What is it like to visit places for a second time? Still fun
but different.
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| A grey and rainy day |
We left Charlevoix in the rain on Monday July 7. It was the
kind of steady rain with little wind that made the water pretty flat. We only
had to go around the corner into Petosky so running in flat rain was not a big
deal. I don’t think Paul liked it though. We seldom ran in rain in Lake Erie,
at least not on purpose, so it was a little odd.
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| Leaving Charlevoix in the muck |
We pulled in the electric cord using the Glendenning motor
while Kermit wiped the cord so it didn’t go in wet. This is a really cool
little gadget. The 50 amp electric cord is thicker and heavier than each of the
two 30 amp cords we used on the old Good Karma. The new boat is equipped with a
motor like a windlass that pulls the 50 amp cord into a little hidey hole on
the starboard (right) side of the back of the boat all by itself. All we have
to do it unhook it from the electric box on the dock, press the “in” button and
hold the cord as the Glendenning machine guides it into place inside the back
of the boat. Another one of those marriage saving machines that keeps the
equipment in good shape but helps couples avoid arguments. We are playing with
the big boys now!!
We pulled away from the Charlevoix dock as Kermit realized
the channel was not quite as wide as he thought it was. The swing to the left
out of the dock was really tight. I think he came about 4 feet from the stern
of the boat across from us. That was too close!! But Kermit handled it just fine. Just a tad bit
uncomfortable.
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| Petosky Municipal Marina |
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| Check out the sailing school in the background - that is Bay Springs across the bay |
We left about 7:15am with the intention of catching the
7:30am bridge lift. That gave us about 15 minutes to sit around in the rain in
the basin near the bridge so Kermit could complain bitterly about the bridge
tender for not responding to the radio question he asked several days before,
even though all the guidebooks say that the bridge tender does not respond to
VHF radio transmissions. That was fun. Finally the bridge went up and off we
went around the corner for an uneventful ride in the rain to Petosky, about a
20 mile trip.
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| Peonies in July? |
The marina was sort of empty except at our end of B dock
where four other boats about our side congregated. Nice folks. It was quiet.
That whole day we saw few people. It was cloudy and cold most of the day. The
sun didn’t come out until Tuesday and it stayed in the 50s and 60s the entire
time warming a little in the afternoon so we could put on shorts but we wore
long sleeves and kept those polartecs nearby. Tuesday I even wore a scarf under
my polartec for a bike ride to Bay Harbor. I needed it too!
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| Cultural center across from the library |
The cold weather means the flowers are at least a month
behind us. We saw tulips in Charlevoix and peonies in bloom in Petosky! Those
are May and June flowers, respectively in northern Ohio. That is how cold it
has been here.
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| Hemingway's first bar |
We walked around Petosky on Monday afternoon. hen we walked to the public library where I remembered that last time they sold books in the basement. Sure enough! Maeo bought some books for the grandchildren and Kermit and I bought a few ourselves.
We had an
awesome lunch at City Park Grille, just amazing and so much less expensive than
other places we’ve visited.
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| Hemingway would not recognize the waterfront! |
The City Park Grill is the oldest bar in town, evidently Ernest Hemingway hung out as a kid. Petosky is Heminway land. Descendents still live in the family summer home in Walloon Bay just outside of Petosky. The town is proud that if Ernest came home he would find the town almost just like he left it. True in some way and not true in others. The town has done a great job of cleaning up for the tourists who invade in the summer. Although as we note all through this blog, our travels up the west coast of Michigan are not revealing the crowds we saw two years ago. 
We busied ourselves with laundry, puttering around the boat, and restocking the book department from the
marina book exchange, then dinner on the boat and early to bed. Sunset in Petosky is spectacular.
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| Petosky Municipal Marina from the bike path |
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| Cool sculpture - you know you are approaching BIG BUCKS - Bay Harbor MI |
Bay
Harbor developed in an old quarry. It has more houses and condos than it did
when we visited in 2012. This marina is not even full although there were two spectacular
yachts tied up near the pool.  |
| The crew is washing the big yacht tied up in Bay Harbor - notice he is wearing gloves!! |
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| Everyone was watching this boat play with their dinghy - they have a white hose stuck into the motor and were running the motor while it sits on the hard top!! |
We had lunch at Knot just a Bar again where we watched a
couple from Ft. Lauderdale in a 50 foot boat inexplicable attach a water hose
to their dinghy engine while the dinghy hung from the cradle on top of the hard
top. Hard to understand why but it made lunch conversation fun.
We found fish sauce and specialty dessert items at the
little grocer so Maeo could make pad thai and I could make a dessert for the
North Channel adventure. We made it home safely with our prizes with only two
bike failures on the way back: my back tire slipped out of the socket (not
good) and Maeo had trouble with a sharp corner leaving Bay Harbor.
We spent the afternoon wandering around town. Kermit got a
haircut at the barber Ernest Hemingway used in his youth. Same guy, I swear!!
And of course ice cream. Best ever! Really!! Paul found a place with the best
orange pineapple ever. I think it was a Murdicks. This orange pineapple had
bits of both in an orange flavored ice cream. I know he wished he could have a
second cup right now.
This was a different visit than the previous time. I am
pretty sure it is the town activity that makes the difference. The first time
we visited Frankfort it was windy and stormy with few people. We did not come
away with a great impression. This time Frankfort was sunny and warmer crowded
with people for the July 4th holiday and we had a much better time.
Petosky was reversed. Last time it was warm, sunny, and crowded with people for
an August festival. We had a blast. This time it was cold and empty and we had
less fun. I am pretty sure Paul and Maeo were wondering what we saw that they didn’t.
Just for the All Ports Folks: Here is a photo of the chips tied up Maeo style!!!
Next stop: Beaver Island, MI
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