Traveling to Harbor Springs

Tuesday, August 11 and Wednesday, August 12

Early Tuesday morning, we left Mackinac Island even though we probably shouldn’t have. The wind and waves were perfectly fine in the harbor, but once we passed the Round Island Lighthouse and entered Lake Michigan, the waves grew to 5 – 7 feet and we had a rolling, slapping, rough trip. The boat didn’t mind at all, but Brian and I were glad when the trip was done. Originally we were heading west to Beaver Island, but the waves were coming directly from that direction, so we turned a little south and the waves were more in our favor. The last hour of the trip, when we headed east into Harbor Springs, was actually fine because we could ride the tops of the waves.

Today Lake Michigan is a completely different body of water. It is glassy, the skies are clear, and the wind is gentle. We are wearing sweaters again in August! We have to spend the morning doing the kind of work that everyone does: laundry, sweeping, making phone calls, paperwork. But later today we plan to ride our bike around the area on a paved bicycle path. The tandem bike has been an excellent decision for us. It’s light enough that we can easily lift it off and onto the boat, although it’s a bit awkward. We ride fast, we can make it up steep hills, and we stay together. In fact, Brian has no choice but to listen to my chatter more while we’re riding than at any other time. Ha ha. 

Last night we saw shooting stars in the Perseid meteor shower, one for me, a couple for Brian.