On Sunday, July 21st we had clear skies so we began our journey into Lake Michigan. We are finally going to new ports. We went under the Mackinac Bridge at about 9:40 heading toward Beaver Island. We had to maneuver through Gray's Reef and safely anchored in St. James Harbor on Beaver Island. After securing the boat we went for a dinghy ride around the harbor and saw a 42 ft. Krogen trawler with a loop flag.  They were from Panama City, FL and had completed half  the loop. We talked sharing stories and will probably meet them again as we head to Chicago. We decided Monday that we would sleep in and not travel to a new port. We took the dinghy into the small town surrounding the harbor. It consisted of five or six blocks of gift shops, delis and a well stocked grocery store. Of course we stopped for a coffee before heading back to the boat. During the night a storm came through with lightning, thunder, and two fronts of rain.  The anchor held beautifully. The winds continued through Tuesday and the eight boats in the harbor danced back and forth on their anchors. By this morning the winds calmed and we made our way to Petoskey, a lovely resort town in Little Traverse Bay. We walked into town and found a wine bottle topper with a Petoskey Stone. It will be a docktail conversation piece as we continue on the loop. Of course we found a coffee shop, Roast and Toast.

Approaching the Mackinac Bridge





Harbor on Beaver  Island

Clock Tower at Petoskey Harbor

                                                                                 

Petoskey Harbor

Little Traverse Bay