Sept 27-30, 2008 Charlevoix, MI

We moved from Harbor Springs to Charlevoix a distance of 15 miles today. We cut our stay in Harbor Springs short as we have a weather report that predicts high winds and wave conditions for later this weekend. Our crossing to Charlevoix is in beautiful weather and perfect conditions.

Nearing Charlevoix. Large St Mary's Cement Company complex in background.

Charlevoix South Pier and Lighthouse.

Drawbridge at the entrance to Round Lake

We arrive in Charlevoix about 11 am and are docked at the Charlevoix City Marina right in town. Charlevoix is on Round Lake inside a protected area away from Lake Michigan. There are quite a few other boats here even though it is late in the season. The marina tells us that it is two nights for the price of one and then, beginning Oct 1st, it will be free.

Charlevoix City Marina

Large homes with very large boathouses in front.

Downtown Charlevoix

Ferryboat EMERALD ISLE goes 32 miles between Beaver Island and Charlevoix.

Chris Branch (Owen’s cousin) and Russ Otterbine live in Boyne City about ten miles away and come over to see us in Charlevoix for lunch. Great to see them again. They completed the “loop” last year and so we have a lot to talk about. They have given us a car to use while we are here. WOW! Fantastic! Florida is on national TV again and we watch the Florida Gators lose to Old Miss 31-30. We have dinner at their Bay Harbor Yacht Club. Weather is pretty all day.

Charlevoix has some unusual homes designed and built in the 1930's by a local resident, Earl Young. Really unique!

Two Earl Young homes visible from Round Lake. Click on photo to enlarge.

Earl Young home. Back of house is a glass wall.

Stone wall in front is also his design.

Freestyle roofs and few straight lines make his homes interesting. This home is known locally as "the mushroom house".

Unusual style

Small cottage home

Earl Young also did a few commercial buildings. Here is his largest and most famous, "The Weathervane" now Stafford's Restaurant, a local landmark overlooking the waterway at the drawbridge.

Mackinaw Sloop

A wooden sailboat is sailing in the harbor and we learn that it is a reproduction of a sailboat once built by the Mackinaw Indians for their own use. This "Mackinaw Sloop" was build by a local in four months and donated to the local Sea Scouts. It is a pretty sight sailing in the harbor. The boat is tied up almost next to us and we notice it has many round stones in the bottom of the boat for balast.

Chris Branch on her beautiful maroon and black Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Chris Branch comes by on her Harley to check on us as we clean out the boat. She is dressed in her "leathers" for warmth. Looks like she is "born to ride" and has her sights set on Sturgis, South Dakota, in August 2009.

We are getting ready to put the boat away for this year. Sunday brings cooler weather (high 55) and grey skies. High temperature for Monday is to be 48. It is feeling like fall. We are expecting the leaves will change soon.

KOKOMO II at "Irish's" being hauled out for the winter.

Damaged stabilizer. Still worked fine but lost it's skin.

Both props are bent. We hit a granite ledge in the 30,000 Islands area of Canada. Rudders undamaged.

Being loaded on a large hydraulic trailer.

We will travel over the city streets to Bergman's Marine for our winter storage.

KOKOMO II joins several other boats in the Bergman's heated storage building. Building will be full of boats.

KOKOMO II stored away for the winter.

Charlevoix is where we will put KOKOMO II in heated storage at Bergman's Marine for the winter. We clean out the refrigerator and freezer and pack everything up for the trip home. We have travelled approximately 1500 miles this summer from Brewerton, New York beginning in mid May to Charlevoix, Michigan at the end of September. Our plan is to come back to the boat in late May or early June 2009 to resume our trip on the “Great Loop“.