Day 24: Big Bay, MI: Anatomy of a Murder...

Ever hear of Big Bay, MI?? I had not until this day! We wanted to try to stop at some different ports on our way back home so here we are! Our run to Big Bay was about four hours. We had beautiful weather with sunny skies, the captain is feeling good and life it great.

Sawyer is making sure he gets his nap in while we are underway

We docked on a wall with several other boats. There was a nice grass area for Sawyer to run and play, a small office with bathrooms and a couple living in a motorhome who checked us in. It was quaint and provided us a wonderful spot to explore another new town.

Marina house, restrooms on the backside

They were dredging just inside the entrance to the marina and in the bay

Big Bay is a small town with about 250 residents (2000 census). The walk from the marina was about one mile mostly uphill. We put on our shoes, grabbed potty bags for Sawyer and hit the road. We navigated through a neighborhood that happened to have more rabbits than I have ever seen in one place. Almost every yard had a rabbit or two just hanging out. We saw homes with lettuce sitting out, dogs mingling with the rabbits and people going about their lives while numerous rabbits just hopped about. We both kept pointing out rabbits that we forgot to take pictures.

Anyway, what is cool about Big Bay is that it was the home of the Brunswick company, which made bowling pins and wood floors. They had a bowling alley in the basement of the local general store for their employees to use. This very building was then bought by Henry Ford and turned into a lavish hotel, which he stayed in when visiting and entertaining his guests. The hotel is called Thunder Bay Inn and is one of a few sites where parts of the 1959 movie, Anatomy of a Murder, starring Jimmy Stewert was filmed. Pretty cool! We were invited to look around and were shown the locations that made it in the film, now I have to watch the movie!

Thunderball Inn, Henry Ford had his suite on the top floor left side.

Duke's grill, Sawyer and I sat on the porch enjoying the bustle of the locals. 

For a small town the restaurant/bar (Duke's Grill) next to the hotel was pretty busy, so we had to check that out too!

Another wonderful stop with great people and lots of history.

Day 22-23: Houghton, MI - Fun new friends and yummy food!

Thankfully after a couple of days Ben was feeling good and we were ready to be on the move again. We enjoyed our time so much in the Keweenaw and will be planning another visit next summer! This is as far as we will travel on Superior this year. We will start our journey back home with a stop in Harbor Springs for our Grand Banks Cruising Club Rendezvous.
The water and weather were glorious for our run to Houghton/Hancock.

Approaching the marina...this is the Portage lift bridge that connects Houghton and Hancock over Portage Lake.

We enjoyed exploring Houghton/Hancock. Ben has been through this area on his snowmobile as this has been ranked the third highest snowfall city in the US according to the Weather Channel year after year. Seeing it in the summer and on foot is much different! The town was full of shopping and food, of course I had to get pizza! We met a great group of people from the south west side of Superior, which is where the Apostles are located, and where we would like to travel next time. Lots of good boating discussion and future planning for this group. It sounded to us like we might have some future Loopers joining us on our next time around!! We will be crossing our fingers.

These lovely people kept us here a third day!! We have some possible Loopers in the making for our next time around!

Crossing the Portage bridge from the marina to town...

Well look here...we found sushi! We stayed an extra day to come back for the ramen!

Top notch sushi here!

I love exploring new towns...

Sawyer enjoys exploring too!

Picked up a pizza at the Ambassador.. I can't help myself, I love pizza! 

Inside the ambassador...beautiful bar and great pizza here!

Another pizza, another night...Ambassador was better! 

Chicken Parmesan for Ben

No cheese for her!

Our buddy Brian came for a visit after work!

Really cool old signs in this town

Some beautiful homes

Day 18: Keweenaw Peninsula - Hospital visit for the Captain

Sawyer taking care of his dad

Ben has issues with his back that he's been dealing with for years. Before we left for this trip he was seeing his therapist for relief and seemed to find some comfort or at least he was telling me he was OK. Well, after a few days in the Keweenaw he couldn't take the pain any longer. When he turns down a chance to go fishing, I know he is not good. He tried to manage with some meds, our friend Jimmy connected him with a local physical therapist. Ben went to a couple massage appointments and a couple visits to a chiropractor. Ultimately, he ended up needing to get into a Dr. So, to the hospital clinic (which he drove) we go. I dropped him off while I went to the local laundromat. He was given an anti inflammatory by shot and a steroid pack.
So, while I went fishing (we caught our 3 man limit in less than 2 hours!) poor Ben was at the boat in pain.
I hate this is what he has to go through, he's had issues with his back since I've known him. It breaks my heart to see him in pain when there is nothing I can do.
Our stay in the Keweenaw was extended for this reason, but we enjoyed the peace and relaxation and the beauty this area holds.

Day 17: Keweenaw Peninsula - Walleye Fishing

We surprised Jimmy and Joan!!

We planned our trip to the Keweenaw to visit our friends Brian and Sherry, but what we didn't expect was spending time with our friends Jimmy and Joan!! Jimmy and Joan are friends who live in the UP, and Jimmy has a place in the Keweenaw. His cabin happened to be right next to the dock we spent our week! I love how the universe works! We had a blast hanging out with both of them fishing, eating our catch and laughing like crazy!! 

Walleye dinner...thanks Jimmy!! 

Day 15-16: Keweenaw Peninsula - FRIENDS!

It took us more than six hours to travel to the Keweenaw Peninsula. We had some bigger water than weather stated. We saw steady three footers and some four foot waves. Not what I like to travel in but our boat can handle a lot more than this, quite frankly it can handle a lot more than anything we will ever boat in. So, while I might have been a bit queazy I was never afraid. Ben was loving it!! Sawyer really didn't care, he was busy sleeping the entire trip!

As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by our friends Brian and Sherry. They took us on a tour of the area, making sure we hit all the local bars, a visit to their house, their cabin and they brought us one of their cars for use while they worked. What a great day after a long boat ride!! We had a ton of fun!! So far, I love the Keweenaw!!

Our plan is to hang out here for a few days and enjoy our friends and the beautiful Keweenaw Peninsula they call home!