AUGUST 25-29 WHITELAKE TO GRAND HAVEN

August 25:  Still in Pentwater!  The wind has been gusting around 20 knots and is from the West so we elected to spend another day in Pentwater...Tomorrow looks to be better..here's hoping.

The sun was out but so was the wind..

August 26 & 27:  To Whitehall:  Finally, the weather improved today so we are leaving for Whitehall on what looks to be a calm sea and 10-12 knot wind.

Entrance to White Lake.  Whitehall is at the far end of the lake some 5 nautical miles in.

The Duddon Pilot in the Municipal Marina at Whitehall at sunset.  There was only one other boat in the marina so it made for a quiet evening.  The dual towns of Whitehall and Montague are at the end of White Lake.  Both towns are small but had a great farmers market where we bought delicious peaches and vegetables.  The surrounding are is rich agricultural land.

August 28-29:  Grand Haven: We chose a very early morning departure as the weather called for better weather conditions in the morning.   After a short, uneventful 20 mile run, we arrived in Grand Haven around 10:30 a.m.

Grand Haven is a much larger town with a great municipal marina and river walk along the Grand River.  The Grand River starts in South Michigan and flows for 260 miles to Lake Michigan, making it the longest river in Michigan. 

Every evening in the summer, Grand Haven hosts the world famous Musical Fountain which features synchronized water, multicolored lights and music.  The fountains send multicolored water spouts over 80 feet into the air.  It truly is amazing better than most firework displays that we have seen.  The following photographs are included but do not do justice to this spectacular display.

All done with lights and water!

The downtown is thriving with many specialty stores and restaurants.

The town also has an interesting arts project.  Residents and local stores sponsor "Fish" art which is located throughout the main streets.  Funds from these sponsors are donated to the Downtown Development Agency and are used to promote Grand Haven.

 Local artists paint the fish.  Very colorful additions to the town.

Maureen really liked the fish!

Peter preferred the restored classic steam locomotive.

His Majesty was impressed with his own personal drinking fountain.

Tons of fishing boats along the river.

The boardwalk along the river is 2.5 miles each way.  We all enjoyed an early morning walk.

The lighthouse and pier at the end of the boardwalk.

Lake Michigan has some wonderful, long sandy beaches.

AUGUST 18-24 FRANKFORT TO PENTWATER

August 18 & 19: Frankfort:  Weather prediction for today is for calm seas at least in the morning so we were up and underway by 7:30 a.m. heading for Frankfort.   We had a pleasant transit to Frankfort.  This section of the Michigan coast is scattered with huge sand dunes. 

Example of the large sand dunes along the coast.

We entered Frankfort via a long seawall into a well protected harbor.

Frankfort Light.

Frankfort is yet another delightful small town.  We met an interesting older gentleman here who has been farming in the area all his life.  He regaled us with stories about the town and its history.

Not your typical multiplex theater.

Downtown Frankfort is thriving-at least in the summer.

One of the locals who visited our boat.

August 20-21:  Manistee:  Good weather is on tap today so we left early for Manistee.  Manistee began as a lumber town around 1840.  By 1896,  Manistee was one of the richest towns in America with a population of 10,000.  Today, it maintains its beautiful Victorian architecture but has fallen on hard times with many stores and restaurants shuttered.  Some of the locals that we spoke to indicated that the Casino that is located about 5 miles away has siphoned commerce away from the downtown.

Downtown Manistee with well preserved Victorian era buildings.

The town has a newly renovated municipal marina which is located along the river.

The town has also invested considerable funds in a river walk that is delightful and well maintained.  We hope that their economic developments are successful as it really is a quaint town.

August 22-24:  Pentwater:  As our travels are so weather dependent, we again took advantage of a good weather window and headed out for Pentwater.

The seawall leaving Manistee.  This one of a kind elevated wrought iron walkway was built so that the lighthouse keeper can have access when the the waves are higher than the seawall!  We were glad that we did not have to deal with waves that large today.

As the municipal marina did not respond to our call, we checked into Snug Harbor marina which is a little further up the river and very sheltered.  It turns out that this was a good choice as the municipal marina is old and does not have the greatest facilities.

Snug Harbor Marina at sunset.

Pentwater is a thriving town with a real buzz and lots of visiting fishermen to boost the local economy.

We had hoped to spend two nights at Pentwater but the weather has turned bad with strong winds and high seas so we are stuck here for at least three nights maybe three.  We will see if the weather improves tomorrow-Thursday!

AUGUST 11-17: BEAVER ISLAND TO LELAND

August 11 -12:  Today, we left Mackinac Island and entered Lake Michigan.  Our route takes us under the Mackinac Bridge.  It is a suspension bridge which connects the non-contiguous Upper and Lower peninsulas of the State of Michigan. Opened in 1957, the bridge (familiarly known as "Big Mac" and "Mighty Mac") is the third longest in total suspension in the world and the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western hemisphere.

At 4 miles long and 135 feet high, it is quite impressive.  The bridge marks the point that separates Lake Michigan from Lake Huron.  Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron.   At 923 feet, Lake Michigan is the second deepest lake.

Lake Michigan is also renown for the number of shipwrecks that lie at its bottom: there are reported to be three thousand!  The prevailing winds are from the West and can create treacherous weather very quickly especially on the Eastern Coast.  We, therefore, have to pick our travel days very carefully.  Fortunately, the weather was favorable today so we made our way to Beaver Island.

Beaver Island which is the largest island in Lake Michigan is the complete opposite of Mackinac Island. Totally unpretentious and laid back with very friendly locals. Beaver Island is the most remote inhabited island in Lake Michigan with a year round population of 600-with a large number of Irish descent. Many Irish immigrants came to Beaver Island after being evicted from their homes in Ireland by the local Laird.

 We rented bicycles and toured the island.  Here is Peter with his 7 speed bicycle..none of the speeds worked too well.

Here is Maureen with the  one speed "yellow slug" (definitely not the red rocket from her youth).  Note the Christian Dior cycling outfit!  Not too stylish but it keeps the sun off.

The big time bank in this delightful small town.

August 13-14:  Charlevoix:  We left Beaver Island on what was reported to be a calm day:  winds 5 knots and calm seas.   However, as soon as we left the sheltered harbor, we were rolling around because of the beam seas that were definitely not generated by 5 knot winds.  We had an uncomfortable 5 hour ride to Charlevoix.   When we finally arrived at Charlevoix, we missed the Bascule Bridge opening by a few minutes and had to tread water in a narrow, choppy channel with a lot of current for about 25 minutes.   We survived but were exhausted when we finally arrived at the marina.

The weather was great the next day so we explored Charlevoix.   The municipal marina was great-recently renovated.  Charlevoix is often compared to Newport, RI with its quaint stores and art galleries.  It is a popular summer vacation spot for the rich and famous from Chicago.

Peter spotted this memorial to the submariners who lost their lives during WWII on their maiden voyage.  Being a former submariner, he always has his eye out for historical memorials relating to submarines.

August 15:  To Sutton Bay

Leaving Charlevoix, we could planned our departure better so we made the Bascule Bridge opening with only a few minutes waiting time.

The narrow channel into and out of Charlevoix.

 We left Charlevoix on a perfect cruising day-very calm seas and no wind.  The cruise today was only 20 miles so we arrived in Sutton Bay with time to explore the charming downtown.

Downtown Sutton Bay.

August 16-17:  Leland:  The weather gods smiled on us again today and we had another day of calm seas for our transit to Leland.  We plan to spend two nights here as the weather is predicted to turn bad for Thursday, August 18.

Leland is a picturesque little village located on a sliver of land between Lake Michigan and Lake Leelanau.  Leland's historical district, know as Fishtown, features rustic shanties and docks reminiscent of life and commercial fishing one hundred years ago.  The town is separated by the Leeland River which connects Lake Leelanau to Lake Michigan.

AUGUST 8-10 MACKINAC ISLAND

After a day of thunderstorms and windy conditions, we finally left Drummond Bay for Mackinac Island on a perfect traveling day:  flat seas and blue skies!

Michilimackinac-meaning the place of the great turtle, that is what the Great Lake Indians called the island that separates Lake Huron from Lake Michigan.  Like many locations, Mackinac Island has experienced many evolutions:  from furs to fudge.  Once a major trading post for furs, current day Mackinac is now a major tourist destination.  In the late 1900s, under pressure from the carriage drivers,  the village council banned the use of automobiles on the island.  This act preserved Mackinac's carriage tour economy and late 19th Century atmosphere.   So how do people get around?

Lots and lots of bicycles and tourists.

Horse drawn carriages.

Everything is hauled by horse and cart.  A whole crew is employed to clean up the horse droppings.

The huge number of tourists are brought in by high speed ferries.  We were amazed at the number of ferries entering the harbor-most were not too careful about reducing their wakes so we got bounced around a lot at our slip in the town marina.

One of the attractions of Mackinac Island is the well preserved architecture.  By the 1890s, magnificent mansions were constructed as the island became the most fashionable summer resort in the Great Lakes.

Some examples of the well preserved houses all with manicured gardens and an array of colorful flowers.

One of the other major attractions is Fort Mackinac. 

The Fort served as a military post for the British and later American soldiers from 1780 to 1895. In the early years, Fort Mackinac was a crucial border post. It protected the lucrative fur trade and maintained alliances with neighboring Indian tribes. Today, military reenactments are for the hordes of tourists.

One of the many cannons in the Fort.

View of the harbor from the Fort.

In 1887, the immense and palatial Grand Hotel opened its doors on Mackinac. 

The Grand Hotel has hosted many Presidents and boasts that it has the longest veranda in the world.  Non residents must pay $10 to tour the hotel. After 6:00 p.m. men must wear a suit and tie and ladies are not allowed to wear slacks. As we had left the tiaras and tuxedos at home, we opted to indulge in their extravagant brunch instead.

Guest transportation at the Grand Hotel.

We had originally planned to only spend two nights on Mackinaw but weather predictions for high winds, 5-8 foot seas and water spouts made us opt for another night.  The next day, we rented bicycles (had to work off that large brunch!) and cycled around the perimeter of the island-8.5 miles.

Bike path around the island.