Stats for Sunday, August 26, 2018

Origin:  Sutton’s Bay Anchorage

Destination:  Traverse City Marina

Distance:  19.4 miles

Speed:  8.1 mph

Time on the Move:  2 hours and 23 minutes

We enjoyed a great trip to Traverse City with sunshine and calm waters.  Whew!  I told Mike I was anxious for a beach day, so when we were all tied up, that’s exactly what we did.  We were quite the site with beach gear, skim board, and three scooters all piling off the boat.  Again, we always joke about all the bikes, kayaks, lilypad, etc on the boat–we’ve got all the toys, but we sure use them!  Unfortunately, the sun went away shortly after we got set up at the beach, but that didn’t slow the kids down, so we adults didn’t let it get to us either.

The next day was a rainy, blustery one, so we stayed tucked in.  Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Herbon for all of the string (I think from a past Christmas gift?!)–we had our first big day of making friendship bracelets on board.  We youtubed some quick tutorials for the fancy versions, and I did the good ol fashion knot style from back in the 80’s.  This kept us busy for a couple of hours, and now we all look like we have lots of friends.  We also did a bunch of laundry, watched a bunch of Daniel Tiger, and watched a bunch of rain fall.

 

In the afternoon, the skies cleared up and Mike unloaded the bikes so we could go on our own self-guided brewery tour.  We checked out North Peak, The Workshop, and Mackinaw Brewing.  It was a nice mix of relaxing and adventuring for everyone.  We ended the night with a dinghy ride around the bay with a quick stop to meet the nice folks anchored by the beach that were also by us in Sutton’s Bay.  It is great to meet other boaters and hear their stories, and it is especially fun when you cross paths with them again and again.  Kind of like neighbors if you live in a house.

Monday night brought in a wicked wind/rain storm around 1:30 am (so actually Tuesday morning).  Mike and I both jumped out of bed and watched it blow through the marina.  A big sudden wind is quite interesting in a marina because all the boats are moving and bouncing and it’s hard to tell if they are moving and bouncing more than they really should be.  We saw some flashlights out on other boats as people went out to tighten lines and make sure all was secure–Mike thought about popping out to check ours, but decided they were just fine (and they were–great to be prepared!!).  It was a little unnerving heading back to bed, but great to know we were in a marina and not floating around on anchor.

The next day we set out to bike the TART trail from Traverse City to Sutton’s Bay.  We didn’t quite make it all the way, but we did go about 17 miles by bike.  Toby was in the bike trailer behind Mike, but Colin and Hayley were self-propelled and they did great (they were probably less sore than I was the next day)!!  We saw a little bit of everything along the way, including 3 wineries where we stopped for tastings.  We loved exploring, and it was a great activity, but somehow it seemed uphill the WHOLE WAY.  Literally.  Hayley and I walked our bikes a few times.  We also saw some debris from the storm the night before and several areas we passed through were without power.  We planned it right and took the Bike and Ride bus back, arriving back at the boat about an hour before another stormy night.  Mike snuck in a quick bike ride to the grocery store to pick up a few things (see–I told you he’s amazing!!), we had dinner, and snuggled in for some classic Disney Peter Pan before bed.  The second night of storms was not near as rough for us and it also occurred while we were still awake, which always helps.

 

Our last day in TC was a lazy one–Mike and Hayley checked out the farmer’s market.  Hayley and I walked to the Post Office (twice) to send off my passport for renewal (Bahamas, here we come!!).  We did some boat chores.  The kids enjoyed having PBS kid TV for the morning shows, played legos forever, and practiced magic tricks.  Eventually I was going stir crazy, so I rounded everyone up to walk out to the break wall with me.  The kids found a playground that kept them busy for an hour and Mike and I enjoyed watching the sailboats (all of a sudden—dozens of them!) on Grand Traverse Bay.

 

The next day, Thursday, was forecasted to be a perfect travel day, so we went to bed knowing we’d be up and at em early.  Excuse the millions of pictures, but after 4 days, there was a lot to share!!  Thanks for reading about all of our fun in Traverse City!!