with them while they had lunch and then the four of them and Jeff went on a horse and buggy ride. I had to oppose being a vegetarian and knowing what those horses have to go through in order to accommodate all of the tourist all season long. All was good. I set out on my bike and rode the perimeter of the island alone while Jeff and Handlers rode the horse and buggy.

I enjoyed my alone time, which doesn’t happen very often on a trip like this, and the bike ride was gorgeous. The path wove through tree-lined forest, rock cliffs and beautiful Lake Michigan. I was quite content. After the buggy ride Jake and Nicolette wanted to swim and Jeff wanted to go on the bike ride I had just finished. Since it was so gorgeous I said I would go a second time. I rode 16 miles that day and felt proud of myself. Jeff loved the ride too. Afterwards we strolled the town and ducked into a local pub for a few pints of Sheboygan Amber Ale before meeting the Handlers for dinner. We met them at an outdoor restaurant outside of there hotel right on the water. The views were gorgeous and we were all happy to be together.

Mackinac Island. (Check out the cop photo bombing us)

After dinner we caught the ferry back to Mackinaw City and rode our bikes back to our motel. We were pooped. The next day it poured rain all day so we decided to do chores – laundry at the laundry mat and marketing. That seemed to consume our entire day.

Yesterday which turned out to be our final day in Mackinaw City we drove to visit the Handlers at their cottage on Walloon Lake. It was this cool 50’s style cottage with a funky old timey kitchen and windows all around the perimeter. It was adorable. They suggested we rent a pontoon and Jeff and I were all over it. How could we pass up a chance at boating and especially when we have been deprived of ours for over a week. Larry and Jake had gone into town earlier and set-up the boat rental and got some provisions for lunch and snacks. We were all set. Jeff signed up as a second driver and pulled the boat away from the slip and we cruised all around Walloon Lake. It was great and very reminiscent for me of Indian Lake and being on the family pontoon. Larry and Jake each took turns driving. Jake liked to floor it while Larry enjoyed a more leisurely pace. When we were almost done with our ride we stopped the boat so Jake and Nicolette could go for a swim. The water was cold but the kids quickly got used to it and were happily swimming around the boat. Jeff and I had a bit of a deadline that day because our rental car was being picked up at 5 so we had to say goodbye to the Handlers for now. We all enjoyed our boat ride and were looking forward to seeing them one more time in Charlevoix (our next stop), which isn’t too far from their cottage.

At 5:45a.m. this morning our alarm went off and we began our pre-departure routine and by 7:30 we were back underway. Thank god!! We were both getting very stir crazy and don’t think there was a single other city we could have drove to. Next stop Charlevoix, MI

Back In The USA

Drummond Island, Michigan (8-17-16)

         Back in the USA! We were so happy yesterday to arrive back in the United States and tie up at the Drummond Island Yacht Basin. We were in complete disbelief that our boat was here in Michigan. And this wasn’t the Michigan that either of us was used to. Where was Brenda? Where was the snow? There are a lot if similarities to Canada and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan landscape wise. They have the same type of trees and a variety of Islands. Again we couldn’t believe we were in Michigan. Shortly after the dockhand helped us tie off she asked if we needed customs and when I said, “yes” she said she would send someone right over. One of the best parts of Drummond Island Yacht Basin is that the Customs office is located right on site and they are constantly checking people back into the United States from Canada. Our guide books and several other sources told us to make sure we didn’t have any produce or eggs because they would make you throw it out. I thought I was doing pretty good getting rid of everything but there were still several things left yesterday morning so I quickly made guacamole, a corn salad and crudités for snacking. We ate would we could along the way and wouldn’t you know it when the customs agent came aboard he didn’t even ask about produce or the eggs. Spazed for nothing! The agent was nice, very somber and stiff but he did ask some personal questions along with the routine ones of – have any weapons, purchases or large sums of cash on board. He wrote down our passport information and the sticker info Jeff had purchased about a month ago, told us to enjoy our loop and left. Shew! We were both relieved to be back on familiar ground and all checked in. We turned on the A.C. right away because of course it’s humid in Michigan this time of year. I took the laundry to the onsite laundry mat and began the chores for the day. Jeff did some navigation for the next day and paid bills and by 6pm all of our work was done. We made pizza for dinner and watched a documentary by Michael Frante that was heavy but interesting. After a peaceful nights sleep in the A.C. we are on our way to Mackinaw City (not to be confused with Mackinac Island to have some boat work done. 1,000 miles later and couldn’t be happier.

The North Channel

The last 10 days we have meandered slowly through the Georgian Bay hopping from anchorage to anchorage. Each place a little different then the last. Now we are in the North Channel our final  stretch of Canadian water before we drop down into Lake Huron and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In the Georgian Bay we anchored 6 out of 7 nights only stopping at two marinas to pump out and provision. The anchorages were very quiet. The first one Longuissa Bay only had two other boats besides ourselves and we were surrounded by tall trees, clear blue water and dead silence. Anchoring is our favorite type of boating. It's just us, the boat, nature and nothing else - no towns, no people. We spent our days at anchor swimming, reading, and napping. Needless to say it was very very relaxing. We anchored in Hopewell Bay and Beaverstone Bay. In Beaverstone we were the only boat anchored and we only saw one other boat cruise by the entire time we were there.

Longuissa Bay, Ontario

Longuissa Bay, Ontario

Longuissa Bay, Ontario

One of the two marinas we stayed at on the Georgian Bay was Henry's Fish Camp in Sans Souci, Ontario. This marina and docks is one of the only places you can dock for lunch or dinner and then spend the night if you wish. Its popular for not only boats for also for sea planes. We sat on our stern and watch the plans fly in an out all day long. At the restaurant Jeff had their fried pickerel and chips dinner. He said it was very mediocre but all part of the experience. 

After a wonderful 10 days exploring the Georgian Bay it was time to move on into the North Channel. Our first stop was at the Killarny Mountain Lodge and old time lodge that had a ski resort type of feel. The waitress at the restaurant told us that it was originally founded by a member of the teamsters from Chicago as a business resort and a place to hold cooperate meetings in the 50's. About 10 years later is was sold the family who just recently sold it. They had a great pool which we utilized, a restaurant which was kinda weird - bad drinks, weird service and mediocre food. By the end we found it to be humorous. Fortunately they did have this cool rotunda shaped bar where there was a local guy playing guitar and this homemade guitar that was called a fluteguitar which allowed him to play both bass and regular guitar at the same time. It was a trip but very nice and he was really talented. Fortunately too in the bar they were playing the olympics. This was the first time we have seen any t.v. in almost two months that we have been traveling. I miss t.v!!!! Is that wrong? We were lucky enough to watch Michael Phelps swim and win the heat he was in. Overall it was a great night and a nice place to stay. 

From Killarny we traveled a short 3 miles to Covered Portage Cove. A beautiful anchorage that has both and outer and inner cove. While the inner cove was prettier we didn't trust the depth with a boat of our size so we stayed in the otter cove. We launched the dingy and went exploring and Jeff took us a on a fast ride out in the bay. This I could have done without. I like out trawler and going nice and slow. Jeff just says, "It's good for the engine to blow it out at top speed." I think this is just his excuse to go fast. While we were sitting on our back deck we noticed another boat had pulled in that were also loopers. Later on that night they dingied over and introduced themselves and we shared stories. 

That evening while we slept it rained like cats and dogs. The hardest rain I've been in since I lived in Lima. It was so loud and so hard it woke us both out of a dead sleep. I quickly closed the hatch and we both went outside on the back deck and watched for a bit. This was all at 1a.m. in the pitch black. The rain stopped by the morning and we were on our way to Little Current where I have been corresponding with the local harbor host Roy who we had our mail sent to. We were both looking forward to picking it up and when I let Roy know we were in town he mentioned that he was putting on a happy hour for boaters visiting the area. We went to the market which is a nightmare as a vegetarian in these little Canadian towns but that is whole separate blog all together and then headed over to Roy's happy hour at the Anchor Inn which is like 100 feet from the town dock we are tied up at. Roy was happy to meet us both, gave us our boxes of mail, a welcome bag and told us to enjoy. Later he noticed that Jeff and I were sitting alone in this group and came over to the table and asked the other members of this boating group to welcome us and include us in their conversation. While a little awkward especially for me we began talking to this group of people. Turns out that Jeff knew two of them from the recent rendezvous that he attended in Virginia. We all shared boating stores and maintenance issues and it was actually quite nice. At 5 when the happy hour ended we left and headed back to the boat to devour our mail. Mail glorious mail is what I used to say when we came home after a weekend of being at the boat. This had been two to three weeks and I was so happy to have it. I made falafel and we spent a quiet night on the boat. We woke up to pouring rain that hasn't stopped since. We walked to the farmers market which was very small and disappointing and walked the rest of the town which is actually quaint and charming. We are supposed to go to the Benjamin Islands to anchor today but are holding off for now to see what the weather will do. I'm hoping to stay here another night and start in the morning but we shall see.

Big Chute

We went on a wild ride yesterday- The Big Chute Marine Railway Lock. Out of the 40+ locks we have went through this one was truly unique. Unlike the other locks that we drove into and held onto hanging cables from the side walls, Big Chute was a wooden structure you drove on and when in position straps that hung across from side to side of the structure started to tense and lift the boat up in the air. The boat was tilted slightly forward and we rested on our keel with the help of the straps. Because of our size we got to ride the Chute alone. Once in position the railroad gates were lowered on shore to stop traffic and the Chute lifted out of the water and began riding cables over the road and down a steep slope into the bay on the other side. I was terrified. I was just waiting for the straps to come unhinged and the Tidings of Joy, Jeff and I to go plummeting down the hill to our death. Of course that didn't happen and the lock operators were very knowable and professional when handling us. The whole ride only took 7 minutes (despite feeling like an hour) and then the Chute entered the water, the straps were released and we were on our merry way.

We have officially finished with the Trent-Severn waterway and have entered the gorgeous and pristine Georgian Bay. The Georgian has lots of little islands and is known for its clear water, anchorages and lush landscape. After finishing the Chute we drove across the Georgian Bay to a town called Midland and checked into Bay Port Marina where we got pumped out, provisioned for the next week, did laundry and had a nice swim in their pool. Today with the help of a couple of dock guys, the four of us raise our arch for the next few weeks. Since we are done locking for about a month we can finally utilize the top driving station without sweltering in the sun. For the next 10 days give or take we will be cruising through the Georgian Bay hopping from anchorage to anchorage and enjoy all that she has to offer.