Michigan: Grand Haven to Saugatuck

Day: 62
Travel Time: 3 hours
NM Today: 26
NM Total: 1386

What a difference one day can make!  From a packed marina and boardwalk on Saturday and Sunday to a ghost town on Monday morning.  We left Grand Haven a little after 9:00 and left very few vessels behind at the docks as we pulled away.

The ride to Saugatuck was a little bumpy but basically uneventful, and even with the waves jostling me I found myself nodding off along the way.  I found out that I am not the only one that uses cloud shapes for targets when driving the boat.  When I took the wheel today to give Clark a resp-bit and asked Clark what he was aiming for, he said he had been aiming for the poodle cloud, but the poodle's ears became too long and the cloud lost its dog shape.  I was on my own for finding a target cloud.

The entry to Saugatuck is just about as different from that of Grand Haven as any two ports can be. Where Grand Haven was a bustling port with tons of boat traffic, Saugatuck is a quiet, tree-lined inlet.

Saugatuck Inlet looking back from the upper helm

 We took a bike tour of town as soon as we got ourselves settled in.  This has become a routine to us at this point.  While Clark is putting the fly bridge "to bed",  I normally pull out the bikes to get them ready.

Saugatuck Village Hall building

Saugatuck is known for its art.  Even the public restrooms are scenic.

Mural on Public Restroom Building

We found a tourist information booth and picked up a map of town with some points of interest listed.  One such place we found interesting is the Saugatuck Art Center.  Outside they had a park-like setting with flowers and a totem pole display where the various totem poles were made by students participating in art classes offered at the facility.  Inside the facility we found a very interesting tribute to a retired art teacher who taught in Saugatuck for over 20 years.  Her students through the years contributed pieces of their own art and words of endearment for their former teacher and mentor.

Gardens at Saugatuck Art Center

Happy Frog Totem Pole in Art Center Gardens
Clark's Favorite 

As we wandered through town we came upon the Saugatuck Chain Ferry.  If you look closely at the picture below, you can see the chain that is used to move the  ferry from one side of the Kalamazoo River to the other.  The ferry is used to transport people only, not vehicles.

Saugatuck Chain Ferry to cross the Kalamazoo River

The river has a variety of boat traffic.  In addition to the normal pleasure boat collection, I saw a duck boat filled with passengers driving down the street after their excursion onto the water in the amphibious vehicle.  Clark missed the photo opp as he was exploring the "it is what it is" store with a radio that looked like one that used to occupy his parents' garage.  Thankfully he didn't buy it to put on the boat.

Radio that reminded Clark of  His Parents' Home

We saw several vessels that were either available to rent for self-drive or available for a captain-driven cruise on the waterway like the riverboat shown below.

Riverboat on the Kalamazoo River in Saugatuck

Although Saugatuck has a nice variety of dress and novelty shops, finding milk or any staples was a challenge with only a bicycle for transportation.  Clark found me a deli where I could buy a half-gallon of milk.  Nothing else they offered for sale fit the bill of what I needed from my grocery list.

Weather will determine whether we stay here longer than one night or move on.  The final decision on that will be made in the morning with last-minute weather reports and a look out the window!

One note on yesterday's post: Clark pointed out that both fans we now have run on electricity.  The one I referred to as the "electric one" is AC (alternating current) while the other (also electric one) is DC (direct current).  Duh  - I knew that!