Thursday, July 21, 2016
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
A full day in Charlevoix Pronounced voy at the end , so not the French pronunciation!
Hi F and F, 
Listened to a couple of songs then biked back to the boat before it got too dark
Another lovely sunny day with very little wind.
Time to bring out the golf clubs and drag Graeme off to the Charlevoix Golf Course.
A nine hole course, so perfect. First though, Erica gave Lady Erica a good thorough clean inside.
Graeme meantime tried to organize a taxi to take us to the club.
After much persistence , he was able to track down Oma 's Taxis.
She picked us up at 11 .30 am.
The course was interesting Established in1896 and designed by Willie Watson from St Andrews course in Scotland.Its one of the oldest historical courses in Michigan. Ron the Golf manager said we would like it and he was right.
Beautiful greens and good fairways.On the sixth hole you had to hit over the road to reach the green.
Bit disconcerting especially when cars drove past as you were about to hit the ball!
Ron ended up driving us back to the boat as the taxi service was too busy.Such a nice gesture. Ron had also decided to have us pay for one round and golf cart as he couldn't help us out bring us to the course.
The water looked inviting on our return so we headed to the nearby sandy beach for a refreshing swim.
Later we biked into town for dinner at Terry's Fine Dining restaurant.Indeed it was fine dining!
The fresh perch fish meunière was delicious. We then wandered across the road to the park when two concerts were going on. Chris Martin was playing ( sorry not Cold Play Chris Martin,) and at the main stage a group of three women probably in their 60's singing great songs.Called SheBop and the Riff Raff from Ann Arbor Michigan. Very entertaining. After that the local band / orchestra came on.
The full moon was starting to rise and that capped off a lovely day in this special place.
Over and Out,
E and G.
Taking A break! Beaver Island by Ferry!
Hi F and F, 
Arrived into Paradise Baywhere the water was smooth and clear Just like the Carribean again.
After our walk we headed to the Mormon museum and old print shop followed by Daddie Frank's for the recommended black cherry ice cream .Very delicious! Boarded the ferry back to Charlevoix .
Well we had planned to take the boat and anchor over on Beaver Island , but with winds being an issue we felt like a break.We biked over to the Ferry terminal in town and caught the 8.30 am Ferry.
It was a 2 hour ride across and very relaxing .Sun was out and provided we stayed on the left side of the ferry , we didn't get the full brunt of the winds, The Ferry was called the Emerald Isle.
Walked over to the tours office and at 11 am we headed off in a white van (we being the only ones for the 1 1/2 hour tour of the northern part of the island).
Graeme didn't think he could handle the 3 hour all island tour and he proved to be right.
There are only10 miles of paved roads here. Rest is just dirt roads , evident when you see the local cars all dusty and dirty. No car washing going on here! Today pop is about 551 permanent residents.
Turns out our guide/ driver ( we never got her name) was a very recently retired university proffessor of education , and she was wonderful.
Had lived here in the summers for the past 11 years and had just built a permanent house on the Island. She had lots of information to share with us on our private tour. One piece of info , Monach butterflies stop on the island because of abundance of th milkweed plants the caterpillars eat.
Apparently it takes four generations of butterflies to make the full migration cycle. I think they end up in Mexico.
The history of this Island is indeed quite interesting .It has been settled first by native Indians, then Mormons, then Irish and lastly Jesuit Priests. The two most interesting characters are James Strang and Feodore Protar.James Strang , a Mormon decided to come to Beaver Island after failing to take Joseph Smiths place ( he was murdered).He brought with hm some faithful followers and as their numbers grew , he became arrogant and on July 8, 1850 , proclaimed himself king of the Island.
This lasted four years , then two disgruntled followers shot Strang and he died shortly afterwards.
Protar, was from Estonia and he ended up on the island in 1893 after yearning for a simple life.
He left his wife and child and became the Doctor for the island , although he had no formal medical training. He treated many patients in his time using simple remedies probably homeopathic .
He was loved by all.
After the tour, lunch was in order at the Shamrock pub and restaurant. Met a young Jamaican guy server who had lived in NZ for a few months and was very excited to meet and chat to us. Then we set out to all to the Whiskey Point lighthouse and check out some of the little museums and houses and also the Central Michigan University research building.They are studying the effect of invasive species on the local fish population.
Decided to stop at the Village pub for a beer then biked back to the boat for a left overs supper.
Watched a DVD called the Judge starring Robert Downy Jnr . Then time for bed.
Over and out,
E and G.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Time to visit Charlevoix
Hi Fand F, 
Well we left early this morning as there was talk of winds getting up later to 20 mph.
Sad to leave this great spot at Harbor Springs , but time to move on.
Sunny and breezy but waves relatively small although some swell out on Little Traverse Bay
The trip only took 1 hour to arrive at the entrance of Lake Charlevoix and the bridge we needed to go under.It opens every half hour so we didn't have long to wait. Easy entrance in and passed the city marina.As they have a Venetian festival on all this week in the town , there was no room for us there.
Fortunately through Justin a connection at the Boat House , we got a slip for 3 days at the Irish Boat Shop Marina. It is fairly isolated we got out the bikes once settled and rode into the town about 20 mins away. Lots of people and lots of shops and especially lots of eating places .
We took the bike map and explore the Mushroom houses in the area.
These homes were designed by an architect called Earl Young who was born in 1889.
He started Michigan university at school of architecture but dropped out after 1 year as he didn't like the Greek, Roman or Victorian styles of houses.He wanted to build homes that suited the landscape and was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright.Earl's homes are commonly referred to as gnome homes, mushroom houses or hobbit houses , and we could see why.Young's goal was to show that a small stone house could be as impressive as a castle!
Had lunch ar Scovies, a good home cooked style of meal and checked out the local art gallery.
Graeme couldn't resist stopping at the American Spoon store for sauces and bought some salted caramel sauce for icecream .His favorite!
We managed to bike back to the boat before the big rainfall which lasted a few hours.
The wind increased also and whipped up the lake.But we were secure and happy inside the boat.
Watched a movie called the Judge.Well done, worth watching.. Then dinner on board.
Over and out,
E and G
Days in Harbor Spring A hidden gem
Hi F and F,
We are gong to be here for three full days so not much content until we head to Charlevoix a coupe, of hours drive down the coast weather permitting!
So having a rest and getting the boat thoroughly cleaned and polished , pus a couple of issues repaired involving the air horn and hot water temp gauge .
This Marina is wonderful , people friendly and helpful.The facilities very good also. And very convenient to the town.
Unfortunately the Boat House Marina is private , so you can only come in as a guest of a member.
We are fortunate to be in that position.
Erica took the opportunity to have a well needed massage and felt wonderfully relaxed after it.
Weather has been mixed but that hasn't really been a problem. Just nice to stop for a few days in the one place.
Over and Out
E and G
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