BOYNE CITY to LELAND / FISHTOWN

We left BOYNE CITY on a partly cloudy morning and our destination is LELAND. On the way out if BOYNE CITY we stayed at the CHARLEVOIX Marina one night, to pick-up our forwarded mail.

After two years away from Thistle, we were very exited to be back on Lake Michigan!

LELAND is a historic town built on the site of one of the first Native American fishing grounds, with a natural fish ladder. The Native American settlement was called MISHI-ME-GO-BING / "The Place Where Canoes Run Up Into The River To Land, Because There Is No Harbor". 

In the 1800's commercial fisherman built wooden shanties. This village became known as FISHTOWN. The FISHTOWN shanties have a similar ambiance to the beach cottages of Crystal Cove, Newport Coast, CA.

Today FISHTOWN is a historic fishing settlement, with a thriving charter fishing business and the quaint shanties have been converted to tourist shops.

LELAND is also famous for being on the 45th Parallel, halfway between the Equator and the North Pole.

We originally planned one night in LELAND, but stayed four nights due to lots of wind on Lake Michigan! 

Looper Tip:   The Riverside Inn is a must stop for dinner and cocktails! @Riversideleland 

The weather report looks good for tomorrow, we plan on an early start heading south on Lake Michigan towards Frankfort.

 

The orange line is our course from BOYNE CITY to LELAND / FISHTOWN... it was about a 7 hour journey under partly cloudy skies.

Passing the colorful private Belvedere bath houses on Lake CHARLEVOIX.

The draw bridge and lighthouse leaving Lake CHARLEVOIX and entering Lake Michigan.

All SMILES to be on Lake Michigan:)

We will always remember where we were (Red dot on Lake Michigan) for the 2017 Eclipse!

The original FISHTOWN Shanties.

FISHTOWN

The Janice Sue an original steel fish tug. 

Lots of fish art in FISHTOWN!

We planned one night in LELAND, but due to a Small Craft Advisory we enjoyed the town for four nights!

Our favorite restaurant in LELAND is the Riverside Inn...great food, wonderful ambiance and excellent service. 

(Five star rating by the Boyer's:)

Good night LELAND / FISHTOWN XO

CHARLEVOIX to BOYNE CITY

Today we enjoyed our 2017 maiden voyage on Lake CHARLEVOIX!

The weather was perfect for our 12 mile journey from CHARLEVOIX to BOYNE CITY. We planned this short shake down cruise to test all of the systems on Thistle. She performed like a super star and we got a chance to acclimate back to boating life :)

BOYNE CITY was a surprise treat! It was recently voted as one of the best small towns in America. This honor is well deserved with beautiful flower gardens decorating the town, great restaurants, and a nice Farmers Market. The City has a population of about 3,000 friendly people. We understand that it is also a popular winter ski area. 

With a successful shake down cruise, we plan to head back to CHARLEVOIX tomorrow and head out on Lake Michigan towards Chicago....

We are in BOYNE CITY!

A pretty day for our 2017 maiden voyage aboard Thistle.

 

A 12 Natuical Mike trip on Lake CHARLEVOIX from CHARLEVOIX to BOYNE CITY.

A view of the BOYNE City Marina from shore.

   

The BOYNE Valley Garden Club has made the town beautiful.

The Lake's water level is much higher than usual (trees 5 feet under water).

 

The BOYNE CITY Farmers Market had a unique craft section with homemade fishing poles, felt rugs and polished Petoskey stones.

The Farmers Market also had fresh fruit, vegetables and vibrant flowers.

CHARLEVOIX, Michigan

Welcme Aboard!

We are thrilled to be back aboard Thistle and to be continuing our Great American Loop adventure.

After an almost two year hiatus, we are in CHARLEVOIX, Michigan ready to push off the dock at Irish Boat Works, where Thistle spent the last two winters.  She had a stern thruster and an air conditioning unit installed.

Our plan is to be aboard Thistle for the next several months (year?) and complete The Great American Loop.  We hope to "cross our wake" at the Statue of Liberty next summer.

We are waiting an extra day in CHARLEVOIX for one last boat part and the weather to improve. (Near the end of August on Lake Michigan, the weather changes from Summer to Fall very quickly.)

We have a short shake down cruise planned to BOYNE City on Lake CHARLEVOIX to make sure we are safe and all systems are a GO!

This blog is intended to share our adventure with family and friends.  We will try to post a new entry at every port :)

Thanks for following us on our Great American Loop adventure XO

First glance at Thistle ... At Irish Boat Works in CHARLEVOIX, Michigan.

The Blue line is the Great American Loop, the Red line is what we have completed to date, and the Green dot is where we are pushing off the dock! (We still have a long way to go.)

We enjoyed the music and boats at a Thursday night summer concert in the CHARLEVOIX Marina. Irish Boat Works is a sponsor.

 

Yes, we have some weather to contend with!  

A beautiful rainbow over the Marina ... Hopefully a good luck sign for our adventure:)

Captain Greg!

Admiral Reenie :)

     

SUMMER 2015

We have been home in Laguna Beach a few days...acclimating to living on land in our house! It is a bit of an adjustment :) It's kind of funny, by habit - We both still check the weather forcast for Lake Michigan first thing every morning? 

The most enjoyable part about being back in California is seeing friends and family and reminiscing about this summer's Great Loop Adventure aboard Thistle. 

We are frequently asked what was the best part of the trip? And that is very difficult to answer... Here is an attempt:

The adventure of visiting North America together by water...every place we visited this summer was a first time new experience for both of us, it's truly overwhelming...and exhilarating! And at the same time we had to depend and trust each others decisions to survive and be safe (navigating, docking, locking, reading charts, anchoring, communicating, listening to weather reports...etc) while living in tight quarters (believe us, that part is overwhelming...and exhilarating too)!

Over the last few days we agreed on the three best moments of the summer (Not in any order). Anchoring at Bad River in the Georgian Bay and observing the Perseid Meteor Shower on Thistle's Flydeck, Seeing a Black Bear swim right in front of us across Collins Inlet and Watching the sunset while sitting on the Pink Granite Rocks in the Benjamin Islands.

This summer we also had the pleasure of experiencing great comradery with fellow Loopers. It was wonderful to share stories and tips, exchange boating cards, play cards, buddy boat and enjoy a few "Docktails".

Another highlight of the summer was Bill & Carolyn visiting us for three nights aboard Thistle...We appreciate their big effort to meet us in remote Canada to share some of Loop Life :) 

And possibly the best part of our summer 2015 was knowing we had so many friends and family traveling with us every day...by following our blog and wishing us well on Looplifewithgregandreenie!

Thanks...XO until next summer :)

The Great American Loop - Blue Line (We plan to finish some day)!

Our Summer 2015 adventure aboard Thistle - Red Line.

Happy to be home in Laguna Beach.

XO

IRISH BOAT SHOP, CHARLEVOIX to TRAVERSE CITY

We enjoyed our last night aboard Thistle and got up early Friday morning to "Ship Shape" her for the winter. 

It was a short 20 minute trip from the CHARLEVOIX City Marina to IRISH SPRING BOAT SHOP on Lake Charlevoix. We docked, signed our winter storage contract and said our good byes.

We rented a car and took a short tour of the local "UP" area and spent one night enjoying TRAVERSE CITY (It's a little disorienting being on land and sleeping in a hotel, we are both still moving like we are aboard Thistle?).

On Saturday morning we walked to the TRAVERSE CITY Farmers Market, relaxed sharing breakfast at a nice side street cafe and headed to the airport. 

We retuned our rental car and checked in for our flight home. The TRAVERSE CITY Airport is a very small regional one, where we connected through Chicago to LAX.

Looper Tip: IRISH SPRING BOAT SHOP is a great winter storage spot.

Dear Blog Followers ... We will have one more summer 2015 "wrap up" post in a few days XO :) Thanks.

The "Big Picture" where Thistle is this winter :) On Friday morning we passed some colorful beach huts near IRISH SPRING S BOAT SHOP.

Thistle ready to be moved inside to stay warm in Michigan.

All "Ship Shape"!

Signing our winter contract.

Our rental car sight seeing adventure path.

Back to Petoskey for tea at Dripworks, to Wallon Lake and Boyne City.

Then rode on the Ironton Ferry... Check out the 1884 prices :) Today a car with passengers is $3.25 for a short 5 minute ride.

TRAVERSE CITY is the Cherry Capitol of the World! There are tooooooo many cherry products to imagine?

Nice TRAVERSE CITY shops.

TRAVERSE CITY is a trendy food and wine destination.

The Saturday Farmers Market. 

Cherry Capitol Airport 🍒 on our way back to home in Laguna Beach.

PETOSKEY to CHARLEVOIX

It's been a wonderful and busy few days in CHARLEVOIX:) We are still amazed by the beauty of Lake Michigan and the charming small towns in this region. Upon arrival in a new port, we typically ask each other..."Will this be a one or two night town?"...And guess what, CHARLEVOIX was a five nighter!

The city of CHARLEVOIX is named after French explorer Pierre Francois Xavier de Charlevoix, who traveled the Great Lakes. The city was settled by fisherman who were here in 1852. In the late 1800's the Charlevoix Lumber Company shipped more than 40 million board feet of lumber. In the 1880's  professors from The University of Chicago formed the First Summer Home Association. During Prohibition CHARLEVOIX became a popular meeting place for many influential Midwesterners. 

The City of CHARLEVOIX is located on Round Lake and has a very nice Marina located right in the center of the town. CHARLEVOIX has a long history as one of the finest summer tourist destinations, since the early 1900's. Our first night docked here there were eight other Looper boats in the Marina. We all met in the park that evening to share stories and Looper Tips. 

Since the weather here is changing sooner that expected and we are not thrilled about crossing Lake Michigan this time of year ... We are excited to let you know, we secured warm inside winter storage for Thistle here in CHARLEVOIX, rather than hurry to Green Bay (as originally planned). 

We rode our bikes (about two miles) to visit the winter storage facility, and are very pleased with our decision. Once that was accomplished, it was easy to relax and celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary, and enjoy the the last few days aboard Thistle for this season :)

Tomorrow morning we will take Thistle to her warm winter home. It's bittersweet to realize that this summers journey is coming to an end. But, our pictures and memories of Loop Life 2015 will last for ever! 

Looper Tip: Terry's Restaurant in CHARLEVOIX is fantastic. We recommend their Whitefish with stewed tomatoes.

Our Sunday journey from PETOSKEY to CHARLEVOIX - about two hours.

There is a breakwater and bridge to enter CHARLEVOIX. The bridge only opens on the hour and half hour. The breakwater reminded us of entering Newport Harbor. 

Lots of very nice boats in Round Lake at the City Marina CHARLEVOIX.

CHARLEVOIX is famous for its 31 Mushroom Homes designed by Earl Young. He worked mostly in stone and boulders he found around northern Lake Michigan. His designs are very distinctive because of his use of curved lines.

CHARLEVOIX, Thursday Farmers Market ... Fall is here!

The homes on Round Lake have huge boat houses attached to their living area.

On Wednesday we rode 25 miles from CHARLEVOIX back to Bay Harbor to complete the Little Traverse Wheelway Trail.

Look what we saw on the trail :)

Summer homes around CHARLEVOIX. 

Visible from the CHARLEVOIX Harbor entrance. 

Beach time on Lake Michigan.

The weather is changing !!! We experienced one severe storm while in CHARLEVOIX. Trees blew over and the Marina stairs became a river??? Our Bimini blew off Thistle (It can be fixed :) ... More than a little scary! From what we understand these Fall storms just get closer and closer together across the Great Lakes, and then it's winter.

Fall colors on Round Lake.

The trees are starting to look like Fall.

Stormy skies on Thistle :)

Happy 30th Anniversary XO

Starting year #31 at dock # 31... :)