We had a great four days playing tourist in Upper Michigan!
Three Sons, Sweet Equity and Ship Faced left Mackinac Island very early and set sail under the Big Mac Bridge heading to Petosky. After our busy days and active nights on Mackinac Island, it was impressive we all backed out of our slips one after the other! The sun was rising and the sky was crystal clear, Lake Michigan was calm and it was a beautiful morning to cruise.
Petoskey Municipal Marina was 5 star, located in the heart of Bayfront Park and connected to the historic gaslight district of downtown Petoskey via a pedestrian tunnel. The town was hilly but lots of cute, fun shops, a West Marine within walking distance and another fabulous Ace Hardware!
Our first outing was to take advantage of the great conditions and dingy across Little Traverse Bay to check out Harbor Springs. Our intention was to ride our bikes over using the ‘wheel way’ that connects the towns. However, we could not pass up the flat conditions on the bay and sunny skies! It was a gorgeous, calm dinghy ride and adorable, little town. After some shopping and ice cream we checked out the sights/houses along the shore at Harbor Springs and headed back across the bay to Three Sons.
The best part of the Loop is the peeps you meet! We met Pickett’s Pub in Savannah, GA back in the spring of 2023. They have crossed their wake and now live in Petosky, MI. Knowing us well, we met at Beards Brewery to catch up then headed over to Mitchell St. Pub for dinner. Special thanks to Mike (and Lori) for our Michigan tote bag filled with local treats!
Thanks to Jack, a local who is a friend of Ship Faced, for organizing a canoe trip down Bear River. We paddled, with a little push from the current, through a twisty-turvy river avoiding logs and the sand piles. We stopped along the way for la picnic lunch and beverages. Proud to report Three Sons did not tip the canoe over.
By chance, we found this super cool unique place! Our fancy cocktails were fun and delicious and the vibe was unique and entertaining.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula and hugs the northeast shore of Lake Michigan. The large steep dunes slope directly into the lake. Not wanting to miss this park, we rented a car and took the two hour drive from Petosky. First we stopped in Traverse City to check it out and have breakfast. Once we got to the park and checked in at the headquarters, then we drove around the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive making a few stops to explore. More strenuous activities at the park included hiking Empire Bluff Trail and scaling the dune at Dune Climb.
The park is known for the huge scalable dunes of the Dune Climb and we did successfully make it to the top! Prior to this, we hiked the not as strenuous Empire Bluff Trail and took in the spectacular views. At Pyramid Point Dune, we just stood at the top and looked down. Yikes! it was steep and had the following sign at the top. “Warning. Avoid getting stuck at the bottom! The only way out is up. Rescues cost $3,000. Keep yourself and our rescuers out of danger.” You started at the top and walked down an extremely steep dune that dumped directly into Lake Michigan. As the sign read the only way out, is up! Due to the steepness of the dune, in order to get up you had to crawl on all fours. We skipped this one!
We enjoyed lunch at Glen Arbor visiting Cherry Republic Brewery. On the way back to Petosky, we stopped again in Traverse City for a Walmart provisioning and some local beers and grub at Right Brain Brewery and Rare Bird Brewery.
No picture was taken of our final outing with Sweet Equity and Ship Faced. We enjoyed dinner at Beacon Restaurant and made plans to meet up in Chicago or Greece?? We have been buddy boating with Kim, Andy, Theresa, and Steven for about 6 weeks and now our plans take us down different paths.
