August 9-11, 2007

August 9, 2007. Today was fudge & horse day at Mackinac Island. Somehow those aromas don't seem to go together but they haul them over by the boat loads to enjoy that sensation. We caught the 9:30 boat that is a twin to the Jet Express that goes to Put in Bay from Pt Clinton. It was a cloudy overcast day and a jacket felt good. After a carriage ride and a tour of the island, it was time to walk the streets and tour the fudge shops. Connor & Allison bought some fudge for their Mom & Dad but I am not sure that will survive the trip home as they have already tasted it. Lunch at the Pink Pony overlooking the boat harbor was very enjoyable and in some sense we were wishing we were docked there. However the docks are old and not near as nice as where we are staying at St. Ignace. I often wondered how they delivered UPS packages on the island. We soon found out. As we were having lunch we saw the boat back up to the Dock with the familiar Brown UPS truck loaded on it. The Truck never left the Boat. Later in the afternoon we saw how the packages are delivered. The UPS man was being driven around by a driver pulling a wagon with the packages as seen in the above photo. The day was concluded with a good dinner at the Mackinac Grill in St Ignace.

August 10, 2007. Today, Friday we awoke to calm winds and a sunny sky. We rolled the crew out and made a planned departure of 8:30 am for Beaver Island. Beaver Island is the largest Island in Lake Michigan. The Gps indicated the route was 50 miles long. as we made the turn from St. Ignace to pass under the Mackinaw Bridge a portion of the bridge was enclosed by fog cover. However in a few minutes it dissipated and we had a magnificent

view of the bridge as we passed under it. We had to slow down for a large freighter as he seemed to be crossing our bow on a collision course and he who is biggest rules in this case. The Silver Foxes got its first taste of Lake Michigan as we crossed under the bridge. The Lake treated her gently with less than 1' waves. After traveling in a westerly direction for 18 miles we turned south and headed through Grays Reef Shoal. It is well marked by buoys. The GPS shows all of the Buoys, and the water depth. This part of the Lake has many reefs and islands and you must pay close attention and plan your route to avoid these hazards. After making several zigs and zags we arrived at St. James Bay on Beaver Island. The water is deep and exceptionally clear in the bay. The village is picturesque. However it is 30 miles from nowhere so there was no internet or cell phone. The island is large and supports a school, a hardware store and a small grocery store and several restaurants. On our bike ride we came across a big island event! The double elimination softball tournament. Tents were set up and half of the island was there. I didn't think there would be enough male players on the island to put one team together let alone eight. We watched them play ball as well as all of the peripheral activities until Allison reminded me we better get to the grocery store before it closed. While there we reported their team was ahead 3-0. Brats on the grill finished the evening


August 11, 2007. We hated to leave this very pretty setting on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan but we must trek on down the road. It is Saturday and we wanted to visit Harbor Springs, Petoskey and Charlevoix. Harbor Springs did not have space available so we chose Charlevoix as the chosen destination. Usually it is not possible to get a dock there but they are in the process of a multi million dollar renovation of their Marina. The docks are brand new and we made the !2:30 draw bridge that enters Round Lake and where the municipal docks are located. However there is only one place to fuel and get a pump out (we were full up if you know what I mean). We did not need fuel. And it took us an hour to to wait our turn in line and then get the job done. In the meantime they let somebody else take our assigned slip. We soon got that straightened out, pulled into our dock and we were off to town which is very very close. Charlevoix is a very upscale touristy town and they have many upscale stores and loads of people touring them. Although not upscale, we visited a saltwater taffy store. Very ingenious retailers! They gave you a small basket and said all of the taffy was the same price. Just load it up with any of the more than 80 flavors and they would weigh it and charge you accordingly when you checked out. Connor asked the Lady as he was loading his basket, how much he had. Her reply 1.75 lbs. He thought about putting some back but I think he had visited about 60 of the barrels of taffy. At $8.50 a pound he had to borrow some money from Grandma to get out of the store. There was an art fair in the town. Very interesting. Connor was going to buy a picture of a Corvette for his Dad. There was a mixup in communications and after he found out the price was $550 instead of $5.50 he thought better of it. After our trip to town we took a dinghy ride around the Harbor. We were too late to join the dinghy poker run. Some of the boat garages were larger than most houses! Turkey burgers (doctored up by Judy) and fresh asparagus on the grill was the entree' for the evening. Weather forecast for tonight storms and wind for tomorrow--advised crew it might be an "in port day" tomorrow. Statute miles covered 497