Harbor Springs to Charlevoix

We woke up Tuesday morning in Harbor Springs to beautiful skies and thousands of thousands of midgets.... again! These little bugs have been dogging us since Canada. Usually I get the vacuum out and promptly suck them up. It was kind of rough out so we just lived with them. You can see just a small amount of them on the top canvas and then all over the mast.

Before we left we took a picture of the water below the boat- it was so incredibly clear and turquoise. Harbor Springs was an incredibly high-end place from the shopping to the beautiful homes. Not exactly our style but we enjoyed the concert right in front of our boat on Monday evening. The community band was incredibly talented and I enjoyed many of the songs- especially the ones from Phantom of the Opera. Dave remarked he could still picture Chesapeake Band performing this in marching band competition. Their drum major wore a cape and stayed in character throughout the show, but I digress.

The water under the boat at the dock is 14 feet and clear to the bottom.

When we left Harbor Springs it was kind of bouncy and windy but we thought it was doable and really anticipated when we rounded the point it would be at our stern and we would just basically surf into Charlevoix. It wasn't meant to be- and the wind continued to build and of course the waves got bigger and bigger. It truly was the roughest water FRYEDAZE had ever experienced- as well as her crew! I am not usually scared as I have complete faith in Captain Dave and the boat- but I can honestly say that I was worried for our safety. Dave said the boat was never in danger of tipping over but riding the 7-8' waves on our beam sure did feel like it! Dave did a great job tacking so that we weren't always taking big hits on our bow. When we were finally safe into the channel leading into Lake Charlevoix-our salon and galley looked like mayhem had occurred- and essentially it did! We traveled into the channel and of course all the wind and waves were funneling into the small water and it was hard for Dave to hold our position until the bridge opened at 11:30. We were grateful that we only had to wait 15 minutes! Dave did a wonderful job and even the "spectators" watching our trip in thought so as they filmed and clapped for him!

Once again we were overwhelmed with the beauty and clarity of the water here! It truly is cleaner and prettier than any Caribbean Island we have ever been too! I guess we should thank the Zebra Muscles! 
Once safely in our slip and Dave had a shot of whiskey and a quick beer, we did a quick debrief and discussed how we would have/should have done that trip differently. We had been checking land weather before we left Harbor Springs- not NOAA and have decided that we will add multiple other checks including the VHF radio weather before considering leaving. Next thing we did was check for the rest of the week and promptly signed up to stay a third day (today). So glad we did because even in this protected harbor winds are blowing at least 10-15 with higher wind gusts up to 20. 
I have read many books on this Great Loop Journey and so many authors expressed the opinion that Lake Michigan was the worse part of their trip. We are determined not to have that happen, so when we sat and planned out the rest of the month- we put in lots and lots of slack and cut down on the actual number of ports we hope to visit. We plan on going to Tyrone for Ben's birthday at the end of the month- and have begun exploring where we will leave FRYEDAZE for the week. We hope to go into Chicago for 4-5 days the day after Labor Day. 
Since coming to Charlevoix we have explored the beautiful town and have enjoyed walking to the beach, shopping and eating. Yesterday was a special treat as a friend who I worked with in Calvert County Public Schools came to the boat and we went out to lunch. It was so wonderful catching up with Kim and talking to someone who "knew" me in a past life :-) sounds funny but it was a great time! Lunch was wonderful and the view of the channel and bridge was wonderful. It made us appreciate just how much skill it took Dave to maintain his position in those conditions and get us safely through the bridge. 
Today I went to the best Farmer's Market I had ever been too. Fresh organic produce, apple-bourbon bread, steak jerky, pain liniment for my knee, and corn and beets for dinner. I posted a picture on Facebook of my treasures- but can't figure out how to get picture from my phone! We enjoyed another lunch out and then provisioned at a wonderful grocery store which just so happened to contain their local liquor store. Score!
Tomorrow (weather permitting) we are leaving here and making an almost 40 mile trip to an island off the coast. It is made up of beautiful sand dunes and places to explore. We are excited as we have not been to an anchorage since Beardrop in the North Channel.

Lighthouse guiding boats into Harbor Springs

We were lucky enough to hit two concerts this week- Monday in Harbor Springs and Tuesday in Charlevoix. The local talent was unbelievable! Tonight is another concert- after listening to them practice sounds like it will be light rock! Can't wait

We had a wonderful view of the channel and were very grateful this Beaver Island Ferry was not coming out as we were attempting to come in~!

Our second concert at Charlevoix

The Lighthouse welcoming us to Charlevoix

We found this friendly looking bear sculpture with a map of Lake Michigan at the town's library. The library itself was incredible- my sweet mother-in-law would have been in heaven! Kim said it was the K-12 school when she attended.

Another beautiful picture of the water and waves!

Dave spotted the submarine dolphins as soon as we were settled into our slip. It is a beautiful memorial to WWII submariners who perished on their very first cruise. This town just does everything well!

Another sculpture in town

Back side of the submarine memorial

Beautiful sculpture outside the library in the butterfly garden

Thanks for reading! Betsy