Traverse City, Old Mission Peninsula & Northport

 We spent 3 days in Traverse City Michigan. Much of the time was spent re-provisioning, catching up on laundry and mail. The weather was cool but sunny and our third day was finally warm at 73 degrees. The locals are so ready for summer and this warm day found the parks and beaches packed. The lake was much to cool for us woosies to dip a toe. 

Duncan Clinch Park & Marina in beautiful downtown Traverse City. 



The waterfront is lined with parks, beaches, walking and biking trails. Definitely an outdoor city.



Day 3 was our day to relax and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. We enjoyed a delightful drive up through the cherry orchards & numerous vineyards on Old Mission Peninsula.


We stopped at Mari Vineyard to take in the sunshine and outstanding views of Grand Traverse Bay. Naturally, we had to sample the wine.







The following morning was sunny but the north wind was cool. Today was a day of exploration as we slowly made our way north towards Northport.
We anchored for the night in Bower's Bay. Next morning was rainy & cold with a high of only 53 degrees. It was a good day to travel on to Northport. The weather was dismal so upon arrival in Northport marina, we tied up, turned on the heaters and prepared spaghetti & meatballs.

Next morning was sunny and much warmer. We took a stroll through this small but charming lakefront town. The summer season is not yet in full swing here in Northern Michigan. Tourists are waiting for weather to warm up.








The gardens are so pretty. The lilacs are in bloom and the air is filled with sweet scents.


Beautiful poppies.





Weather conditions are forecast to be calm tomorrow so are plan is to cross Lake Michigan over to the Wisconsin side of the lake. It is a 70 mile crossing which doesn't sound far but we generally travel at 7-8 knots an hour. At that speed, the crossing will take us 10 hours. Next report will be from the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin.

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