Wednesday, June 13

An island tradition - delicious!

Washington Island's  hospitality symbol

Detroit Harbor - Washington Island

What a difference a day makes.... the winds had calmed and the morning dawned clear but cool.  Unfortunately, the forecast was that this calm weather would not be with us long.  Charlie made the decision that we would need to make our 90 mile crossing of Lake Michigan by afternoon.
We left the Petoskey Municipal Marina by 8:00 am and traveled the 17 miles to Charlevoix, MI. to refuel & do a quick morning tour of this popular resort community.  It is uniquely located on an isthmus between Lake Michigan, Round Lake and Lake Charlevoix.  Like Harbor Springs it has a quaint upscale, "Old Money" feel.  The harbor & all-new waterfront are among the most beautiful and protected in all of the Great Lakes, ensuring its reputation as one of the premier destinations on Lake Michigan.  Lake Charlevoix lies east of the harbor and is simply beautiful.  The lake is surrounded by high banks and huge houses.  The residents have the option of boating on a beautiful, protected lake or a beautiful open lake.  They are both spectacular.
Unique to Charlevoix are the "Fairy Houses" and "Mushroom Houses", built in the early 1900's by Earl Young, which resemble storybook fantasies of whimsical, irregular stone houses with wave-like roof lines.  The city's waterfront and several homes along the shoreline have put a modern twist to this unique architecture.
By 10:30 we had started our 90 mile crossing of Lake Michigan in ideal conditions.  This lasted about 1/3 of the way across,  then it slowly became bumpier as we progressed west.   There was nothing particularly exciting about our passage, but as Charlie puts it ......... "that is a good thing".
It took us approximately 4 hours to reach Washington Island, WI - the northern most point of the 70- mile long Door County cruising ground.  It has a laid back, local color, off the beaten path kind of atmosphere.  Greeting visitors getting off the ferry is a giant Coffee Pot - the island's official hospitality symbol.

Whimsical "Fairy House" - Charlevoix, IL

It was a great place to "catch our breath" & rev up for our tour of the Western Shore of Lake
Michigan.