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.