Day: 56
Travel Time: 4 hours
NM Today: 32
NM Total: 1219
Locks Total: 70
I missed submitting my blog for Charlevoix the day of our visit because the day was so action packed that I didn't have time. I was sitting at the table writing up my notes this morning when Clark asked if he could, "kill the power". That phrase means that it is time to leave dock. Oh well, the blog could wait. I don't know if I asked or if Clark volunteered that the lake had 3 foot seas, but either way, that meant we were in for a rough ride and my blog would have to wait until much later in the day. I knew I would not be working on my computer in rough seas.
We lowered the coffee table, made sure anything that could fall from counters was secure or already placed on the floor, closed all windows to avoid spray coming into the cabin, etc. I grabbed some snacks as I figured lunch would be out of the question with rough waters and brought my standard three bags up top. I have one for all the misc things I need like sunscreen, face towel, cups and water, etc.; one is for food either lunch or snacks; and the third is a bag of jackets / towels to keep me warm in cold winds. I didn't want to have to go downstairs for anything once we were underway.
Clark pulled up to the drawbridge at 9:20 and waited patiently for the 9:30 opening. That in itself was telling as Clark did not attempt to sneak under since we were already rocking just from the waves blowing in from Lake Michigan. When the bridge did open, we went out as a sailboat was coming in. They waved us off and said it was too rough out there. Clark just waved hello back at them. No sooner did we get out of the canal and into Lake Michigan than our wild and crazy ride began. It didn't end for four hours when we finally arrived at our next port of Leland, Michigan.
For the majority of the trip, we had "confused" seas meaning the waves came at us from a variety of directions. We had big waves and bigger waves. The 3-foot seas included 7 footers on occasion. Clark tried to aim the boat to lessen the blow, but on a few separate occasions, some nasty ones took him by surprise. It was the not-so-large ones that hitting us on the beam, i.e. on the side of the boat, that were the most scary and unpleasant as the boat rolled sideways and pitched forward in response to being hit from the side. I said, "ohhhhhhh" more times than one as we rode the roller coaster ride the lake offered us today free of charge.
Clark piloted the boat the entire 4 hours except for about a minute where I held the wheel while he secured one of the flapping window panels of the full enclosure. When he was done, I quick bounded out of the seat so he could jump in and take back control. For most of the ride, Clark stood and braced his feet on either side of the captain's chair for stability. By the end of the trip he had had quite a workout. I too got exercise just sitting on the bench seat as my arms were continuously yanked as I clenched the metal railing to keep from being thrown around on the seat. As we rode along Clark would tell me the current reading on the chart plotter. "Two and a half hours to go." "Two hours to go.' ... You get the idea. I was not impressed by the town crier messages as two hours felt like far too long to be fighting to hold on to my seat.
Finally we pulled into Leland and stopped at the fuel dock for a pump out of the holding tank. We were greeted first by Annie and Bill from Rock Me Baby and then by Corinne from Ariel. Our arrival was noteworthy, they said, as only one boat left Leland today and one boat, ours, came in. Since we have the distinctive orange and lime-colored kayaks on top, we're hard not to recognize once you know us.
I was dismayed by what I saw when I looked into the cabin upon arrival at Leland. Items on the port side had held tight for the most part, but items on the starboard side had traveled across the interior of the boat. That included our new table which was laying on its side on the floor next to a heavy tool box that had moved to the port side from the starboard as well. Clark's laptop was still on his desk but a portion was hanging over the edge, so he got lucky there. After we docked, we set things to right and went to check in.
As we came out of the marina office after checking in, we ran into Mike and Gail from Time Out as well as Robert from Ariel and then Annie and Bill from Rock Me Baby joined us. We spent some time catching up on who went where since our last time seeing each other up in Canada. We all own Mainships so it felt like a reunion of sorts. After our chat session, Clark and I decided we'd do our usual bike run to see what Leland had to offer. Right near the marina is Fishtown which is a famous little spot in Michigan that looks much the same way it did over a hundred years ago. Very quaint and interesting!
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| Fishtown, MI |
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| Clark liked the "Dam Candy Store" next to the spillway (dam) |
We didn't get far as Clark had heard that we could launch our kayaks from a boat ramp in town and go explore Leelanau Lake. As soon as Clark found the boat ramp, our quick bike ride turned into a real quick bike ride as we hurried back to change to kayak clothing, pull the kayaks down from the top of the boat, and take them to the boat ramp.
Now the only problem with this whole boat ramp scenario was that the boat ramp was about a block and a half away from the boat - all uphill. Our kayaks have no wheels. They had to be carried the whole way. I took the front handle of Clark's kayak in one hand and my kayak in the other while Clark took the stern handles of both. We picked them up and marched them up the street. We didn't fit on the sidewalk. I mentioned to Clark that we were in the middle of the street and he said that we were a "slow-moving boat trailer", so we could stay there. By the time we got to the ramp, it felt as though my arms had stretched to a couple of inches longer than they used to be. Just what I needed after having them wrenched repeatedly on the big boat ride into town.
We dropped the kayaks into the water just before 5:00 and had a lovely trip up to the spillway and then out to the lake.
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| Clark needed to check out the spillway |
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| Lake Leelanau |
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| Rush Hour Traffic on the River It's 5:00 and they must have all rushed out of work to their boats |
We kayaked the river and the lake for about an hour, and then we had the fun of carrying the kayaks back to the boat. When we finally got the kayaks to the boat, Clark decided that he wasn't done yet as he wanted to explore the waters on the Lake Michigan side of the dam. I said I was done but I'd help him carry his kayak over to the ramp at the marina so he could launch it and explore some more.
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| Clark approaching the dam from downstream - much safer |
As luck would have it, the ice cream store did not close at 8:00, and we were able to find yummy flavors for a treat. I had Peanut Butter Oreo tonight. That flavor is a new one on me, but since I love both peanut butter and Oreos, I figured I couldn't go wrong. I enjoyed it very very much! Clark had a very messy and sticky Pralines and Cream.
As we strolled around town, we found parks and park-like settings for stores, and at the end of the day we enjoyed a vibrant sunset. Leland is a very pretty little town.
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| Colorful Shopping Plaza |
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| Sunset over Lake Michigan as seen from Leland |
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