DeTour Village MI July 17, 2016

I slept in until about 7:30 which is late for me. I started my coffee on top of Annie but finished it below as the air was cool. I was hoping for a warm sunny day, but that did not appear to be in the cards. Storms were forecast for the afternoon, with strong gusty winds today and tomorrow.

I called Petoskey Marina and was able to get a reservation for next Sunday and Monday. This was a huge relief for me as previously I was told they were full. Tuesday we need to be in Charlesvoix to meet the Karpinskis, and it is an easy trip there from Petoskey. So it looks like we will go from Mackinac Island to Beaver Island to Petoskey to Charlesvoix. If we can only stay one day in Mackinac we may need to add an additional stop.

With 2 days of storms and gusty weather forecast, I decided to go to DeTour today. I had already paid for 2 nights through Michigan DNR, Monday and Tuesday. I am hoping that if I stay Sunday and Monday instead, I can find an anchorage for Tuesday before we go to Mackinac Island on Wednesday.

The trip to DeTour was short and easy. We left at 10:45 after a delicious Kerry cooked breakfast of bacon and eggs, bread and fresh fruit. It turned out to be a 7.8 mile trip. We arrived at noon, and bought diesel in gallons, which was a pleasure, although I missed getting the exchange rate discount. On the way over I was surprised to see a freighter. Of course they are quite common on the St. Mary's River, but I still have the North Channel mindset which I need to get rid of. Kerry enjoyed her tea during the voyage in her new tea cup.

We communicated with Matt at VYC who told us our dock board walk was finished. We were so happy to hear that as it will make it much easier for us to enter and exit Annie, and will reduce the amount of dirt we carry on Annie from the lawn - especially newly cut grass.

It rained all afternoon, and into the evening. The river was mostly hidden by fog. The monster storm never arrived. Peter reported the same thing from Gore Bay. We read, napped and talked with friends and family. It was a pleasant, if lazy, afternoon. We'll end the evening trying to watch Fox News on our Slingbox. Tomorrow will be our day to explore DeTour.

I should mention that once we left Canada and entered Michigan I took down our Canadian courtesy flag and hoisted the Ohio State Buckeyes Flag. Go Bucks!

Kerry's Comments:

New tea cup does not describe it adequately.  The saucer was found at a charity garage sale and the cup was found at an antique shop.  The pattern is Tea Rose made by Royal Albert and is fine bone china.  Tea always tastes better in a delicate, bone china cup.

The herb garden basil and cilantro - (the mint died) and the absolutely beautiful yellow hibiscus have found their perfect home in the window of the pilot house.....Don says it is hard to look like a serious boat -person with a greenhouse up front,visible to all.