Season's End

On Thursday we started the process of closing down.  We packed up almost everything in the boat, and cleaned it for winter storage.  There were only a few other boats at Jacobson’s Marina, but the weather was nice as the wind had at last stopped howling.  We had a “clean out the refrigerator/freezer” dinner after having cocktails with John and Lori, the marina’s owners. 

On Friday we loaded up the Jeep, hooked up the jet skis, got the boat pumped out and turned it over to Brian.  Brian is a captain with Onekema Boat Storage, so we waved goodbye to him as he motored out of Betsie Lake to take The Emerys to winter storage.  What an easy process versus going across to Wisconsin with boat and car, and then back again.  Hope we like this storage barn as well as those we have used previously.

We drove the loaded Jeep, hauling the jet skis, as far as Toledo last night.  Now we are in Kentucky watching lots of college football, and tomorrow we will go to Cynthiana to visit with Emery’s sister Marie before heading to Williamsburg for a Monday arrival.

We had a great summer, and our plans for next year are up in the air for now.  Options include not boating and getting serious about selling the boat by leaving it with the broker; or heading east again by some route and coming to the St. Lawrence River and Lake Champlain.  Who knows, we have all winter to decide.  Hope you enjoyed the blog…it was a fun summer for us.  Cheers.

The Falls and The Island

Tuesday we went to Tahquamenon Falls in the U.P.  where the roads are rural and forested without much traffic.  The falls are on the river of the same name, and the river empties into Lake Superior.  Attached are pictures of the falls and us at the falls.  They are very brown in color because of all the tannin in the river from decaying organic matter.  The falls are in a 1500 acre old-growth forest with lots of species of trees… American beech, sugar maples, eastern hemlock and yellow birch.  Very pretty place and unique in Michigan where there aren’t a lot of big falls.

Then we moved on to Mackinac Island, one of our favorite places.  We parked the car in Mackinaw City and went over on the high speed ferry.   The weather was miserable (high winds and big waves with pelting rain) so we did not enjoy this visit as much as we have in the past.  But we stayed in a nice old hotel with a great view of the harbor and had a good dinner in town, so all was not lost.  Attached is a street scene from Mackinac Island where it was far less crowded than usual because it is late in the season and the weather is nasty.

We are now back in Frankfort and getting ready to close up the boat for the season.  The beach here is quite a mess because the continued high winds from the west have moved so much sand onto the streets and walkways.  Apparently the city got their front end loaders out today to begin the process of moving the big piles back to the beach.  The gales of November have come in September this year.  We are really pleased we don’t have to drive the boat across Lake Michigan to Sturgeon Bay, WI for storage this year.  We might be forever waiting for the 8-12 seas to lay down.

All in all, our road trip was fun despite the weather.  Fall is here for sure.

Road Trip

We are on a road trip!  We left Frankfort yesterday and wandered north on Michigan 31 through Traverse City, Elk Rapids (where we got married), Charlevoix and Harbor Springs and then across the Mackinac Bridge to Sault Ste. Marie, home of the Soo Locks in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (the U.P.).

The Soo Locks are on the St Marys River and allow ships of all sizes to traverse the 21 –foot drop in elevation between Lake Superior and Lakes Huron and Michigan.  In the late 1700’s, a Canadian company built a lock on the Canadian side of the river; it was destroyed in the war of 1812.  A private American company built locks on the American side of the river in 1853.  In 1855 the State of Michigan took over the locks; in 1881 the locks were transferred to the U.S. government, who today operates the locks toll free to all vessels through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Today there are 4 locks, one not in use.  The oldest was built in 1914, the newest in 1968.  The little private boat and the Soo Locks Boat in the pictures are going through the McArthur Lock (built in 1943 and named after General Douglas McArthur) which is 800 feet long and 80 feet wide.  The big boat (Indiana Harbor) is going through the Poe Lock.  Indiana Harbor is 1000 feet long and 100 feet wide.  Poe Lock (built in 1968) is 1200 feet long and 110 feet wide.  Needless to say that big boat inched its way into the lock.  It was fun to watch the action.

We spent the night in Brimley, MI on Lake Superior shores…..at Bay Mills Casino and Resort.  So we ate and slept well and cheaply at this Indian Casino and didn’t lose a lot of money!!  Thanks to Roger and Jean for all the information about this destination.

Today we are on our way to Tahquamenon Falls and then Mackinac Island.  Stay tuned for more of this adventure

Surf's Up

It’s windy and warm here today, fitting weather as we get close to Labor Day.

We had lunch with friends Lynne and Mark.  They also live in Governor’s Land and we were introduced by mutual friends this spring.  L and M have a beautiful home on the Leelanau Peninsula overlooking Lake Michigan.  The Peninsula separates Lake Michigan from Grand Traverse Bay, and is home to Sleeping Bear Dune (the awesome sand dune national park) and Leland, one of our favorite cruising ports.   We went to lunch in Sutton’s Bay and had a great visit as you can see from the attached pictures.  They will come back to Williamsburg at the end of October, so really will miss all the hot weather there.

So now on to “surf’s up!”.  We have a 25-30 mph wind from the south, and it is creating great waves and wind updrafts.  So surfers, wind surfers and kite surfers are out in droves.  What a show!  We can’t really capture it with the camera, but attached are some shots that try.  We sat at the beach for an hour watching all the fun, as did a lot of other people.  Supposed to rain tonight so we expect tomorrow to be all calm again and maybe we can get the jet skis out for another run.

Happy summer, and for you in Williamsburg, we hope the hurricane moves out to sea.

Summer Begins to Wind Down

It is summertime in wind-down here in Frankfort, which is a big multi-generation family town.  Because school is starting soon, weekends are still bustling and busy, but week days are quite a bit quieter.  Today is Sunday and warm; so our street is already parked full of beach-goers and bikers. 

This week my sister Joan and husband Bob were here with us from Wisconsin.  They came across the Lake on the Badger car ferry, leaving their car on the Wisconsin side.  Unfortunately, for one of the few times in recent memory, the Badger had mechanical problems and was five hours late crossing the Lake, so the start of the visit wasn’t particularly auspicious.  However, it was uphill from there and we had great weather which allowed us to jet ski and swim in Lake Michigan and loll around on the boat and generally have a great few days.  Attached are pictures from the visit, including Bob on the jet ski, an event the skeptics said “ain’t going to happen”.  It was a bit wavy when we had the jet skis out, so roaring around at 40-50 mph was wet and wild.   We will have stories to share for years to come.

We have the rental house until Saturday, September 4^th and plan to have fun our final week before moving onto the boat for Labor Day weekend.  I expect we will play some golf and hit the beach and jet skis….the usual life style here in Frankfort.  We are pondering what to do for a few days after that before we start for home, and are having fun as summer begins to wind down.  Cheers to all.

A Busy August Week

We have had another busy week.  No overnight company this week, but none-the-less we had lots going on.

Monday we put the house back in order after a whole week of company, including little girls who loved the playhouse.  On Tuesday we played golf at Crystal Mountain again, this time with friends Phil and Sue from Midland.  It is their family we visited in Bear Lake in early July.  Attached is a picture of the golfers.  If you look closely you can see a deer grazing in the background….got to love a mountain course.

On Wednesday Bob and Marilyn from Williamsburg came to have lunch with us.  Bob is a member of my Kiwanis Club; he and Marilyn have a summer place near Baldwin, about 40 miles east of us.  After we said goodbye to them we drove to Traverse City for dinner with Kate and her family before their departure back to Seattle.  Mark’s Mom was there also; I think 2 grandma’s and a grandpa was a bit overwhelming for Caroline. But she and Lily made friends with a couple of other little girls, leaving the adults some good conversation time and it was a fun dinner.

Thursday we hosted John and Lori, owners of Jacobson’s Marina, for dinner.  It was good to see them away from their never-ending duties at the Marina and to learn a bit more about how they came to buy it just three years ago.

Friday night we had an awesome rainstorm; Saturday, we went to the Farmer’s Market and a huge art fair here in town.  And today friends Ron and Kay from Traverse City are coming over to jet ski and have dinner……as I said, another busy week in Lake Michigan summer.

Next week my sister Joan and husband Bob are coming for a few days, so stay tuned for more fun.  Cheers.

Catch-Up - Part III: Emery's Birthday

Today is Emery’s birthday and attached is a picture of him with gifts at breakfast this morning.   Heather and Jennifer gave him a gift certificate for dinner at COHO, a great local restaurant and so that’s where we will celebrate tonight.

Today we are experiencing a fair weather gale.   There is a 20-25 mile per hour wind straight out of the west which is just pounding the lake, but it is also sunny and warm.  Attached are some pictures of the lake and the breakwater so you can get an idea of the fury.  Waves off shore are 10-12 feet high and there are 6-8 foots here.  The water is surging into Betsie Bay and we have just spent an hour at the marina re-tying the boat and adding lines.  Movement is wild there with all boats moving just as far as their straining lines will allow.   We are pleased to have a house to stay in because its pretty tough to be on the boat very long.  Forecast calls for another 12 hours to the gale and then calm hot weather again.

Emery says thanks for the birthday cards and emails.  This is his fourth birthday away from home, and every year it’s a new adventure.  Cheers.

Catch-Up - Part II: Kate's Family

Kate and family (Mark, Lily, almost 7 and Caroline, 2 ½) arrived from Seattle into Traverse City late Tuesday evening and Mark’s Mom picked them up.  Wednesday afternoon we brought them to Frankfort, and the fun began.  They were off to the pool for a few hours, then home for hamburgers and “un-birthday” cupcakes.  Mark and Emery have August birthdays and Lily will be seven in September.  So everyone got a colorfully wrapped book to enjoy.  The picture is of the girls blowing out the candles.

The beach was the biggest draw throughout their visit.  It’s only a block away and the water is about 75-78 degrees, the warmest it has been in years.  Kate and family were there at least twice a day and loved it.  We also had everyone on the jet skis and to Kilwins for ice cream; Lily and I played non-stop Monopoly (we each won a game); Kate and Mark had a date night alone; and Caroline bonded with Emery, who she calls Poppy.  Attached are several more pictures of the group.

Sunday we took everyone back to Mark’s Mom’s, and they will spend the rest of their vacation with Pat.  It was fun to have a house full of laughter and giggles and sand and wet towels and toys and books, and now it’s fun to collapse and recover for a few days.

Summer is great here!!

Catch Up - Part I: Fred and Inge

We have had such a busy week since we moved back into the house!!  What a great time and I will do a three part “catching” up blog in order to capture all the action.

We began the week with friends Inge and Fred from Williamsburg joining us for a few days.  We did the usual…a boat ride, a few good dinners, and a round of golf.  The “boys” wanted to play Arcadia Bluffs, the fabulous Scotland-like course bordering Lake Michigan, but there were no tee times available.  So we played the Mountain Ridge course at Crystal Mountain and it was very pretty.  Attached are pictures of our good times.

The weather was sunny and hot, so no problems getting all the activities in.  It was wonderful seeing friends from home.  They left on Wednesday morning, and on Wednesday afternoon Kate and her family came to spend a few days.  See the next blog for all that fun.  Cheers.

Traverse City Wedding

Hello to all.  We are back in our house on Forest Ave in Frankfort and so happy about that.  It is however beastly hot and humid, so that is not so good.  Not even a breeze here on the lake.

Saturday we went to the wedding in Traverse City and had a wonderful time.  The wedding was at Bowers Harbor, an inn on Mission Peninsula which is the arm of land that separates Grand Traverse Bay into west and east bays.   The peninsula is filled with fruit orchards and vineyards and beautiful homes on the water.  We re-connected with people from our times in Midland; met lots of bright young friends of the bride and groom from Chicago; and ate and drank and danced the night away.  Attached are pictures from the wedding showing Alaina the bride with Mom and Dad (Kay and Ron).

Today friends Inge and Fred are expected and we are looking forward to boating and golf with them.  So we are back in the swing of things and loving it!!

Back on the Boat

We are all alone again, and homeless to boot!!  This is the week we don’t have the house, so we are on the boat and re-adjusting to marina life.  And what fun it is…today is very windy and waves on Lake Michigan have quickly built to 6-8 feet.  So any boat out there is piling in to Jacobson’s Marina to wait it out.   Always fun to watch captains and their mates try to dock in high wind and a bit of current.   The Marina dock hands are really experienced here, so if a boat gets within range of the dock and the mate can properly toss a line. …they are “in like Flynn”.

Attached is a picture of Emery, Jen and Heather at The Cove restaurant in Leland where we dropped Jennifer off last week.  And there also are pictures of all the sailboats that were here in the Marina Thursday night.  There were 38 sailboats rafted up here…lots of people and action.  The boats were returning to Chicago after having raced in the annual Chicago to Mackinaw sailboat race.  There are lots of classes/sizes of boats that race, and then they leisurely motor back home the week after the race.  The Marina makes lots of money because in addition to dock fees, they sell gas and food…..all through the night as the sailors straggle in at all hours.  It’s fun to watch for a while, but John the harbormaster says that by 4 A.M. it gets a little old!

We have no plans for this week, and Saturday we go to Traverse City for Ron and Kay’s daughter’s wedding.  The “buzz” says it will be bigger and better than Chelsea Clinton’s recent bash, so we’re looking forward to dressing up and having fun.  Then back in to the house on Sunday; Fred and Inge visit on Monday and Tuesday; then Kate and family turn up at the end of the week for a few days.

So our summer chugs along….cheers to all.

Visit From Heather and Jennifer

Heather and Jennifer are with us and we’re having fun now.  The weather has been great and so we are out every day.

Sunday we took the boat out and went for a little trip south to explore Arcadia Lake, a harbor of refuge port about 10 miles south of Frankfort.  It is a little, shallow lake with many cottages and not much commercial development, but a fun place to travel to.  Attached is a picture of Heather and Jennifer on the boat. 

Monday was jet ski day!!!  We launched the jet skis into Lake Michigan and buzzed north to Point Betsie Lighthouse, a 6-7 mile trip.  Great day even though we learned, AFTER we got there, that the lighthouse is only open Friday thru Sunday!  Attached are a number of photos from that trip.  What you can’t see is how hard it was to re-launch the jet skis from the beach.  More waves were coming onto shore than we realized, so getting the heavy jet skis back into the water was not do-able until some guy put his muscles into the task also…without him we’d still be there.  Always an adventure!

Tuesday all four of us went to play golf.  Heather and I were “cart executives” (read cart drivers), and Emery and Jennifer had a good round of golf.  Jennifer loved my driver, so I am going to have to screen her luggage before she leaves!

Wednesday was a shopping and beach day except for Emery who was trying to fix the boat.  We developed an electrical problem overnight and the boat doesn’t run.   Seeing we want to go to Leland on Thursday,  Emery is working to get the boat back in shape.  I am sure BOAT (bring out another thousand) is going to come into play!!

Today, we drove Jennifer to Leland so that she could join her friends for the week-end.  Your guess is correct--we did not get the boat fixed in time to take her by boat.  More on the boat problem later.  Heather will be with us until Sunday morning. 

So our fun summer continues to roll along.  We are enjoying…hope you are too.

The Amway Big Boats

In the last blog I mentioned the big boats that had pulled in to Jacobson’s Marina.  Well, it turns out all those boats belong to the DeVos family whose fortune comes from Amway Products.  And we saw all the boats again.  We believe they have a total of  6 of these very large boats capable of moving along at about 35 knots. 

Our friends Greg and Sally, our friends from the vessel Odyssey came to visit.  We met Odyssey in the Trent Severn Waterway in Year 1, and have kept in touch ever since.  Greg and Sally drove over from Aus Gres, MI to spend the day with us.  We decided to take the boat up to Leland for lunch.  For us, Leland is about 1.5 hours north of Frankfort by boat.   Getting out of Frankfort we had to jockey around the big boats to get out, and learned they were moving….to Leland.

Off we went, soon to be passed by the big boats.  Being passed is a new phenomenon for us as The Emerys is a FAST boat.   Anyway, they were in the harbor at Leland when we pulled in, and attached are some pictures.  Leland is a small harbor, so Russell the harbormaster rafted off the boats (parked two boats at the dock and then parked the other two off those).  Hard to travel in a group of boats that large.

Anyway, we had a good visit with Greg and Sally and are now on our way to pick up Heather and Jennifer.  They will spend a few days with us, and Heather in particular is looking forward to cool Michigan weather (after a summer in 100 degree Williamsburg).  Since we are late in posting this blog, we will very soon post a blog about Heather’s and Jennifer’s visit with us in Frankfort. 

Hope all is well with you and yours.  Cheers.

Baseball and Jet Skis

Last night we went to a Traverse City Beach Bums baseball game.  The Bums play in the Frontier League, an independent league which is heavily scouted by big league teams.

Attached are pictures from the night.  It did rain off and on, but that didn’t dampen the fun environment.  Lots of kids, and contests for them between innings….all in all a great summer experience.  Very colorful!

Today was another great day here, and no wind.  So we took the jet skis into Lake Michigan.   There is a nice boat launch here in Frankfort just down Betsie Lake from Jacobson’s Marina.  It was fun; we went mainly south along the shoreline and there are endless, huge sand dunes.  Quite a sight!  We came back into the Marina and parked off the swim platform of The Emerys and relaxed for a while.  While we were there, 2 hundred-foot boats came in along with a couple “little 50 footers.  One doesn’t usually see such big boats, so it was fun to watch them jockey around.  John the Harbormaster did a good job preparing for them earlier today, so it went smoothly.

All in all, a good couple of summer days in Michigan.

More Golf, Jet Skis, & Food

We’ve had a great visit with friends Susan and Mark from Williamsburg.  They were in Michigan to celebrate the 100^th birthday of Susan’s grandmother and drove over from Detroit to spend a few days with us.

Wednesday evening we strolled the town, had cocktails on the boat, dinner on the deck at Coho’s restaurant and then dodged the raindrops as we walked home.  We had a terrific soaking rain all night, something Williamsburg hasn’t had for a long time, so Susan and Mark enjoyed that.

Thursday we took the jet skis out for the afternoon and had a blast.  Attached is a picture of Emery and guests on the front porch fixing one of the jet ski covers before we took off (it had gotten torn earlier on the gate of the parking lot where we are storing them).  We had a great dinner of steak and shrimp on the back porch after coming home and before walking to the beach for a beautiful sunset…fun day.

Friday we had planned to take the boat up to Leland for the day, but big wind canceled those plans and we decided to golf instead.  We found the delightful, hilly Champions course outside of town and had a great afternoon round.  Attached are a few pictures from the afternoon.

We ended the day going to Arcadia Bluffs for dinner.  It is a fabulous golf course set high above Lake Michigan, with wonderful views and Scottish style undulations and sod-walled bunkers.  We sat outside with a view of the finishing holes and the lake with a bagpiper playing in the distance.  The bagpiper plays on Friday and Saturday standing on a cliff over the last holes just before sunset.  It is wonderful entertainment and a fine finish to Mark and Susan’s visit.  They left this morning, and Emery and I have spent the day enjoying the British Open (E) and the beach (M).  Saturday is busy in summer Frankfort, so people watching is as much fun as anything.

Happy summer to all.