Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Up North Moving on


 On moving day we ALWAYS have breakfast on the way!   I mean, when you have to go from one side of the state to the other – Up North, it’s a long, long trip – maybe 40 miles.  And then another 30 or so down to East Jordan, which is south of Charlevoix!  Remember – left hand, left side of ring finger?  It was a good ride - past farms and thru deep green forests with no hectic I75 traffic.   On the north side of Petoskey we found a nice family type restaurant that had a parking lot big enough for the truck/trailer and Bud’s motor home with our boat attached behind it.  The added bonus was that the food was good!    On down to Boyne City where we once again found a parking lot big enough for both of us, so we walked the town and explored the two local hardware stores.  Bud led us out of town and his GPS took us along the coast of beautiful Lake Charlevoix and down to the East Jordan Tourist Park.  Instead of SPFB (Florida)  - - - this trip it is SPMB (Michigan)!   Just like Waterways - we’ve been here before!  The facilities are the same and the sewer hookups are still goofy but the scenery is outstanding and the town is still quaint.    The foundry across the bay still has the large American flag painted on it’s huge wall and the night sounds of the men working, still lull us to sleep.

We pushed our luck and guessed at picking the “best” day - weather wise, to put the boat in the water for our 14-mile run up the lake to Charlevoix and the long narrow channel out to Lake Michigan.   We out ran the clumps of heavy gray clouds and by the time we moored at the city docks – the sun was popping thru and shining down on the pretty little tourist town. Before we even finished securing the boat we were met by a group of inquisitive ducks that were cruising the harbor looking for handouts.   C and I tried our best to find another great deal but thankfully for our wallets – nothing caught our eye. 

Out thru the narrow, steel break wall guarded channel, we found the fairly calm sea of clear blue, unsalted and shark free, waters of Lake Michigan!    We cruised up the coast towards the giant dunes farther north  before cutting a large swath in the waves to circle back to the channel.  C and I reclaimed our perches on the back of the boat so we could have a better view of all the magnificent homes that line the harbor.  On each visit to their watery backyards, we still find something new that amazes us.