2 more stops in Michigan: Charlevoix and Frankfort

On Thursday, August 13 we left Mackinac Island for another great spot in Michigan, Charlevoix. Heading out with the ferries and a very large ship was a little precarious, but the Captain got us through. It was great seeing the Grand Hotel as we left. It looks so massive from the water.  A highlight of the trip was going under the Mackinac  bridge that spans from Mackinaw City to Saint Ignace. It is the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere and is 5 miles long. The worst part of the trip were the tiny gnats that were all over the boat. I escaped down below for most of that while Tim suffered through since he was at the helm. We arrived in Charlevoix just before the 2:00 Bridge Street bridge opening. The entrance to Charlevoix is a canal and the bridge at the end is only 8 feet high so it opens every half hour. The city marina is right downtown in Round Lake and is in a very updated and pretty park and is close to a lot of shops and restaurants. Round Lake connects to Loeb Bay and then Lake Charlevoix. We ate dinner at the Villager Pub across from the marina. We also visited Vue Wine bar and enjoyed the view of the canal and also a rooftop bar in the Earl Hotel with a beautiful view of Round Lake and sunset over Lake Michigan. 

 Friday, August 14 was our second day in Charlevoix.  We took the Mushroom House Tour in the afternoon. There are 26 homes built by Earl Young in the 30s and 40s who was not a trained architect but very creative. Many of the roofs resemble mushrooms and thus the name. He collected boulders and stones and used those in the design. The homes are quite unique and many of them are along the lakefront. The knowledgeable and fun tour guides take you in GEM electric vehicles and it lasts about an hour. We also used the bikes provided by the marina and rode over to the bay and saw the Belvedere neighborhood and the Charlevoix Yacht Club and a public park. I picked up some groceries at Oleson's market. We had "docktails" in the park which was organized by Rio and April (boat Ti Amo).  Later we ate at Weathervane Terrace which was also designed by Earl Young. It is right on the canal with views of the lift bridge and we enjoyed watching boats go through. Back on the boat we could hear the band from nearby Marek's Harbor Grill and we enjoyed another great sunset!

On Friday, August 15 we left Charlevoix for Frankfort. We waited a few minutes for the 7:30 bridge opening. April and Rio (boat Ti Amo) waited with us and they snapped a photo of us going through the bridge after it opened. While waiting we spotted 2 more of Earl Young's houses that were not on the tour the day before. It was a pretty calm day on Lake Michigan. We passed the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. We also passed Pyramid Point and Sleeping Bear Dunes. There are a lot of dunes along Lake Michigan but this one is very large and is popular for people to climb. Some climb from Glen Lake but we met a family later (the Bauerle's from boat Dream Catcher) who climbed it from Lake Michigan that day. We also passed Point Betsie lighthouse which is just before the entrance to Betsie Lake where Frankfort is. We arrived about 2:30 and the Municipal Marina staff were helpful and very welcoming. We explored the town later and ate at Dos Arboles for dinner and walked Main Street to the end where the beach is. We also stopped at Storm Cloud Brewing Company where they have hops growing on the outside patio walls. Tomorrow we will cross Lake Michigan and start going down the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan!