In Traverse City, we docked at the Municipal Marina, on the outside face dock, just behind this restored Great Lakes schooner called the Madelyn. It made a perfect foreground for a perfect sunset.
The marina was adjacent to a park and a small zoo. Some local railroad buffs run a live steam train on narrow gauge tracks around the zoo, near the marina, and back. Here comes the train.
One of Bill's long term dreams is to build a live steam engine and some cars. At one time he thought he'd have it for Lisa to play with, guess now the best we can do is have it for her children (or their children). By the way, that's Interlude in the background.
One of the big problems with this plan is finding the room...even the parking lot wasn't big enough.
Our trip from Northport to Leland was on an absolutely beautiful day. We took these pictures of Interlude underway to add them to our collection, and as an excuse to just roam around on deck while underway. That's Lisa waving--she and JJ joined us in Traverse City for a few days.
The white foam against the dark indigo water was a beautiful contrast.
The SPYC burgee set against Lake Michigan.
A view from the front deck looking out into the open lake.
The trumpets set against a perfect sky.
We had lunch the first day in Leland, MI, on an outdoor deck set against a small dam in a small river. A very charming spot.
This is the view a little way down the river from our lunch site. Note the footbridge across the spillway that connected the buildings on one side with a B&B on the other side.
This is a view of the river from that catwalk. This tiny area is very intimate and quaint.
This is a photo of one of the Native American fishing boats that was tied up in the marina with us. These are the strangest looking crafts--all steel and with on outside working area. The windows are very small. The design of these boats is a case of form following function. Lake Michigan gets very rough, and the design makes these boats more seaworthy for the area. The side door is opened to allow the nets to be pulled in around a large drum which is just inside. It appears that the sailors live in side this closed can with the fish. Phew! It's even a little smelly standing outside the boat...
This is a view of the stern. The doors open and the net is played out of this door.
Lisa and JJ joined us in Traverse City. Here they are sitting in a small park in Leland on a beautiful Sunday before Labor Day.
We took a daytrip to South Manitou Island. In addition to exploring by dinghy and diving the underside of Interlude, we used the beautiful day for a dip in the bay. Water temperature was about 70 degrees.
Our next stop is Frankfort, and between Leland and Frankfort is an area of sand dunes--really quite large dunes, some of which are 400-500 feet high. This area is immediately south of Leland.
This area is called the Sleeping Bear Dunes and is located in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The water stays deep almost up to the dunes--sometimes being 200 feet plus within a couple of hundred yards of shore.
Our stop in Frankfort is at Jacobson's Marina. A very pretty location, and since we're after Labor Day, we have almost the whole marina to ourselves.
Another view of the marina and town.
This photo was taken in a little park adjacent to the swimming beach in Frankfort. This massive cannon is strategically positioned to protect the people of Frankfort from Wisconsin (or maybe from fudgies arriving by boat).
This is an old Burger yacht tied up near Interlude. It is probably 90 feet long. Note the car on the top deck. This is a small amphibious car which can be launched like a boat, driven in the water like a boat, then come ashore at a boat launching ramp and be driven on the street like a small car. Not bad, huh?
This cute little hotel in Frankfort has a cute little restaurant. We had an interesting experience here.
