Saugatuck

We left Muskegon on September 10th, a beautiful, flat day on Lake Michigan.

The winds were light as we passed giant sand dunes on shore.

 

We traveled 44 miles and approached the Saugatuck Lighthouse.

 

 

Entering the Kalamazoo River we are flanked by high sand dunes covered with trees.

 

 

Originally a lumber town and port, Saugatuck, along with the adjacent city of Douglas became a noted art colony and tourist destination in the arts and crafts movement of the late 19th century.

 

 

 In the early 20th century, Saugatuck was home to the famous Big Pavilion, a large dance hall that attracted bands and visitors from across the Midwest. The building was a popular destination on Lake Michigan from its construction in 1909 until it burned down on May 6, 1960.

 

 

Visitors can enjoy a leisurely boat ride by hopping aboard North America's only hand-cranked chain ferry for a trip across the river between Saugatuck and Douglas. Sorry folks, it closed after Labor Day.

 

 

We pull into the last open space at the Coral Gables Marina and Restaurant, a 100 year old aging icon of the glory days and quite expensive.

 

 

Coral Gables overlooks Saugatuck Harbor and features a deck, multilevel verandas, several lively bars, entertainment, a dance club and live comedy at their prime waterfront location. Squirrels abound on the expansive lawn and at night, country, blues, and jazz play for both locals and tourists. The restaurant serves on the patio and inside. This is the bar of choice for this town. 

 

It's always nice to have a little touch of home when you travel.

 

 

Strolling along a winding boardwalk offers another impression of the river, home port to some 900 yachts and sailboats. Anglers can charter boats to go after salmon, trout, pike, and perch.

 

 

The park like surroundings is reminiscent of vintage, small-town America, whose hallmarks are scenic beauty and a unique collection of shops, restaurants, and art galleries.

 

 

1,000 individuals call Saugatuck their year-round home, the population of the town swells to nearly 3,000 in the summer. Saugatuck is a prime summer weekend getaway destination for residents of Chicago, Grand Rapids and Detroit areas and many guests are attracted to the many Bed and Breakfasts in the area. In 2010, Saugatuck came in fourth in Budget Travel Magazine's ten coolest towns in America.

 

 

Saugatuck offers a charming mix of 19th century architecture and 21st century merchandise. There are clothing, gift, antique and home accessory shops

galore.

 

 

Area businesses run the gamut, from interior design shops to Saugatuck's galleries and fashion boutiques.

 

 

We stopped into Pumpernickel's for breakfast, a local establishment with a cool vibe.

 

 

This is a great shop with it's own mascot that has to be the cutest sales help ever. He sits on the counter and licks every one's face.

 

 

The Butler Restaurant, a longtime favorite with locals, famous for it's big burgers and awesome shrimp Bloody Mary's, also offers great music outdoors in season and a wonderful view of the harbor.

 

 

Not a bad place to be tied up till the weather clears.

 

 

A view of Saugatuck.

Towns along Lake Michigan

The shoreline to Frankfort, Michigan is part of the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore Park.

With 480-foot-tall sand dunes, white beaches and a backdrop of forests, views from the lake are simply breathtaking.

The town of Frankfort is a residential community on a protected lake , with a short walk to downtown with restaurants, pubs, grocery stores, a bookstore, pharmacy, and other town services.

Notable summertime events include the Frankfort Art Fair and Collector Car Show in mid-August.

The Frankfort Municipal Marina provides a large amount of transient slips in a beautiful park-like atmosphere.

This is Fred, my new swan friend. He paddled across the lake to visit me and he knew he found a sucker. Out came the bread.

He was very appreciative and hung around through half a loaf of rye bread.

Swans are quite big and beautiful, and this was a first for me, so we hung out together for a while enjoying the day, taking it as it comes.

Coming in from Lake Michigan, we enter Lake Muskegon, which is large enough to have a paper mill, a cement factory, a car and passenger ferry that goes across Lake Michigan daily, and a town that is spread out around the lake.

Coming into the channel, we pass the USS Silversides Submarine Museum and put that on our list of things to do while in Muskegon.

Farther along the lake, we turn into the Great lakes Marina, next to where the old Milwaukee Clipper is berthed, a passenger ship from days gone bye.

We tie up on the inside of a long pier that serves as a breakwater for incoming waves. You can see the ship in the background.

We also find ourselves next to the terminal for the current Lake Express Ferry to Milwaukee, a cat boat (two hulls) that carries cars and people across Lake Michigan daily.

It backs out of the terminal, turns, and heads out the channel into the lake.

USS Silversides is the most famous surviving submarine of WWII. She sunk more ships (30 Japanese vessels and damaged 14) and took down more tonnage than any other surviving WWII submarine. She rescued 2 American pilots and laid 16 mines on separate patrols. The movie Below was filmed on board Silversides.

The engine rooms contain 4 Fairbanks and Morse 1600 horsepower diesel engines, which are fully operational today. Much to Bob's delight, the engineers turned on the engines for visitors touring the inside of the sub today.

The mess hall could hold 24 people, but it seems to me that they would have to be pretty small.

The crew's quarters were made of very thin mats and different people would sleep on the same bed at different hours. Yuck!

We also toured the USCGC McLANE, a 125 foot Coast Guard boat built in 1927. During World War II, McLANE was used to patrol the Bering sea off the coast of Alaska to protect against enemy contact. During the war McLANE was outfitted with a one pound cannon, a 50 caliber machine gun, and depth charge racks.

 

 

A one pound cannon in a woman's hand, now that's dangerous!

Charlevoix

Welcome to Lake Michigan! It was a wild ride, 54 miles of wind and waves, which makes us officially out of Lake Huron and into Lake Michigan, which can be a nasty passage.

Mainly a resort community with scenic natural attractions, the town's population explodes from 3,000 residents in the winter, to about 30,000 in the summer.

Judging from the upscale homes that we pass coming into the harbor, I expect the town will be very accommodating.

 

 

The harbor is among the most beautiful and protected in all the Great Lakes.

You also have the option to enter Lake Charlevoix, fringed with beautiful summer homes.

 

 

A walk along Main Street reveals Victorian homes with picket fences, a variety of restaurants, boutiques, art galleries and waterfront parks.

 

 

The downtown parks host many events throughout the year. On Saturday the local farmer's market set up on the grassy front of the marina, with fresh cherry pies, scones, and giant heirloom tomatoes.

 

 

We visit the "Fairy Houses" and "Mushroom Houses," built in the early 1900's by Earl Young, which resemble storybook fantasies of whimsical, irregular stone houses with wave-like roof lines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have I mentioned that every town has a fish market with fresh smoked whitefish and trout?

 

 

In the evening, a Country Western concert was held in the band shell on the water next to the marina.

 

 

As the Blue Moon rises over Charlevoix, we bid good-bye tomorrow, moving south down Lake Michigan.