It’s been a couple weeks since we left our slip in Door County. I had no idea I was going to be so emotional! My stomach was in knots, I was wavering on tears the whole day before we were to leave and It didn't help that we had a huge storm come through that tore our canvas and knocked power out in Door County. The excitement of our travels a mere hours away, which also meant hours away we would be leaving what we had come to enjoy as our “home”. We are very lucky, not only do we have wonderful friends/family in Door County, we also have some of the most spectacular sunset views…boy I’m gonna miss sitting at the end of the dock, food on the grill, shared laughs with our harbor mates and watching the sun dip into the water (people actually clap and cheer each night watching the amazing site)! Knowing we are going to be waking up in a new location almost every day drives us to leave, yet not having the amazing ‘family’ we have at our harbor with us, makes me feel like we are moving away forever. Pretty dramatic I know, I guess I like being in one spot more than I thought, or maybe it's just that we hit the jackpot with our harbor! I was already having a hard time thinking about leaving and everyone kept coming by with gifts, (a friend gave me a travel journal with directions…She wants me to only write the times Ben asks me “What the heck were you thinking?!”...hate to say it but I’ve already made an entry!) wishing us safe travels, offering up some great advice and even some invites to visit while in the south! We are blessed to have such great friends and family all supporting us on our travels, and we are excited to share them! We miss all our EYH buddies…until next year!
Sooooo....Where have we been??
We started our trip a bit early with a last minute vacation to meet up with our friends Max and Samara across Lake Michigan. We left Door county and stopped for a night at Kap’s Marina on Washington Island. We were greeted with two Chicago hot dogs and chips! We watched the ferry boats dropping off/picking up passengers to/from the island. We dined on a great fish dinner at the ShipsWheel restaurant (the owner came out in his wig…this guy is a hoot!!). We settled in for the night knowing we had a good weather window to cross, and readied ourselves for the 9-hour run to Elk Rapids, MI.
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| Washington Island Ferry |
We had a great ride to Elk Rapids, we were feeling extra great since Ben’s cousin happened to be vacationing with her family nearby. Not only were we able to meet up with our friends, but cousin Brittany (check out their awesome, actually #1 sailing blog
here) came by for a visit with her husband, Scott, sister-in-law, Julie…AND her cool friend, Jesse, who at the age of 23 did The Great Loop with a friend and her dog on a 27ft sail boat! What a trip! We were able to pick her brain a bit and enjoy lots of laughs, and food! What a special gift to have the universe place us all together, yet so far from home!
Next stop Northport, MI. The plan was to spend one day then move onto Leland. Since weather is a major factor in our travels, we are sometimes at the mercy of storms and wind. With wind comes waves and the bigger the waves the more uncomfortable the ride. We made it to Northport no problem, but a system came through and we were stuck at Northport for a few days. This can sometimes be annoying to be stuck in a location especially if there isn’t much around…BUT, Northport is cute! We hung out at the beach one day, we seem to catch farmers markets every town we go and sure enough we stocked up on some organic meat, veggies and even a fresh pie! We shopped, ate, found an arcade (and whoopee cushions!) and rented a car to visit Leland (our friends had not been here, and were leaving the following day to go home). I also got a tremendous surprise!! I knew that my friend from middle school, Melissa, was nearby but was supposed to be heading home. She was very sneaky and showed up for a quick little visit! I feel so blessed! The universe at it again!
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| Northport with Samara...and Verner's! |
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| Great friends...Max and Samara |
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| Cute town of Northport |
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| We had too much fun at the arcade! Sam rocked the tickets! |
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| Whoopee cushions, the cheapest laughs out there! |
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| Poor people that walk within earshot! |
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| The best surprise so far!!! So great to see Melissa!!! |
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| Farmer's market fava beans |
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| Our farmer's market dinner! YUM! |
Sutton’s Bay was our fourth stop. What a hidden gem! The marina is small, located across from a public beach with a park. The town is adorable with great food and higher-end shopping. We enjoyed walking around and have plans to return and spend a bit more time. We stayed long enough to have lunch and dinner and off to our next destination!
Leland was next! And we had another great ride! Leland happens to be a favorite stop for us, not only do they have THE BEST potato salad around, they have great shops, and good bloody mary’s! We love to stop by the fish market and see what the fisherman caught that morning. The smell of smoked fish permeates the area. We met a nice couple from the Pentwater area. They had us over for appetizers and story telling. It was great to know we have some new friends following along on our journey!
Final stop…Frankfort! We love Frankfort too! We stay at Jacobson’s Marina. The owners, John and Laurie, really cater to boaters. With a pool and hot tub (that they drain every night), and dinner delivered to your boat who wouldn’t feel spoiled by them? We spent time (probably too much time) at the pool and chose to eat out the 2-nights we stayed here. Something that is hard to find in Wisconsin is sushi and Chinese…Frankfort had both so we indulged!
We took Crocket to the beach, we walked along the break wall while he swam next to us.
We crossed Lake Michigan from Frankfort to Sturgeon Bay in 6-hours. We had some 3 and 4-foot waves but nothing the boat couldn’t handle, and it seems I'm now able to handle the waves much better than the beginning of the summer, thank goodness! We suffered some canvas damage from the bad storm the night before we left our harbor, ‘Seamstress Ben’ temporarily sewed the major tear, but it needed to be repaired before we head south. We will stay in Sturgeon Bay (not a bad place to be stuck for a while! I love this town!) until the canvas is complete and until we have a good weather window to start making our way south to chicago. Next stop sounds like it will be Manitowoc…
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| Making the necessary repairs before we head out in the morning |
I think I have my emotions under control (I think), as long as I don’t think about everyone I miss. We are having a great time exploring new and old places and meeting new faces! I’ll be keeping you in the ‘loop’ with our travels more often now that we are actually traveling!! You can also follow us on Facebook…Jamminjanetravels.
Found your blog and so glad to hear that you have started your Loop. We have been on the loop now since the beginning of June and are currently "stuck" in Bailey's Harbor until the wind calms down. I must admit I too have fallen in love with Door County. It's so gorgeous here, even in the bad weather. Don't feel bad about keeping your emotions under control. We have been out 3 months now and mine are still creeping up on me once in a while. It's hard to leave friends and family behind. Hopefully we will meet up along the way. Be sure to check out our sites at ladyjjourney.blogspot.com and on facebook at The Journey of the Lady J. Enjoy your travels.
ReplyDeleteJana Kent
M/V Lady J
1973 Gulfstar Trawler, 36
Hi Jana! Being 'stuck' in Door County doesn't seem so bad! We moved on the boat end of April, which was exciting yet still emotional missing everyone! I found your blog too! Hope to catch up with you!
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