Holland, St. Joseph

Wednesday, August 16th, we left Muskegon and headed for Macatawa Lake. Holland, Michigan is on the other side of the lake.  I really wanted to see it since I grew up in Pella, Iowa, another Dutch immigrant community. Holland is much larger than Pella, and the Dutch attractions are very spread out.

This is at Windmill Island Gardens, there is a charge to enter the park.
This windmill was brought here from The Netherlands and reassembled.

 More photos from Windmill Island Gardens

This is a Frisian horse. My grandmother came from Friesland in the Netherlands.

The downtown is nice, a lot of specialty shops and breweries, but this is about the only Dutch restaurant. 

 There was also a Delft and wooden shoe factory, and another Dutch village that we didn't visit. We did go to a bakery, but it was mostly a restaurant. Very few baked goods. Conclusion: Pella's sites are much more accessible, we have much better bakeries, and Pella is just waaaaay more charming!

We stayed at Eldean Shipyard. They had a pool and the facilities were very nice. Then we started to notice that the boat was really moving around, even though there was no wind. By Thursday night, when a big storm arrived, we were bouncing like a toy boat in a washing machine. We had rented a car to see Holland, thank goodness, because that is where I slept Thursday night. We had a big storm, and Robbie had to add more lines to the boat, in the rain, at about 2 in the morning. Friday, we went to Saugatuck and spent the day, cute little place, so we didn't have to endure the motion. The other boaters told us that there is a surge caused by a river current that collides with the lake, and squirts right into the marina. We have never experienced anything like it.

Saturday, August 19, we were finally able to leave. We went South to St. Joseph. Within a few minutes of arriving, we met John and Sandy from Missouri, who are just finishing the Loop. We went to dinner with them and watched the sun set over the lake. It's always fun to swap stories with other Loopers.

St. Joseph was alive on Saturday night. Every restaurant had at least a 2 hour wait, and many had live music, and a roof top area to view the lake. 

We plan to cross the lake into Chicago tomorrow. Goodbye Michigan!

Pentwater, Muskegon

Monday morning, August 14th, we went from Frankfort to Pentwater. Another beautiful town!

Feels like we're somewhere in Europe!

Sunset in Pentwater

Tuesday, August 15, we had a super smooth ride down to Muskegon, which is on Lake Muskegon.

This is the old Milwaukee Clipper. They have a new one now that will take you to Milwaukee, Wisconsin from here.

This is a WWII submarine that is open for tours.

Entrance to Muskegon Lake

We hopped on a trolley that took us past a great beach. Lots of wind surfers today.

We stopped a pizza place that the trolley driver recommended, then we walked home on a bike trail that someone on the trolley told us about. It followed the lake the entire way, about a mile and a half. Such nice people everywhere we go.

 Going to Lake Macatawa tomorrow to wait out some windy weather.

Headed South, Into Lake Michigan

Friday, August 11th, we left Mackinaw City and headed under the Mackinac Bridge toward

 Lake Michigan.

When we rounded the corner, headed South, we went past Grey's Reef Light.

Heading into the Little Traverse Bay, toward Petoskey, we saw a storm ahead. It did not hit us, we were happy about that.

Petoskey is a lovely little town, we really enjoyed it. We had to stay an extra day because of the wind, but it gave us a chance to walk around.

We are finally on the same route as the Loopers who went up to Canada, and are now headed down the West side of Michigan. We got together Saturday night with four other Looper boats. We find each other by the AGLCA (America's Great Loop Cruiser Association) burgee that we fly on the bow of our boats.

I can't believe I missed the opportunity to take a photo of a guy we met at the marina on a bike with two cats strapped in cat carriers on the back of his bike. He says he has traveled 23,000 miles with those cats. I was so excited to see some cats, I completely forgot about what a great picture it would be. The cats looked happy and calm as could be.

In the morning, Sunday, August 13, they were having a triathalon in the harbor.

We were headed for Leland, but found out the only marina was full! So, plan B, we went on to Frankfort. It was 80 miles, further than we usually travel in a day, and the water was much rougher than predicted. 

Starting out, this didn't last long.

The water was spraying pretty hard. If we had cats on board, this would have been a traumatic day. Without them, just a little bumpy, no big deal.

The bluffs got bigger and bigger.

           This was signal to make a left turn into Frankfort.

Beach at Frankfort

Frankfort is so pretty! We have to leave tomorrow, there is weather coming in soon, and we have one more good day to travel before we will probably be held up again. Hoping to make it to Pentwater.

Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island

Tuesday, August 8th, we left Presque Isle and made the short trip to Rogers City. We went there because they had a real grocery store! There was also a dollar store, a restaurant or two, a dress shop, a theater, and some other stores. That entertained us for about an hour or two. A big thunderstorm rolled past, but mostly missed us. It was pretty to watch.

We could see the lake; it got really rough, really fast. We were so glad we weren't out there.

But it left us a rainbow!

There was an incredible full moon over Lake Huron. My poor little camera just couldn't capture it.

Wednesday, August 9, we headed for Mackinaw City. (It is spelled differently than the island and the bridge.) It was a smooth ride.

We tied the boat up and headed for the ferry to Mackinac Island.

We chose not to stay at the marina on Mackinac Island because there is usually a waiting list, and it's out of the way. When we saw it, we were glad we didn't stay there. It isn't very protected, and the boats were really rocking.

Grand Hotel
Video about the hotel: Grand Hotel

Bikes for Rent, everywhere!

There were many beautiful old hotels, and tourists, and horses, and bikes, and fudge shops...

We rented bikes and rode all the way around the perimeter, 8 miles. It was a beautiful ride.

Perimeter road around the island.

Mackinac Bridge, "Big Mack"

There are no cars allowed on the island, just horses and bikes. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to run a business. Some of these Bed and Breakfasts are a long way from town and from the pier.

Another ferry, taken on our way back.

Round Island Light

Thursday we decided to stay in Mackinaw City another day. It has rained all day. Robbie changed fuel filters and cleaned the separators, we did some laundry and walked around.  I have never seen so many tee shirts and so much fudge in my entire life. Tomorrow we hope to get a weather window long enough to get to Charlevoix, on Lake Michigan. If not, we will be here until Sunday.