Farewell to Michigan

There are sooo many nice towns in western Michigan!

In Montague, we found this…

The plaque read, “World’s Largest Working Weathervane”…however, if you Google it, you will see a few competitors🤷🏼‍♀️

Do those of you who live in the south know the purpose of this pole?  I’ll give you one hint…SNOW!

Entering Holland for an extended stay.  My brother lives in Grand Rapids with his family, my Dad was already visiting them, and my daughter and fam are flying in to meet us..yippeee, a mini family reunion!

Holland has huge beaches!

Enjoying the simple thing in life…my Dad is teaching us how to whistle with cupped hands.

This was the hardest I’ve laughed in a very long time!

So sad to say goodbye☹️

After leaving the boat in a marina for a week, we are back onboard and anchored in Holland waiting for the wind to calm down on Lake Michigan.  Luckily, we are treated to a sailboat race, and it appears the race coordinators made our boat a mark in this week’s race…

Wow! That’s what I call front row seats!

Goodbye to Holland

And…

Hello St. Joseph!  Notice the elevated walkway from land to, and between, the lighthouse structures.  I don’t want to be the person to check on the lighthouses when weather conditions require their use.

We originally planned to stay one night here, before heading to Chicago, but due to a lock closure on the Illinois River we decided to stay here until traffic was moving again…and what a great place to be stuck!

The adorable murals,

amazing farmer’s market,

and phenomenal sunsets might make St. Joseph one of our favorite towns in Michigan!

Additionally, the free wall with a lovely park setting is the perfect place to enjoy an evening of rum tasting with our new friends Tara and Allan, on Follow Your Arrow.

On the downside…as you can see from this picture, Lake Michigan is a straight shot through that narrow opening, which means if the wind is just right the waves from Lake Michigan can come directly in…and they did!  At 2:30 a.m., on our third night on the wall, the wind shifted from the northwest, and swells were slamming our boat into the wall.  ALL HANDS ON DECK!  We tried, unsuccessfully, to reposition fenders and lines, and finally agreed to follow Follow Your Arrow to an anchorage.  Both boats left the wall and anchored in a perfectly calm location right around the corner.  I think it took me all of three seconds to fall back to sleep😴 

We are currently relaxing in Barkley and Kentucky Lakes in western Kentucky…far away from the hurricane activity!