It has been a while, but I finally have a decent connection to post. We made it to Roger's City on July 4th. It was hot and humid and there is not much there except the biggest limestone quarry in the world. Met an 80 year old couple from Holland that had lots of stories. They did not have fireworks so we were bummed. On the 6th we headed to Presque Isle (pronounced eel). Since storms were coming and we did not know the area, so we went into the marina. The older couple from Holland were there and yelled over that "we saved you a slip". It is pretty much unspoiled wilderness. They have quite a conservation program to save flora and fauna. They have a general store with a good deli and the yacht club restaurant which was excellent. On Friday night the store sells ice cream and the line was 20 feet long. Obviously, there is not a lot to do there. Saturday night we ate at the club and then they had fireworks. It was a great show that we could watch from the boat. We also took Ollie for a ride around the bay. The old Presque Isle lighthouse (1840) was designed by Jefferson Davis, and yes he was the president of the confederacy later.

We skipped Alpena and kept going to Harrisville on the 9th. There were 2-4 waves but they hit from port stern (back left) so we pushed on. Spent 2 days there. They had a small grocery and a terrific pet store (go figure) so I picked up some supplies. The harbor master had a yellow lab that hung out all day at the docks. She came over to our boat numerous times and was right with us when we took Oliver for walks.

There was also a creek near the marina. Oliver looked like a bear searching for salmon.

Then we were on to Tawas Bay where we anchored out for a couple days. We dinghied to town one day. The bay is so shallow that you anchor quite a ways offshore then wade in 1/4 mile with the dinghy to shore to take care of business. This next picture is Tawas at night from our boat. The first morning, we woke up to bug city, yuck! Washed the boat with Bay water as we have to conserve what we have.

The next day we took off for Harbor Beach. This was a day to forget. First, in Tawas, we had to wait and wait for 2 power boaters to fill up with gas (300 gallons a tank). After being an hour behind schedule, our oil pressure gauge was wobbling. Dale fixed it, but now we are farther behind. On Lake Huron we then went through three bug plagues. Luckily we had screens down, but we went from mosquito looking things, to big gnat looking things to horseflies. Then I call harbor Beach and we get close and we find out they are too shallow for us. Since it was almost dinner time, we found out we could anchor by the breakwall and lighthouse. This was also popular with the seagulls. It was like an Alfred Hitchcock movie. We had to dinghy quite a distance to get to the marina to let Oliver ashore. We promptly left the next morning and made it to Port Sanilac where we stayed 3 days to recover. It is a nice little port and again I could get some groceries. They also have the most wonderful bakery and the oldest continually operating hardware store in Michigan. I hit the bakery and Dale went for hardware. We cleaned Still getting bugs off) and worked on the boat. We saw the Port Huron to Mackinaw sailboat racers go by.

After feeling restored, we headed on to Port Huron where we are today. We heard the current picks up as you get close to the Blue Water bridge between Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, and boy did it. We picked up a knot as we approached the bridge.

We passed the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse. built in 1829. It used to be near a fort. It is also the oldest, but I am starting to wonder about all these claims.

Then, the wild ride began down the St. Clair river. We were flying by at 10 knots, which is fast for us, we go 6-7 usually when we motor. It was choppy and a freighter was coming, luckily it was a smaller one. Then we were to the turn off on the Black River where there are marinas. We had to pass under 2 bridges, but we are docked safe and sound.

Spent 4 days at the island with my sister, Mary. Here are pictures from the dock.
The next picture is of a great little breakfast and lunch spot. They have yummy food and it is Oliver's favorite spot as they have water and dog treats outside the door.

We also saw the same cruise ship that docked in Saugatuck and took Mary on a dinghy ride around the island. It was pretty chilly and windy out there. I was in the bow bouncing around with the dog when we hit the ferry wakes.

Just in case you think we are lazy, we went for many walk, some shopping, history tours and I did a little run in the morning. I felt really fast running as I passed the horses hauling supplies (and I thought I plodded along). Oliver is fascinated with the horses. When he was a puppy they scared him.

On Thursday, the 28th, we headed back to Mackinaw City. Friday, Mary went home after graciously taking me to a grocery store by car which was a treat. Here was our last night by the bridge

Saturday, we headed North through DeTour Passage to the North Channel. This lighthouse marks the passage to the St Mary's river  that carries freighter after freighter to Lake Superior.

Just as we were passing this, the winds came in howling. We blew into Detour marina, literally, for the night. Then we took off early morning to calmer conditions.

We anchored out for 3 days, one longer than expected because of storms, in a island cove north of Drummond Island. We explored from that location in the dinghy. Luckily my IPAD has GPS and maps so we would not get lost. There are hundreads of island up there and pretty soon they all start looking the same. The odds of finding your boat again diminishes the farther you go.

Three times a day, Oliver got a trip ashore to do his business, but mostly to swim and play. He likes to explore, swim and then go back to the boat and sleep. One day we were on the shore talking with another sailor in his kayak when a water snake came up to me to say hello. I was not impressed and calmly walked on to the shore and told Dale to keep Ollie away. He would probably want to play with it. Here is Oliver's day, minus the eating parts.  

The last picture of this leg is the beautiful moon we saw from our cove the night before  we pulled anchor to head to Roger's City on July 4th.

Posting on wifi that comes and goes is a challenge, so bear with the layout issues. I just give up at a certain point. Anyway, I ran across a picture of my roses and peonies that I left behind.







Back to the trip.

We went to Harbor Springs after Charlevoix on a wavy day. Luckily it is a 2 hour trip only across Little Traverse Bay. We passed the lighthouse into the bay and docked, much to Ollie's delight.

Oliver loves Harbor Springs because it is so dog friendly. They have a dog beach there and he meets many dogs to play fetch with in the water. He prefers just swimming back and forth. I say "turn" and he swims back and forth parallel to shore. He will come out to greet a new dog, but then goes back to swimming. We were there for an hour and he swam non-stop for 20 minutes at one point.

After Harbor Springs we made the long run to Mackinaw City. It is about 7-8 hours on the boat. There is no place to stop and weather can be treacherous. Once we got caught in 6-10 footers on this leg. We waited one more day in Harbor Springs and heard the waves were 2-3 feet, so we took off. Here I am on watch.

Grey's Reef is a very shallow area where Lake Michigan meets the Straits. With our draft we can go by the old buoy. The ships have to go about a mile farther out so they do not go aground. You can tell Ollie was thrilled with the whole thing.

We successfully rounded Grey's Reef, then we were in the Straits headed to Lake Huron (one Great Lake down). WE spotted the bridge and slowly made our way to pass under it and on to Mackinaw City. I always take a picture when we pass under. Pulled into Mackinaw City for a couple days waiting for Mary to drive up and spent 4 days on Mackinac Island.

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We sat around Mackinaw City and took off for the island on Sunday.

It was "freighter city" trying to make the crossing. At one point, we had to turn back as one of them was headed directly for us. They do not care and expect all others to move.

Wifi giving me a hard time, so I will continue another day. Blessings to you all.

Left Manistee with south winds pushing us north to Frankfort. We anchored in Betsie Bay for 2 nights. Fun fact: Frank Martin moved to Frankfort and immediately built a log stockade around his home to keep drifting snow out in 1855.  Neighbor's called it "Frank's fort" and the name stuck. On to us, Ollie loves anchoring because it means more dinghy rides.  Then he gets his walk. Frankfort has all parks by the marinas which is great.

After a couple of days here, sitting around (Ollie literally sits) we headed to Leland.

The breeze was southeast at 22 knots sustained in the morning, 2-3 footers and we were cruising North. When we reached Sleeping Bear Dunes, the wind slowed to 10-15 knots directly behind us which is not much to sail . We pulled in the sails and motored. Then the lovely Lake Michigan flies hit. We got our aerobic exercise swatting those babies until we put the side and back screens down. We made it to Leland by afternoon. Ollie loves it here as the dockmaster greets him with treats and calls him "the beach dog". At night, the sunset is always so pretty here it draws crowds. This is from our slip.  

After 2 days at Leland, we headed to Charlevoix in what was suppose to be 2-4 footers, but it was not bad and calmed quickly. We went past Cathead Bay and Point, looked and looked and figured we really had to test our imaginations to see it. We made it to Charlevoix for the 1:00 bridge and pulled into our slip. Oliver also loves it here as the dockmaster, Hal gives out dog treats too. Spent today cleaning, grocery shopping and being lazy.

 We spend time in the cockpit on lovely days. I call it our family room.

On to Harbor Springs tomorrow.

Spent an extra day in Ludington due to weather/waves and we are doing the same in Manistee. Today we would have have 3-5 footers coming over our bow, so we are making Oliver happy by staying here. He does not like anything over 2 feet anymore. When we left Ludington we had 1-2 foot waves and a 18-22 knot breeze behind us. Here is Ollie as we left and the lovely sail we had after Big Sable Point to Manistee.

In Manistee, we did the usual, got some groceries, ice cream and good dog walks. Monday was cool at the docks as a big freighter went by us. Oliver barked hello. We also met people from Oklahoma and Colorado that trailer their smaller sailboats around the country to visit many places. They told us tails of the East Coast.

On to Frankfort tomorrow, where we will anchor out. I am also including some pictures of inside the boat, so you can see how we are living.

Spent Wednesday at anchor in White Lake. It was very pretty. Taking the dog ashore in the dinghy is a show all it's own. Since we are basically the same size, his excitement and exuberance makes us the entertainment for the evening for those at the yacht club. When we get to shore, all he wants to do is play in the lake versus doing his business. Sorry, no pictures of this as my hands are full with Oliver.

Thursday we took off for Ludington under very calm conditions. We were just north of Silver Lake Dunes when the engine overheated and we put her in neutral. Dale , as usual went to see what the problem was and I noticed no water was coming out the engine exhaust. With that diagnosis, Dale worked on the impeller and water intake parts and got it fixed after and hour and having spare parts. We are really starting to feel we are being tested to make sure we really want to do this. Oliver took it all in stride as you can see in the picture. He is so helpful during emergencies. Again, thank goodness it was calm.

Made it to Ludington, where Dale fixed a leak in the new part he had added and I got in a short run, did laundry and some grocery shopping. Plan to leave for Manistee on Saturday. Everyone start praying!

Started out June 1 early because waves were to increase to 4-6 feet during the afternoon. It was cold and rainy, but OK out on the lake (see picture of Dale and Ollie). About 45 minutes out, we smelled something funny with the engine, heard a squeal and the engine shut off. Dale immediately ran below to work on it and I tried to keep us afloat with Oliver by my side. Luckily the waves were only about 2 feet at this time. Somehow Dale got the engine working and we hobbled back to Holland. In Holland Dale took the transmission off and found out the problem. The transmission had overheated causing a ball bearing casing to fall apart. Back home he had our old transmission, so he took parts from the old transmission and the newer one and got things running again. It took 2 days and a few runs to GR. Anyway, sunny, cool and calm Monday(the other picture) arrived and we took off from Holland again with a goal of making it to Grand Haven. I prayed and recited scripture to keep my nerves in check. We made it to Grand Haven and will spend a couple days here. The musical fountain was lovely last night and Oliver took me for a 4 mile run this morning to the beach. Boy am I out of shape!