Pure Michigan!

by Nancy

We had forgotten about how beautiful the watercolor and clarity are on Lake Michigan. It’s this same beautiful water that can get downright snotty when the wind and the waves kick up. We were reminded of this when we had to adjust our itinerary and cancel Door County, WI from our plans. We had hoped to cross Lake Michigan and travel the peninsula on the WI side and then cross back over and do the western side of Lake Michigan. It became clear to us that we were not going to get a weather window to make two crossovers, so we scrapped that plan and decided to do as many of the harbor towns on the western side of Michigan as we could.

Turned out we had amazing weather, sunny skies, turquoise blue water, and sand dunes lining the shores of the lake with fairly flat water. As we continued south on the western side of Lake Michigan, we enjoyed finding out what each small town on this coast has to offer.

From DeTour, MI we headed to Petosky, Charlevoix, and then Sutton’s Bay where we had our mail waiting at a friend’s house. We spent an overnight at Northport, which happens to be where actor, Tim Allen keeps his boat and has a home as he is a native of Detroit. We then headed to Frankfort, Manistee, and Grand Haven and spent a week on White Lake in Whitehall, MI.

Beautiful water of Lake Michigan, No Salt, No Sharks!
Flying Colors passing Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, located on the NW Coast of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.
Our friend and Harbor Host, Gail
Unusual and Fun Art Gallery in Suttons Bay
5 weeks of mail and monthly deliveries after Canada
Gail made a home-cooked meal for us, delicious butcher-cut steaks and sides. She also drove to Costco for us twice and got Nancy to a hair salon for a color and trim.
Petoskey clock tower and lighthouse
Petoskey Municipal Marina
Spectacular Petoskey Sunset
Beach town of Frankfort offers fun shops and restaurants
A walk along the breakwall takes you to the Frankfort lighthouse
Soft, silky sand of Frankfort beach
Charevoix South pier lighthouse by the beah and on the channel entrance
Entrance to Charlevoix Marina, requires bridge opening for most vessels
We were very impressed with all of the municipal marinas run by the MI DNR, they were newer and well-maintained. The one at Charlevoix was particularly well-thought-out with fountains, hanging baskets, a walking path along the waterfront, and even incorporated an amphitheater for concerts every Weds. night.
Thatch House, distinct with its oversized thatch roof
The Half House was a wedding gift for Earl Young’s daughter.
One of the top attractions in Charlevoix is the Mushroom Houses. These houses look like they could be right out of a storybook. Built by the homegrown, self-taught architect, Earl Young. There are over 26 of them in the area, we chose to do a self-guided tour of a cluster of them on Park Ave with the complimentary bikes provided by the marina. Two of our favorites are in the above photos.
The historic town of Manistee, had 1.5 boardwalks that led you from town down to the 25-mile shoreline and beach. This is the first introduction we had to a “social district”, a designated area of downtown that allowed you to walk with liquor, beer, or wine around town and on the boardwalk as long as it was purchased from one of the town’s brewhouses or restaurants.
The Musical Fountain show happens nightly on the river right across from the marina. This show has been happening for 60 years and every night features the lights and fountains synchronized to different music.
The Hessler family generously hosted us in their boat slip at Ellenwood Marina and Yacht Club in Whitehall, Mi.
These two were our boat neighbors on White Lake at Ellenwood, turns out they brought their 50+ foot Jefferson Yacht back from the St. Croix River, turns out that we knew the last two owners of this boat! Small world as they say. They took us on a tour of White Lake in their vintage Sea Ray.
Our neighboring boat, The Foxy Lady was previously the Silver Lady on the St. Croix River.
Town of White Hall claim to fame, World’s Largest Weather Vane

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