Captain's Choice blog: Some towns along the way

We are really enjoying the towns in Michigan along Lake Michigan. They are fairly close together and almost all of them have some sort of bay or lake after you enter the harbor. The marinas are situated within walking distance to town and if you anchor out, there are dinghy docks in town. Each of the towns has similar aspects but then they all have a uniqueness that separates them from the others.

Leland - this is a small town with boutiques lining the main street along with a grocery store which is very convienent for boaters. What sets this town apart from the others is Fishtown, which is located right next to the marina. Fishtown still operates as one of the only working commercial fishing villages in the state of Michigan. You can walk along the docks, see the weathered fish nets, smokehouse, shanties and fish tugs and get a feel for what it was like to live and work in these villages back in the 1900's. You can also take a ferry boat from Leland over to the Manitou Islands.
I spoke to one of the owners of a boutique who told me many of the shops are open year round. She even showed me a picture of her shop covered in snow..once she found out I was from Buffalo she put it away and said "I'm not going to get any sympathy from you!" The other patrons and I chuckled.

We met loopers Bear and Gerry from Bear Holiday and joined them for a wine tasting at a local winery and then headed for a craft beer tasting at the pub across the street.

Our next stop was Frankfort, MI. On the way we passed Sleeping Bear Sand dunes, which consist of a 35-mile stretch of National lakeshore featuring immense sand dunes towering to 460 feet above the lake level, sculpted by the winds and waters. The afternoon forecast was for rain so once we docked, we took a quick bike ride into town and to the beach area. We did get some scattered showers and the winds kicked up in the late afternoon/early evening. Friday morning was dreary but not raining so we headed out along the Betsie Valley trail for an 8 mile bike ride. We walked into town to check out the shops in the afternoon. There were 8 looper boats there and we headed to dinner at Stormcloud Brewing with Mel and Ann from Morning Star II and Alan and Sandy from Chica.

Saturday morning we woke to rain, it's was the first rain we had in the daytime since we left home 3 weeks ago. The farmer's market was located right next to the marina so as soon as the rain stopped I headed over for some fresh fruits and veggies. There was no wind and it looked like the rain had cleared out so we headed out to Manistee, just 28 miles down the Lake.

Manistee is another cute town with a great river walk from downtown to the mouth of the Manistee River on Lake Michigan (1.75 miles). We got the bikes out and did some exploring. We walked back into town and enjoyed a cold beverage and appetizers at TJ's Pub in the old Ramsdell building (built in 1891 to serve First National Bank). It was restored in 2000 and is now an Inn offering Victorian-style rooms. This pub was quaint and served 15 local beers on tap (we are enjoying trying a few of the different brews). On the way back to the boat we met our first sailboat doing the loop. We are surprised that out of 92 days doing the loop Rich is the first person we met doing the loop in a sailboat. He is from Port Clinton, OH, just down the Lake from us.

Sunday morning we walked to church and then ate breakfast at House of Flavors. We were disappointed that we didn't stop in yesterday, as they have Mark's favorite ice cream, orange pineapple...it was just too early to get it this morning. They also have a sundae on the menu which includes 12 scoops of ice cream, 3 bananas, choice of several toppings, for a bargain basement price of $24.99.

This town is definitely home to the most sport fishing charters we have seen so far. The town used to be a busy industrial lakeport and at one time was the shingle manufacturing capital of the world producing up to 600 million shingles a year back in the late 19th century. Most all the industry is gone now and it appears the town is trying to capitalize on tourism and sport fishing.

The lake was magnificent Sunday morning, no wind and very calm waters, on our way to Ludington. We anchored in Pere Marquette Lake just outside Ludington and had a beach day. A very short dinghy ride, walk across the street and we were at Buttersville Park Beach. The water felt great and was a great spot for the sunset later that evening. After the beach we took a dinghy ride and visitied Morningstar II and Chica as they were anchored not far from us. We had Gold Loopers from Blue Willow stop and chat, they finished the loop last year.

Monday morning we are on our way to Pentwater, just 12 miles down the lake.