Month: September 2019

We left Grand Haven around 7am with the temperature at 54 degrees. It was a cold morning. The oil pan fix was looking good, and we were optimistic about today’s trip. We departed with hardly any wind, and turned south, following the coast along Lake Michigan. There was a few fishing boats about, but not much traffic otherwise. We were only going about 25 miles, so our arrival in Holland was about 11:30 am.

On arrival we had to turn into Lake Macatawa and continue inland a bit to reach Holland. The city is best known for its Dutch heritage, which serves not only as a part of the city’s cultural identity, but the local economy as well: the Tulip Time Festival in May and various Dutch-themed attractions augment the nearby Lake Michigan shoreline in attracting thousands of tourists annually. It is also the largest city in the county, which makes for a large downtown area with plenty of shops and restaurants, including several breweries and a farmers market. You may have heard of New Holland Brewing, which is located here as well.

We found a spot to anchor (gasp!) as far back as we could go into the lake. Our spot was close to a pier where there were some people fishing, and it was connected to a park with a nice bike/walking path. The weather looked good, except for some wind, but we felt secure where we were. After sitting on the boat for a couple of hours, eating lunch and making sure all was secure, I took the bikes to the pier, and returned for Lauren. We then rode see the windmills and a small dutch town: Windmill Island. The flowers on display were beautiful, and the windmills made you feel like you were in the Netherlands. We continued to the downtown area, and explored the farmers market which was just wrapping up, then on to some breweries.

We returned to the boat, and were relieved that it was still in the same place we left it. I have not been very confident in our anchor in the last week or so, and this felt good. We took Frank for another walk and returned the bikes to the boat. After dinner, we decided our next stop will be Saugatuck, Michigan, which is a short trip, so no need to get a super early start.

Our trip from Frankfort to Grand Haven was about 60 miles. This is one of the longest trips we’ve taken regarding mileage. Our original thought today was to go Muskegon, with Pentwater as a back up if the weather was not cooperating. Once we were out and heading down the coast, the ride was comfortable and it made sense to us to just keep going.

Grand Haven bills itself as “Coast Guard City, USA”. There is a large coast Guard base there, as well as a quaint town of shops and entertainment venues. They also have a colorful musical fountain that puts on a nightly display.

When we were getting close to the destination, we realized we didn’t know where we were going to stay exactly. We had heard and looked on a map at some marinas in the area, as well as some anchorages. Once we got into the river, it continues on a ways inland where all of the marinas and anchorages are. As we were getting close to the downtown area, we noticed a lot of boats tied up along the wall along the boardwalk. We spotted an open spot, and cautiously started to dock. A helpful guy jumped off of his boat and assisted us with grabbing lines. Once secure, we chatted a bit, and he told us the wall is free for day use, but they come by and collect $10 for overnight stays. Great! This is a deal! The location is superb, the price right. There is no water or power, but we really couldn’t beat the location. After we were settled in, we hung out on the back deck of the boat and watched the people pass by, them watching us. This was a fun opportunity to chat with locals and other boaters. We wandered around town a bit, and had some dinner. We were able to watch the musical fountain display as well from our boat.

After a long day, we were getting tired and ready to retire for the evening. I did a last check of lines and fenders before heading in. The river was starting to get a little rocky, as the current/waves were coming in from the lake and following a path along the wall in. I secured a few more fenders and called it a night.

Around 2am, I woke up to the boat pitching and rolling around. I went outside to assess the situation and could see the boats all around us being tossed about. The way the water was coming in from the lake made us bounce off the wall, then get tugged back by our lines. Checking all the bumpers and lines, there was nothing we could do to stop this, so I went back to bed for the night.

The next morning, the rocking had not stopped, but it slowed down so it wasn’t as violent. I chatted with neighboring boats, and everyone said this was not normal. Upon checking the weather, we could see there were some storms coming, and knew that spending another night on the wall was not going to be a good option. We saw some friends on another boat (Trinity) come in and they told us they were heading to an anchorage a little ways up the river. I reached out to them, and they said it was nice there and they were the only ones anchored there. There was another boat we had made friends with (Sirius) that had spent the night on the wall and they told us they were going to join them at the anchorage. We decided the anchorage would be better than getting rocked on the wall all night.

We spent the afternoon at the beach, and explored downtown some more. We of course found some breweries to hang out at, and eventually returned to the boat to move to the anchorage. We got to the anchorage just before dark. We found a spot upriver from the other two boats. We dropped anchor and backed it down, ensuring it had taken hold and would not be moving overnight. I had mentioned the approaching storm, and winds were expected to reach 30+ mph. This was going to be a big storm.

The storm came overnight with the high winds. We felt protected as the anchorage was only 75 yards wide, by 200 yards deep. There were houses on hills on either side, and most had boats at docks along the channel we were in. We woke up once or twice throughout the night due to the howling wind and lightening and thunder rumbling around. A quick check around and we were still secure in the same position we dropped the anchor. I went back to sleep feeling good. Around 8am or so, I woke up and looked out the window. Our friends on Sirius were motoring out, headed to a marina where they had to do some fuel line maintenance. Trinity was still there, so I laid back down for a bit. The wind was still blowing, and it seemed like it was getting stronger. I woke up a half hour later, and that’s when I noticed we were moving at a fairly fast clip backwards. The boats we were even with, were now moving past us. I jumped up and did a quick confirmation that we were indeed moving, fast! I looked back and saw we were heading toward the other boat. Lauren was getting the animals their breakfast when I flew downstairs, exclaiming “we’re dragging!” and turned on the ignition switch. I ran back upstairs and started the engine with my heart beating fast. The winds were now blowing straight down the channel, pushing us faster and faster toward Trinity. At this point, the anchor is still down, but clearly not holding onto anything. I put the boat in forward gear and gave it some throttle. We were not moving forward! still dragging backwards and getting even closer to Trinity! I gave it even more throttle, ready to put it in full speed- anything to stop us from hitting them! I eventually got a little forward movement, and gave it even more throttle. Soon we were making some headway forward, away from Trinity, but still dragging our anchor and lines in the water below us. At this point, Lauren took over at the helm and I went out on the fore deck to try to retrieve our anchor. The wind still blowing hard, I had no way to communicate with Lauren, as she was driving from inside. We were using hand signals to tell her when to raise the anchor, which way to steer or when to stop. On one of my trips inside, I turned on the VHF radio so we could communicate with Trinity if need be.

We finally made some headway and was back to our original location of dropping anchor. I had also managed to get the anchor raised so we were safe from any tangling or snags from the trailing lines. Trinity had called us on the radio and told us of a marina that was around the corner that had space for both of us, at a dollar a foot. At this point my leg was bleeding from a run in with a bike pedal, and the rain and wind were not letting up; I didn’t care how much it cost, I just wanted to be tied up to a dock and safe. We followed them out of the channel and toward the marina. We got to the marina in the rain and had a dock hand assist us getting into the slip. The wind made it tricky, but we made it. The sense of relief cannot be explained. Nothing here was life threatening, but definitely could have been a disaster of a collision or grounding. This isn’t the first time we’ve dragged our anchor, and it is becoming a bit of a concern because we have planned on anchoring more often than docking.

Now that we’re securely tied up and safe, we turn our thoughts toward another issue we’ve been having. We have had an oil leak coming from around the oil pan attached to the engine. I can tell the gasket is shot, and this is allowing oil to drip out into a drip pan under the engine. I had researched this and ordered a replacement online, which I had shipped to our friend Barbara. We were supposed to meet over Labor Day weekend, but due to weather that did not happen. I spoke to the marina, and they said it would be okay to have the part shipped to the marina. After some coordination with Barbara, the part was on the way. This also meant we had to stay another day to wait for the delivery, then install it. At least the marina had good amenities such as a pool (which we couldn’t use due to weather) clean showers and restroom facilities, and a large area to walk Frank. We took the bikes for a ride and went back to downtown Grand Haven. We have gotten plenty of biking in, and what I used to say ‘no way’ to, is now an easy jaunt.

The part arrived on Friday, and I had to use one of the on site mechanics to assist with this. The oil pan is too large for one person to hold in place or even remove without letting it fall to the pan below. The process itself wasn’t too difficult- remove the bolts, clean up the old residue, apply new gasket sealer and gasket, then bolt back in place. This took about an hour of time, which was billed to me along with the dockage.

By Friday evening we were ready to leave Grand Haven. Tomorrows weather looked good in the morning, so we decided we would get an early start toward our next destination, which is Holland, MI as of now…

As you can see for the days listed, we got delayed in Frankfort due to weather. We arrived on a Sunday, and did not leave until the next Saturday. This was a bummer, for we had plans to meet friends in Holland, MI the coming weekend-This did not happen.

The night was fine with some rain and blowing winds , but the anchor was secured and we slept well. In the morning, we mostly hung out on he boat due to the rain. We actually tried to leave, but once we got to the lake, we realized the water was too rough for us to attempt a passage, so we turned around and re-anchored. Around mid afternoon, we went to lunch at the local brewery, appropriately named Stormcloud Brewing. Food and beer were good. We returned and walked Frank, not wanting to go too far, again because of the weather.

By mid evening the wind and rain had picked up again. This time the wind velocity was making us a little nervous. Forecast was winds in the 20’s gusting to 30’s. That is a lot of wind. Our boat has a lot of canvas on top also, which is a wind catcher.

By dusk, the winds have stayed steady strong, even increasing. Now we seeing actual waves in the harbor. Lauren and I are keeping watch, and at one point, I was convinced we were moving. The boat we had anchored in front of, was now next to us. He was moored to a ball, which is anchored to the sea floor. He wasn’t the one moving- we were. Oh shit.

“Lauren!” I called out “We’re dragging anchor!” Lauren jumped into action and went to her post at the helm on the flybridge. I went to the bow of the boat and tended to the anchor and rode. The anchor doesn’t drag in calm water- the wind was howling and the waves were building up- in the harbor! We managed to re-set the anchor with just enough day light left for us to be able to see. Looking at the forecast, it was not expected to let up for another day! How were we going to do this? Stay here at anchor in a 2 day storm? Get a dock? At this point the marinas were closed so we decided we would just stay here and re-evaluate in the morning. Our nerves were not relaxing however, as the boat was swinging in the wind and bouncing on the waves. We spent the next couple of hours basically staring out the window, watching our position, and trying to be prepared if we start to drag again. We took turns and we were up all night watching and looking with every creak and groan of boat sounds. This was our first truly sleepless night.

Precisely at 8am when the marina opened, I was on the phone with them asking for a dock. Luckily for us, they had space. By 830am we were pulling in with the help of a few dock hands to assist with lines and pulling us in. Right in front of us was another boat doing the same. They also spent the night on the hook, and also started to drag, but it happened to them in the dark. They ended up grabbing a nearby mooring ball and came to the marina at opening time like us. I was amazed there were still a couple of other boats still anchored out there. We checked the weather again, and it was forecasting to be even worse the following day. At this point, I have been talking to several other loopers who were at dock, and consensus was we were all staying for at least another two days, and maybe more, as we wanted to make sure the lake settles down before we try to make the next port. Throughout the day, every boat that was anchored out eventually came in to the marina. By evening, no one was in the harbor. Smart moves by all.

And so goes the week. Eventually the rain gave way, but the wind kept up for several days. Lauren and I explored the town, nearby towns, and everywhere in between on our bikes. I would spend mornings at a picnic table with Frank hooked up to it on a long lead, and talk to anyone and everyone that came by. I met a lot of other boaters and loopers this way. I suppose there is no need to list all of the places we drank and/or ate at. We had time to kill. I did have a great experience with an auto shop- I needed oil for the boat as it was time for a full oil change. They had it delivered to the shop for me, so we didn’t have to find a way into the next largest town where the auto parts store is. Nice folks for helping me out.

The weather cleared up on Friday, but Lake Michigan was still very choppy and didn’t look very good for traveling in. Everyone else at the marina agreed and stayed another day, with some casting off to anchor one more night to wait it out. This was a disappointment, as it was the final chance for us to make a long run to meet up with our friends, Evelyn and Barbara. We had to let them know earlier in the week it might not be possible for us, and it was a shame it became reality. We stayed at the dock the rest of our time here. This was an unexpected expense, but well worth it in the long run.

Our next stop is up in the air- depending on the lake, we may go to Arcadia as a short hop, or as far as Luddington or Pentwater if the conditions are right. The next days forecast is looking good, but the coming Labor Day weekend is iffy…

We left Leland around 9am. We were in a group of boats all leaving and heading south. We detoured a bit, and went to South Manitou Island and also passed Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park on the way to Frankfort.

At South Manitou Island, we approached from the north east side, and followed the coast down. We were looking for a ship wreck, that is partially out of the water. We figured we would be able to spot it when we got close. The wreck we were looking for was the Francisco Morazan, which sank in 1960. This is one of many, many wrecks that dot the islands. There are over fifty (not a typo-50!) known wrecks around the north and south island! So we thought we’d get a closer look…

As for the Francisco Morazan- it is actually a somewhat intact vessel that does sit out of the water, and you can swim around it, very carefully. More interesting was the ending of the story of this ship: “The owner of the Francisco Morazan could never be found. So over the intervening years, islanders helped themselves to what cargo was left.  Balsa wood model aircraft kits made by Monogram of Chicago were reportedly popular with local boys; one of whom drown in 1967 while exploring the wreck. On the grounds that the rotting cargo proved a health hazard and the over 6,000 pounds of fuel still onboard constituted an environmental risk, a lawsuit to have the wreck removed was filed in 1968 by Michigan’s then attorney general. But the very next day, the ship mysteriously caught fire. With cargo and fuel totally destroyed, the Francisco Morazan became the property of the State of Michigan.”

Once we spotted the sunken ship, we got about 30 feet from it and dropped anchor. Lauren and I hung out and swam around for a bit, before continuing on toward Frankfort. A few other boats came by, but no one else stopped to swim like we did. I tried to get Frank to jump in the water, but he wasn’t down for that. Instead, while I was swimming, he decided to jump into the dinghy by himself! My how he has come along, from being afraid to step foot on it, to now jumping in on his own will. He has learned this is the vehicle to land, and when he wants to go, he gets in. For this reason we have to monitor him at all times, or we tie him up so he can’t reach the sides of the boat, in case he decides to try without his life jacket on!

We pulled anchor and headed toward Frankfort, but not before deviating a little closer to shore to view the Sleeping Bear Dunes. In 2011, the area won the title of “The Most Beautiful Place in America” from Good Morning America. From the water, it is quite impressive to see these massive dunes, some over 400′ tall, that go on and on. People ride buggies on them, slide down them, hike them, etc… There are all kind of activities available to fill your time. We did not stop here though, as we wanted to get to Frankfort at a reasonable time so we could find a place to anchor and hunker down as we knew some bad weather was approaching.

We arrived in Frankfort around 3:30pm, and went to the far side of the bay to anchor. We passed a couple of marinas, a mooring field, and a very active boat launch ramp. There were several other ‘Loopers’ docked, and a couple of boats anchored. We wanted to stay out of the way, and not be too close to the moored boats, to be safe.

I have mentioned the weather- when we arrived, the wind had picked up a little bit, but the clouds were darkening, threatening rain. Once the anchor was secured, We took Frank for the dinghy ride to shore. We walked him around a bit, and noticed there was a grocery store almost directly across from the boat launch ramp. In the other direction was the downtown area, with shops and restaurants on both sides. We continued on to the beach area we had passed coming into town. The beach was beautiful and large. Lots of sandy area to explore, and we took Frank to the end where the dogs were allowed. He enjoyed his time running up and down, jumping in the water, but only to his knees, then jumping out! He like the water, but doesn’t want to actually be in the water. Weirdo.

We walked back to the marina, and was going to stop for a bite to eat, but didn’t have many options with a dog. Most patios were closed due to cold and rain, so we decided to just make dinner on the boat. Lauren prepared a nice meal, and we did hunker down because the rain had started and the winds were definitely picking up. I kept watching the shore and another boat to make sure we were not dragging our anchor. Once secure we weren’t moving, we called it a night and went to bed.

The weather doesn’t look too good for the next day or two, so the plan is to check the forecast in the morning and decide then. Stay tuned…

So we’ve now been on our trip for 31 days, and we’re still in Michigan. This state is huge. Granted, we did take a side trip to Lake Superior, but Michigan seems to go on forever. It is now August 24, and we have to be in Chicago by September 10th or so… We also have plans to meet some friends in Holland, MI this coming weekend (Labor Day weekend). At this point we seem to be making longer runs when we travel. There were some early runs of 20-30 miles, now we are making 40+ mile runs.

We left Traverse City with light winds around 8am. Wind direction is actually proving to be more of a concern than actual wind strength. We’ll take a following sea over a beam sea any day. Today we traveled 44.2 nautical miles in just over 6 hours. We averaged 7.1 knots. This was a good travel day for us. No one got sea sick, the furniture stayed in place, and we had a smooth ride.

We arrived at Leland Township Marina around 2:30pm. Upon arrival, we noticed right away there were several other ‘Looper’s’ here. We are definitely catching up and seeing some of the same boats more often now. Leland is a quaint small town with a lovely harbor and a small area called “Fishtown“.

After checking in at the marina office, I retrieved the bikes for some exploring. oUr first stop was “Fishtown”. This was right off of the docks. Many of the original weathered fishing shanties composing Fishtown, now house small shops along the mouth of the Leland River, as it flows into Lake Michigan. However, these historic shanties were once used primarily for commercial fishing operations, including net-mending sheds, ice houses, smoke houses, and storage. A few Fishtown shanties are still used today to support the current, active commercial fishing operation.

For over 150 years Fishtown has evolved as a working waterfront. The shanties represent the heart and foundation of Fishtown, and are loved for their rustic appeal and enduring functionality. Surviving many a cold, windy, snowy winter in Northern Michigan, these shanties continue to tell their story of endurance.  Many have been rented out and are small gift shops.

We explored this area, and also went to a local grocery store for more provisions. Shopping done, we headed back to the boat to assess what the plan was for tomorrow. We are hearing grumblings of upcoming weather, and confirmed for ourselves that there is some questionable weather coming our way. That being said, we really wanted to go to South Manitou Island, where there are sand dunes and unspoiled areas to explore, as well as many shipwrecks you can explore from the water. Sleeping Bear Dunes is also on the way.

There were no breweries in Leland, so we’ll save you from hearing about that. Leland was such a small town, we didn’t have too much to explore after Fishtown. The closest winery was 15 miles away, which is too far for us to bike to, even though we have been putting on some good miles. We were not up for a 30 mile round trip for some wine, but Frank did get plenty of terra firma time.

The evening ended with us having dinner on the boat, catching a sunset and retiring early, getting ready for an early departure.

We made it to Traverse City, but not without some excitement. When we departed at 7:30am, the wind was 6 knots out of the north. Our exit had us going west, until we hit the Traverse Bay to turn south. We came out of the draw bridge with another trawler right behind us. We both were heading in the same direction, alternately getting rolled from the side, then beating into the waves. It was not a fun start to the morning. We were seriously questioning how far we would make it. The other boat pulled ahead of us, but we were somewhat following them. At one point, the couch slid across the room and wedged against the refrigerator. At least that won’t open and spill the contents again! No one was happy with the motion of the boat, and the looks I got from the animals were saying to me “you a**hole!”.

It was about 9:30 when Lauren noticed someone had sent her a message on Nebo. This is the app you can follow boats on and see who/where they are in real time. Anyone can download it and follow us. The message was from the boat that left with us, and told us they were going to Northport, and there is a bus there that goes to Traverse City. At this point, Lauren was getting sea sick from the rolling, and the animals were still not digging it. I started to head toward Northport, but realized we had a smoother ride heading south than we did heading west. After consulting with Lauren, we decided to continue south to Traverse City. We made it there around 1:30pm.

The first set of marinas we saw, we thought was where we wanted to be. We entered the area, and couldn’t see a gas dock, or anyone around. I called on the radio and got no response. Lauren had looked at Nebo, and noticed we were in the wrong location. We needed to be a bit further south, at the very bottom of Traverse Bay. We turned out and headed to the correct marina. Once close, I again called on VHF and received a response. I told him we wanted one night, and he told me to pick any spot I want, against the outside wall. This was fine with us, as we like to be a little out of the way. We picked our spot, and headed in. Now the wind was blowing harder, and on our first attempt, we got blown off. So I aborted, and we circled back to try again. Second time is a charm; we successfully landed, and proceeded to get tied up. Once secure, Frank needed his land time, so Lauren took him for a walk while I settled up at the dock office.

Once we were comfortable with everything, we took the bikes for ride. Traverse City is another vacation destination, with lots to do, and they were hosting an Iron Man Triathlon the coming weekend, so there were lots of people about and arriving on a daily basis. We went through town, and stopped at a cheese shop and bought some stinky but delicious cheese, got some pie at a pie shop, and stopped at a cider brewery to quench our thirst. As we were leaving, Lauren turned her bike right into a sign pole. She didn’t fall over, but the bike did. We laughed and laughed and laughed.

We made it back to the boat in one piece, and had dinner. Lauren is quite the chef, making sure we eat well. There is no shortage of food and nibbles for us as we spend our time on the boat. We retired for the evening and I thought about updating the blog, but I did not. my bad.

The next morning, we awoke and had a plan. We needed to get to a Walmart or something similar. There is a bus that travels from downtown Traverse City to a ‘suburb’ that has such a store. They have Meijers in Michigan. Same difference. The bus was free, and we boarded right by the marina. This was great! We had a list of items we needed- especially oil for the boat. This was going to present a problem and we knew it: we had to transport said oil and whatever else we purchased back to the boat. When I say we need oil- we need at least four gallons of oil for an oil change. Plus we needed dog food, which we purchase the large bags of. So goes our mantra: we’ll figure it out!

After our trip to Meijer’s , we made it back to the boat with all of the supplies we set out for, plus some. We probably did look a little silly crossing the road with Lauren and I carrying four containers of oil and a large bag of dog food, plus a couple of bags, but so what? We made it.

Now it was mid afternoon, and we wanted to have lunch. There was a brewery close by that we wanted to check out. Workshop Brewery. We headed there after we put away our supplies and walked Frank. A short walk later, we settled in and were sipping some beer and cider on the patio, when we met some folks from Cleveland. They were in town for the triathlon, and we all chatted about their adventures traveling for the triathlons and biking experiences, and had a really good time hearing about different peoples adventures. In the mean time, we ordered a pickle pizza. yes- pickle pizza. This was a pizza with House-made dill pickles, ranch-whipped ricotta, roasted garlic,
flat leaf parsley, extra virgin olive oil, and house-blend cheese….Delicious.

So at this point, Lauren is telling me we need to not mention all of the breweries we have visited; I asked if cider counts? We have visited a brewery or cider house in almost every town, with the exception of the super small towns that don’t have any offerings. Then we bike to them if possible. So… as I opened and my provisioning question was: “do we have enough alcohol?”… I can tell you we haven’t been thirsty.

So… After our lunch, we again got on the free bus and headed to “The Village“. If you don’t follow the link, let me give a few notes: “The main structure would be large and advanced for Northern Michigan: almost one quarter mile long, over 300,000 square feet, over 70 feet tall at the roof ridge, and employing central heat and electric lights. In April of 1883 construction began on the Victorian-Italianate styled asylum. Over eight million bricks were brought from the local brickyard at Cedar Lake to construct the main building (Building 50). In spite of a time of hand tools and mule power, the immense task of constructing the hospital took less than three years to complete. By November of 1885, it received its first patients.”

“The Northern Michigan Asylum was built more than six decades before the use of the first psychiatric drugs. Founding Medical Superintendent Dr. James Decker Munson believed in the moral treatment movement, which at the time was revolutionary. Central to this belief was Dr. Munson’s philosophy that “Beauty is Therapy.” If patients were surrounded by a beautiful environment, from the architecture to the campus grounds, their emotional and mental state would be uplifted.”

“Dr. Munson made an effort to ensure that patients felt at home rather than trapped in an unfamiliar place. Use of physical restraints was forbidden, except for the most extreme patient situations. Meals at the hospital were served in dining rooms on fine china glazed with the State Seal atop white linen tablecloths. Fresh flowers and plants decorated dining tables & resting areas. Artwork and inspirational sayings adorned the walls of the wide hallways.”

“The architecture of Building 50 in itself exemplified beauty & encouraged the very core belief of Dr. Munson’s founding philosophy. It was built in such a way that each patient room had a window & view to the outside. This let in an abundance of natural light & allowed every patient the opportunity to enjoy a view of the campus, even if they weren’t given the privilege to leave the building & walk the grounds alone.”

The above is directly from their website. This is all fascinating, but it creeped me out. I was not feeling the vibes here. Or I was, and I didn’t like it too much. There are shops, restaurants and condo’s here, as well as a brewery and cider house. Huh. Maybe a drink will make me feel better? So after walking around the main building, and stopping into some shops and browsing, we made our way to the first beverage stop: Left Foot Charlie. This is a winery and cider house. This was a nice first stop at The Village. We continued on to and explored another area of the grounds, and we found another brewery: Earthen Ales. After we were, shall we say, not thirsty, we headed back to the bus stop to take us back to downtown.

Our arrival back downtown greeted us with a closed off roadway, and a street festival going on. What to do, but wander down and see what is going on. We walked the avenue and enjoyed the festivities of Traverse City. As I’ve said: this is a vacation-like town. We meandered around and enjoyed the festivities around us. Eventually we headed back to the boat and had a late dinner. We also had to look at our next stop depending on the weather: Northport if its too rough, Leland if we have good weather. Only tomorrow will tell…