Canada to the Upper Lake Michigan Coast
August 6, 2026
Yesterday anchor was up about 6:15 from Bad River. When we left that morning, there were nine other boats anchored. It’s been a bit rough out in the sound the last two days. Last night for dinner we ate the last two chicken thighs, a tiny head of broccoli, two carrots and a bit of leftover mashed potatoes. Lauren had given Myla on Heron, a bag of carrots and celery, as we wouldn’t be able to eat it all before checking in with US Customs.
We traveled a little over 7 hours from Bad River to an anchorage in Little Harbor. An uneventful day of travel. After putting out the anchor and shutting down the engine, we could hear two sandhill cranes on a little spit of island near us. Their call is between a honking and a squawking, so squonking? There was one other trawler anchored along with 4 sailboats. Left that anchorage this morning after a hearty breakfast; had to use up the rest of our eggs and for lunch, used the rest of the fresh blueberries and strawberries and yogurt. We traveled another 7 hours today and saw nary a boat, two cormorants and one flying loon. Since we were out in a large open area today, we went up to the fly bridge and navigated from there for a bit. It was more comfortable than we had anticipated, but because of following winds, that meant we were breathing fuel fumes; not pleasant.
We are now safely anchored in Vidal Bay. There is one other trawler here and we were going to anchor across the bay from it, but the conditions of the winds and waves would have made it a bit uncomfortable. The owners of the anchored trawler (Pelican) radioed us. They were out walking the spit of land next to their boat. They said the holding where they were was good; out of wind and waves; we took that as an invite to anchor in the same area, which we did giving each other plenty of privacy. Brian thanked them and invited them to stop by on the way back to their boat. Even though we are basically sitting all day navigating, it is still good to finally drop anchor and sit. Sounds weird, but it can be exhausting constantly being on watch. Knowing we were about to have company, Lauren ran around making sure everything was in its place, Heidi was fed, etc.
We took a dip in the water to cool off. Brian dove under and checked out the hull; said it looked good, no crusty buildup. Mei and Harvey of Pelican swung by, but did not come aboard. Tomorrow they are heading to the same marina we had reservations at.
August 7, 2027
We had a nice quiet evening and no other boats came into the anchorage. Pulled up anchor at 6:25 and headed out to De Tour Marina, Michigan. Brian started the Seakeeper right away as the winds had picked up and the waves were already building. Glad it was started as the waves were rolling us all around; without the Seakeeper running it would have been a bit uncomfortable. Poor Heidi was freaking out; had to give her meds to calm her down. Brian called US Customs at 10:30 and logged in; he was on hold for 1.5 hours. After he hung up, he received a message that we were denied entrance to the US. Relayed this message back to Mei; they were about 2.5 miles behind us. She said once they hit the US border, they also put in their request and got denied. She said they tried again and were cleared shortly after. Brian dialed up the site again and this time within a few minutes an agent contacted us. He asked 3 questions; when did we enter Canada (about June 15th) the sea state (rolly) and if we had more than $10,000 on board. He didn’t ask about food; gosh, after all the effort to use up or get rid of the produce, dairy and meats (especially pork). Though, if that food was still on board, and we got boarded or had an agent that had a hair across his a**, then we would have been in a difficult situation. So, better safe than sorry. We showed him Heidi’s CDC paper and our passports; he was very, very pleasant and it was over in minutes – whew! Continued on to our slip and docked about 12:35; glad we had the help of a dockhand as the winds had picked up significantly and were pushing the boat away from the dock while the dockhand and Brian were tying the boat off - had to use the thrusters more so than usual. Lauren always has the thrusters ready to go just in case. We quickly cleaned up, grabbed reusable grocery bags and took a walk into “town”. The one and only restaurant was closed on Wednesdays, so walked further on to the 2 grocery stores and bought a few provisions. When we arrived back from getting groceries, several boats came into the marina; all had a difficult time getting into their slips as the winds were whipping. Yesterday, Mei and Harvey requested we get together at the marina for docktales. There about 6 Looper boats here. While swapping stories, it came out that we arrived at the marina at a good time, as the winds really picked up and the waves had gotten nasty; up to 6 feet in the North Channel. Glad we made it to the marina safely without any issues.
Mei said that when they were pulling up their anchor this morning, their prop hit stone and damaged it, so much, so that they were unable to use it; they traveled the whole day with just one engine running. They are now figuring out the logistics of getting a new prop (always good to have spares), fixing the existing one, hauling the boat to have it installed, a marina, etc. The life of boaters. Other than our encounter with Loopers in Half Moon, NY, this is the most Loopers we’ve encountered since then. It’s interesting listening to everyone’s experience they’ve had along the way. One couple had completed the Loop back in 2019 and were up here cruising the Georgian Bay for the season. Some cruisers take more than a year to complete the Loop because there are so many interesting places to explore and/or circumstances relating to family, medical issues, etc. tend to pivot their travels in other directions or waylay them.
Lauren reading: Murder 101 by Faye Kellerman
Brian reading: Dead Sleep by Greg Iles
August 7, 2025
Left De Tour marina about 6:45 and headed towards St. Ignace (pronounced Ignus). The winds were minimal, but the waves had us rolling sideways quite a bit. Heidi was again freaking out, so dosed her up and Brian started the Seakeeper. Other than that, it was an uneventful travel. Arrived at St. Ignace Marina and were docked without help at 12:25. Heidi was pretty much out of her drug stupor, so we took her for a short walk, then after getting back on board, we walked to a nearby restaurant and had lunch. As we were walking back to the marina, a craft market was being set up and it looked like there may be a few tables with fresh produce. We will stop back by to check it out.
This afternoon, we strolled up to the market and bought fresh produce and lambchops. This particular vendor was doing a non-stop business. He had a nice variety of produce and all kinds of beef, pork, lamb, so many different sausages, etc. After getting back to the boat, Brian took care of bills and worked on his spread sheets tracking of how many miles we travel, how many hours the engine runs, how much fuel is put into the tanks and from that, he can derive how many gallons we use per hour or how many miles we get per gallon. Lauren did two loads of laundry. Early evening we walked into town and shared a butter pecan ice cream – it was delicious and full of pecans. We walked through the craft section of the market that hadn’t closed down yet; so many talented people out there showcasing their wares. Living on a boat doesn’t leave room for tchotchkes.
Tomorrow morning, we take a ferry over to Mackinac (pronounced Makinaw) Island to pick up the collets for the new winch that were ordered and shipped to the post office on the island. Then we will tour the island for a bit.
August 8, 2025
Walked about ¾ of a mile to a breakfast place. They were making fresh donuts and other pastries; hard to believe, but we passed on them. We walked to a nearby grocery store for a few items. Once back on board, readied ourselves for a trip on the ferry over to Mackinac Island. There are several ferry ports just north of the Mackinac Bridge. Thankfully, there was one within a short walking distance. The ferry was packed and the ride was about 45 minutes. First stop was the post office to pick up the collets, then we strolled around. It was so darn hot and sticky; felt like we were melting and it didn’t help that there were so, so many tourists. If we were to stay on the island for a few days during high season, it would be best to get up early and get out and about, then lay low for a bit, then maybe head out again once the majority of the tourists that came by ferries, leave for the day. Neither one of us is comfortable with crowds. On the few streets we roamed, all of the houses and miscellaneous buildings were well maintained and gorgeous flower beds. Fudge seems to be very popular; Brian bought some fudge and Lauren got her dark chocolate turtles. The ferry was practically empty on our return to St. Ignace Marina so we sat on the upper deck and enjoy the breeze; cooled off all the sweat. Once back on board, Brian took off to the Ace Hardware store to buy stainless steel screws so we can now put on the chafe plates on cap rail on both sides of the boat. Lauren took Heidi out to stretch her legs (Heidi’s). Back on board, Lauren took a shower (heaven) and started another load of laundry. Tomorrow, we head out to Petoskey City Harbor Marina. Brian says there are a lot of city marinas along the east coast of Michigan; they are less expensive than privately owned marinas. Normally we would anchor for a few days and then get a marina, but since the city marinas are reasonable, why not?
August 9, 2025
Left St. Ignace Marina at about 6:30. It was NOT, I repeat NOT a good day to be out on the water. The winds were a blowing 10-15 knots which isn’t so bad, but the waves were all over the place. Fortunately, Brian started up the Seakeeper before we even left the dock knowing it may be a bit uncomfortable out there. The first 2 hours was pretty smooth, but after that, the waves were between 3-4 feet with an occasional 5-footer and in all directions. We were tossed around quite a bit. Heidi did not do well even with her being dosed with meds; had to give her the 2nd half of her pill. It still took way too long to kick in. Lauren layed down with her in the nav station, cuddled with her, hummed lullabies to her, talked to her and constantly petted her – nothing doing. Finally, we just swaddled her and left her to herself. She eventually calmed down, but never dozed off. On the upside, the boat got a good cleaning with the spray coming up over the bow onto the nav windows and we also got a great ab workout with the constant motion. We were hoping the waves were washing away all the spiders and their nests under the cap rail. Thankfully once we were in the marina area, the waters were calm because of the breakwater. This is a popular spot for walking, sunset-watching and at its farthest end, jumping in for a swim; it was definitely being taken advantage of because of the hot weather. The winds were still a bit high which can cause issues getting into a slip. When we hailed the Petoskey Marina of our arrival, Brian requested help with the lines. The slip seemed like a tight fit, but we got in with no issues; even the dock hand said “nice job”. WHEW! Kurt from Irish Lady Too came out to help and gave us his boat card. After we were hooked into electric and all settled in, we met Kurt’s wife Susan. They have traveled the Great Loop more than once. On the other side of us is Stone’s Throw owned by Gwen and Jeff Stone, who introduced themselves and chatted for a bit. The wind seems to be dying down a bit. It is 90 degrees; another hot and sticky day. As of 3:00, Heidi has not come out of her medication haze; poor thing is done in as we are after our run today. Stone’s Throw is leaving tomorrow, not going too far to another marina. Jeff told us there was a front coming through tomorrow and they will get early start to beat it. After showers, we took a walk into town and stopped at Jose’s; good meal – everything was fresh.
About 6:46 the winds picked up significantly and the skies darkened. Boat owners were scurrying around closing side windows, hatches, checking their lines, etc.
Augst 10, 2025
Lauren cooked her signature home fries, served with eggs, breakfast sausage, toast along with her homemade plum jam. She then worked off breakfast by vacuuming and wiping down the boat. Brian checked the hydraulic steering fluid at the nav station on the fly deck and scoured the boat for spiders – yuck! We were battling flies for weeks and now it’s spiders – they are everywhere. After chores, we walked a little over a ½ mile to Johan’s Bakery; bought the last loaf of sourdough on the shelf and each chose a sweet. We sat outside in the shade, where there was a nice breeze and enjoyed our treat. On the way back to the boat we stopped at a West Marine; thankfully we didn’t need anything, but Brian likes to check out the merchandise. Back on board we whiled away the time doing more household chores, billing and a bit of reading. Mid-afternoon we walked back into town checking out window displays and stopped for a lunch; our waiter looked like he was 15 (he was at least 30) and was very engaging. We are very impressed with the town’s appearance; clean, well-maintained buildings and beautiful flower beds everywhere you turn. The marina is probably the best well-maintained marina we’ve encountered since leaving Oriental. Tomorrow, we head towards Charlevoix; a short journey of about 13 miles. We will drop anchor for the day unless they have an opening for a slip; the following day, we have a slip reservation.
Early evening we took Heidi out for a stroll up and down all the docks checking out the various boats. We came across Iron Marriage; hadn’t realized they were here. They were not onboard; Lauren left them a message via NEBO. Last time we saw Rick and Jennifer, they mentioned they would be moving their kids into college sometime this month.
August 12, 2025
We traveled to Charlevoix today; a fairly short trip arriving by mid-morning after a pleasant and uneventful ride from Petoskey. We just made the bridge opening to enter Lake Charlevoix. Once through the short canal into the Lake, we anchored. There were two other boats anchored and we are almost surrounded by numerous boats at the marinas and condos galore; the condos have great views of the bay watching all the comings and goings of the boats and other dock life.
We took the dinghy down from the fly bridge. The new self-tailing winches Brian installed made getting the dinghy off fairly easy, though we were dealing with a bit of wind. Still, only the second time we’ve done this and it went more smoothly than the first time.
This morning, we woke to an overcast day with a promise of rain sometime during the day – the forecast keeps changing. We dinghied to the dock and walked to a restaurant for breakfast; apparently a popular place as it was ¾ full when we arrived. We enjoyed our breakfast and then strolled around for a bit. Back on board we caught up on reading. Back into the dinghy dock at about 10:30 as we had reservations to tour the Mushroom Houses.
Mushroom houses were designed by Earl Young. He never used blueprints and created homes that fit the site, rather than forcing the landscape to accommodate the design. His works are made mostly of stone, using limestone, fieldstone and boulders that he found throughout Northern Michigan. His signature designs along with wide, wavy eaves, exposed rafter tails, cedar-shake roofs and a horizontal emphasis made his buildings known as Gnome Homes, Mushroom Houses or Hobbit Houses. We, along with a family of three rode around for about an hour in an open-aired vehicle while the tour guide drove to these homes for us to ogle at; the tour guide was very informative and engaging. Everyone enjoyed the trip. After our tour we stopped for lunch at the Weathervane; it overlooked the canal we came through to Lake Charlevoix. It was the first time ever, that when the Reuben was served, the sandwich was placed cut-side down on the plate. Normally, by the time one gets to the second half of a Reuben sandwich, the bottom toasted slice is damp or wet because it was served warm; so, kudos to the chef; yes, Lauren asked the waitress to let the chef know she was very pleased that she didn’t have a soggy sandwich. Back on board, we noticed, that our reserved slot on an end dock (because of the size of our boat) was still taken, Brian called the office. The person he spoke to hadn’t realized that we could not get on the dock. It was already early afternoon, so why bother now. Brian told her as long as we could get our refund, we were okay with staying in the anchorage. The management okayed the refund – yeah! Before bringing the dinghy back up on the fly deck, we will take one last trip to land and scout out the grocery store.
And finally are view last night from the anchorage.
Brian reading: Mortal Prey by John Sandford
Lauren: Black Cross by Greg Iles
Hope all is well and stay safe out there.