Hanging out in St Ignace and moving on to Charlevoix.

The day dawned dull and somewhat cold and drizzly. We knew the weather wasn't going to be 'moving' weather and we slept in and just hunkered down for a bit.

The wind was still something vicious, and cold. We are enjoying having the Down Duvet back on the bed...I swear we sleep better.
We went up the hill, a little later (just before lunch time, conveniently) to the Family Fare Supermarket...about 2 miles...and bought just enough for us to get by.
We also cleaned out the fridge and freezer...make that, WAZ cleaned it out! He likes to do it, and I like to take the photos of the ice-blocks that he throws overboard as a result:)

It was surprising how long it kept it's form in the cold clear water....this is FRESH water, after all.

The main drag along the waterfront in St Ignace

 Going up the hill to the supermarket...don't you love the little garden on the roadside!

We got a good giggle out of this Motel sign...soooo..you get a 20% discount if you stay for 50 yrs? and they have a WiFi Casino? never seen one of those...but you cant take your pets! sorry:(

 I turned around and looked back down the hill to see one of the Rooster tail ferries speeding away from the dock. You can just see the boat in the marina.

Cant resist the gardens...have to photograph them...this is the side of the road, garden.

 There was a GoldWing get together and Rally in town, and we had to go by and take a look, of course.

 Biker Ladies Rock!:)

 Along with the wildflowers over the fence at the Marina, someone was growing vegetables...not in this photo, but I get a buzz from the wildflowers.

We ate on the boat, enjoyed a walk after dinner and settled down for the night, intending to move on in the morning. to Charlevoix.

A bright and light morning greeted us as we made ready to leave. Clear air for a change, after the rain.

 The first ferry of the day...

 Love the early morning light. It is light later, now.

 Sunrise at almost 7am, over the breakwater at St. Ignace.

 Mackinaw Island in the background.

 I took this as I opened up the flydeck.

Leaving our safe harbor of three days, at St Ignace.

 We weren't in a hurry...making sure the weather was going to be good for our long trip.

 We could see the Mackinaw Bridge as we rounded the corner...it is the pink line in the chart above.

 It was cold, so we had all the plastic closed...and photos got taken through the plastic...sorry...too cold to open them, even to take pics!

 ...and under the bridge we go...

 We were reminded early on that we were in the Commercial Shipping lane....well, slightly off the line, which is why we didn't collide!

 The sun did come out, but the warmth was slow catching up with us!

 We were about to turn left through the shoal area . We are officially in Lake Michigan, after going under the Mackinaw Bridge, which divides Michigan and Lake Huron.

 We caught up with Bob and Helen, who had spent a few days in Mackinaw City marina. They were off to Petosky. We motored the same path until we branched off to the left and they to the right.

 A few light houses out there today, and this one on the corner of the shoal area.

 As you can see...Aux Galets...where the light is. We went inside the three dots which denote Fish Stakes, or net stakes. We didn't see them above the water, but we did encounter fishing nets being set, and had to take evasive action for two of them.

 As we came closer to Charlevoix (Sharla voy) we could see the Sand Dunes, which are prevalent along the Michigan coastline, on the west coast.

 The chart shows Lake Charlevoix....we had to get there through a 70 foot wide channel, under a Bascule Bridge (Rises in two parts from the middle), and through little Round Lake, another channel (Pine River) into Charlevoix Lake.

 These condos face Lake Michigan

 More Dunes

 We were followed in by this Coast Guard boat.

 Approaching the channel into Charlevoix

 The light house on the right bank of the breakwater.

 We couldn't see the Bascule Bridge until we were already in the channel. We timed things right for the bridge which opens on the hour and the half hour. We got there for the half.

 Being followed by the CG boat.

 The sandy beach on our right, going down the channel.

 The height restriction was 16 feet, to get under the bridge, so these little boats didn't have to wait for the opening.

and then....We heard the loud poooooop! just as the bridge was opening and we readied, just on this side of the bridge, to go through....hmmm....see the wider area on the right side? We made good use of that....I was sitting on the front of the boat, at this stage, so I had a perfect view!   aieeeeee!!

 Oh boy...they had right of way, unfortunately.
The boats were lined up behind us, and the Coast Guard boat was right up our butt. Waz had to do a quick back up, tooting three times to indicate he was reversing, and the CG boat backed off in a hurry. I scuttled down the back to make sure we didn't touch the side wall, so couldn't take a photo!

 and then I did...but it was hard to see how close this boat is to us.

 and in the meantime the Ferry kept coming!

 Not a LOT of extra room, but the Ferry captain told Waz to move ahead. He did as he was told.

 and we are through the Pine River canal into Round Lake which has some lovely and some interesting homes along the banks.

 Looking right to the little town of Charlevoix.

 a couple of Hobbit Homes took my fancy.

 but aren't the gardens gorgeous!

 Marinas and boats everywhere in Round Lake.

 Our CG boat went ahead of us at this point

 as we went to pass out of Round Lake and into Lake Charlevoix, which is quite large....and gorgeous. The CG base in on the left here.

 Lovely homes on the lake

The mind boggles....The Coast Guard Ice Rescue Response...We cannot for the lives of us imagine how cold it gets here and how much ICE there is around here. Folks tell us that it wasn't uncommon to have -30F, this past winter! ouch!

 As we entered the big Lake, on our right, these chairs caught my eye:)

 and once out of the NO WAKE zone, the CH boat took off at speed.

 Lovely!

 Oyster Bay is at top left. It is a sheltered bay as long as the wind is in the right quarter. We had Nth East winds at the time! so the cold wind was coming straight down on us. We still anchored here as the wind was due to turn southerly, which it did by morning.

 Oyster Bay. It is impossible to show how lovely it was here. Lots of boats, people paddling, motoring, ski-doo-ing etc.

 The homes around Oyster Bay are quite substantial, as you can see. Lovely!

 and we are anchored at 4 past 3!

 Waz, making sure the anchor is holding!

We had a lovely evening in the afternoon sun, and enjoyed showering off the back under gorgeous bright stars. We haven't seen the stars for a long time. It wasn't too cold, and the bugs were manageable.

Moving on in the morning, as long as the weather is favorable.