Day 43—446—Round Lake, Leland, Frankfurt

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Sunday, - Round Lake

Still at anchor in Lake Charlevoix, we listened to the weather report in the evening. One phrase stood out in the deep, Arnold Schwarzenegger voice of NOAA weather, “possible winds in excess of 60 miles per hour.” We made a quick decision to seek shelter at the Charlevoix City Marina at a dock. We tried calling on the radio and by phone but got no answer, so we motored over. They had to have an opening on Sunday night. Wrong! It was full. We tried the 2 other nearby marinas with the same results, so we found a deep bay that was only exposed directly to the south. By the time we were anchored night had fallen, but we felt kind of secure.

Then the cell phone rang. It was Judy. “We got permission from the Charlevoix police to dock at the fuel dock. Come on over.”

The anchor was up in a jiffy. We didn’t even take time to wash off the mud. We just laid the chain on the foredeck. Judy and Rob were waiting to help us tie up at the dock. Ah, that felt so much better!

Of course there were no high winds. Heavy rain for a short while, but that was all.

Monday—Leland

Osprey nosed out into Lake Michigan at the 7: a.m. drawbridge opening, and we began another day of smooth water travel. The clouds covered the sky with thick, morphing shapes all day, but no rain fell.

By 11:15 we were in the pretty little marina at Leland on the Leelanau Peninsula. After 3 days at anchor, electricity (without the generator) and fresh, running water were luxuries. Bonus! We were only charged half price because the office building is not complete and there were no showers, bathrooms, or laundry facilities available.

Leland is a picturesque town with big, beautiful homes, lots of flowers, galleries, and gift shops, and a well-stocked grocery store. Along the river next to the marina under a wooden fish, weather vane about 10 feet long is the historic village of Fishtown, with shanties that fishermen still use to clean the morning catch and smoke the fish. Other shanties are filled with shops. We especially liked the Cheese Shop where we ordered sandwiches and purchased Michigan wine and cheese.

It was our first hot day! I wore a sleeveless top, sunglasses, and a hat—just like in summer!

Tuesday—Leland

We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the Early Bird Restaurant, restocked our groceries, then walked around the town. We sampled a variety of Michigan jams, salsas, chutneys, marinades, dressings, and nut butters at one shop, then visited several galleries, a book store, and clothing shops. We walked along the river and took pictures of the dam, and we walked down to the beach. I wished I had my camera to capture the colorful bathing suits and umbrellas and the blue, blue water, with the sand dunes in the background.

Day 46—Frankfurt

Monday morning we awoke to a fog that prevented us from even seeing the seawall, so we had our tea and coffee, walked Riley, and waited. We entered Lake Michigan at 8:00 a.m. and discovered that the fog was localized over the marina and surrounding land. Another gorgeous day on the lake. We. paralleled the Manitou Islands which were blanketed in clouds, also. When we crossed the 45th parallel, we conducted the secret ceremony on deck to celebrate the occasion—half way to the equator. We continued past the appropriately-named dune at Pyramid Point, and Sleeping Bear Point. We did not see the sleeping bear.

By 1300 (That’s 1:00 p.m. for you landlubbers), we had passed Point Betsie Light and were tied up at the dock in Betsie Lake in the town of Frankfort. Of course we had a frankfurter picnic in honor of the town.