The weather forecast was not great for today. We left at 7am with 8 knots of wind. Remember, we were in an alcove so it didn’t feel that bad when we were departing. We also had looked at the weather where were going, and it didn’t look like it was going to get much higher. It took us 5 hours to go 31 miles. It was another ‘not fun’ ride.
At one point, Lauren came upstairs and said the couch had actually slid across the room and was wedged against the refrigerator! This was a small bonus, as the day before the refrigerator had popped open somehow and spilled all of the contents about the room. We were lucky nothing broke, but it was still a mess to clean up!
After the 5 hour ride, we came to the cute little town of Harbor Springs. The charts we have show an anchorage, and as we came around the corner to the alcove the town is in, we were met with lots of boats moored on mooring balls. We scoped out an area and thought we would be good, and started to drop the anchor. When we do this, I am on the bow of the boat and giving Lauren directions for anchor rode and direction if needed. One of the questions I always ask is: “depth?” usually it is in 5 feet to 12 feet, and sometime a little deeper, but not much if we’re staying for the night. Lauren: “79 feet…”. Wait- What?! we cannot anchor in that deep of water! We carry 300 feet of line, plus 30 feet of chain. Normal technique is 7 to 10 times the depth of the water. We do not have 553 feet of line to do this! Hmmm…at this point, we look closer to the chart and see it is indeed very deep in the harbor, and gets a little more shallow closer to land. The harbor is not very large, so there isn’t a lot of room to pick from due to all of the moored boats. There are two marinas here, one private yacht club and a city marina. I decide to call the city marina on the VHF and ask about a ‘day dock’. A lot of public marinas have these day docks- you can stay for free, usually for a few hours, but aren’t really an overnight dock.
We were getting over the lack of anchorage, and the windy ride had us a little stressed. The marina responded they did have a day dock available, and go ahead and pick where you want to be. There was only one option, as one side was loaded with dinghies from the moored boats, and there were a couple of boats already at the day docks. We approached and made a good landing in the wind. Once tied up and secure, Lauren took Frank and I walked over to the office to check in. The girls running the office said we were good there, and we didn’t have to check in. I inquired about a time limit, and they said they weren’t busy, so it’s all good. I asked about areas around town and got a map. I have become better at my recon missions and reporting back to The Admiral.
The skies were overcast and threatening, but we got the bikes ready anyway. We secured the boat and made sure all windows were closed, and the top was buttoned up. I was speaking to a guy in a boat next to us, and commenting on the weather. He said he was staying there too, until this passed. We took off to explore the town, figuring if it rains, we’ll duck into the closest bar or cafe and wait it out.
Off we went! we biked around the downtown area and stopped at a bakery for some stomach fuel. We continued on the downtown area for a bit, and decided to return to the boat. I was in need of some specific supplies, and thought I’d take a quick ride to the store. Boy was I wrong about quick- the first gas station I encountered after going up ridiculous hills I had to walk the bike up, was closed. There was a woman at the pump asking me how to pay? I was confused, and asked about the credit card reader on the pump? She replied there isn’t one, and she just put $25 of gas in her car- someone must have left the pumps on! Not my problem, so I continued up the road to another plaza. I found a hardware store and retrieved the items I needed. The ride back was a breeze, as it was mostly downhill.
Upon returning, I went and bought a bag of ice from the office, and again made sure we were fine docked there. Part of this second confirmation was because I knew they would be shutting down around 8pm and knew we might not be back from our next excursion. The last reason was because I was planning on staying here the night. I did not want to try to find an anchoring spot at night in the wind.
Confirmation done, we headed back out on the bikes toward Pond Hill Farms, and the ‘Tunnel of Trees’. This took us back up the hills, which I’ve now done twice. Lauren had researched this farm, and it was 5.5 mile bike ride there, through the tunnel of trees. We were not impressed with the ‘tunnel’, as it was more like a road lined with trees. The views were amazing looking out over the bay and the lake, but the trees did not reach and cover the middle like I would expect a tunnel to be. The ride was pleasant enough, for a 5+ mile ride. It was mostly back roads, with lots of space and little traffic.
Pond Hill is a farm store, livestock barn, cafe, winery, and brewery. We like this. Rolling up to the farm, we leave the bikes in an area off to the side and head in. The place is super cool, built on a hill, with a store on the lower level, and cafe/tasting room upstairs. We wander around the store for a few minutes, before we bolt upstairs to the tasting room. We have been enjoying the ciders that a lot of places seem to be doing now. I chose a cider, and Lauren chose a beer. Both were delicious! We took our beverages outside, and enjoyed the sunshine that had now peaked out from the clouds. It was still windy, but at least we had sun! We got another round, and walked around the livestock barn, where the goats and chickens are kept. Then we explored where the pigs are penned. Sufficiently quenched, we were getting ready to leave, and I wanted to get some hard cider to take back with us. In to the store we go, and we pass some baskets I hadn’t noticed when entering: sling shot ammo. I looked at Lauren, and she knew I was going for it! I purchased my cider, some marinara sauce, and the ammo. We then went to the slingshot field they have set up, with barrels at varying distances and heights as targets. Target practice done, we collected the bikes and headed back to the marina and the boat.
By the time we returned, it was close to 8pm. Just as I had planned, the staff was gone for the day. Lauren wasn’t too thrilled about the plan, but we really didn’t have much other choice. We took Frank for another walk, and made dinner. I was relaxing outside and people would stroll by, looking at the boats and the water. Those that looked at me, I would say hello, and maybe converse for a bit. That’s what I do, and people always ask about the boat. One of the guys that came along was Roger. We started chatting, and he was great. He lives in town, and knows everyone. When I explained how I felt bad for staying late there, he said “Don’t worry about it! This wind is bad, and you shouldn’t go anywhere. If anyone says anything to you, tell them I said it is OK!”. We exchanged cards, and chatted a bit more, until he had to go walk his dogs.
We ended the night, planning our next stop. Petoskey is the plan, and it is only about 4 miles across the bay. This should be easy…