Operation Adventure - Northern Lake Michigan Boating

Dinner on the deck at Wagners

Thursday, July 25th: We have been looking forward to "Operation Adventure" for quite a while now and the time has finally come to start our adventure! Our friends Dennis and Christa had an extra leg of towing added to the trip to bring their boat "Wet Ink" up from Lake Shelbyville, Illinois to the starting point of Portage, Indiana. They decided to come up the evening prior to leaving and stay in a nearby hotel. We used this as an opportunity to have a pre-trip planning dinner and catch up with friends Joe and Pat from "Better Yet"! 

2 Four Winns in a row

Part-way through the 6 hour tow

Friday, July 26: The next morning we towed Seapickle over to the hotel and departed Portage for our destination of Petoskey, Michigan some 320 miles away! The tow was one of the easiest we've ever had, and it was nice traveling with another couple and sharing the experience.

Storm Heading our Way - over the Petoskey Marina launch

The mad dash begins!

Wet Ink launching

Seapickle tucked into slip 19

Celebration drink - "We made it!"

Once we arrived in Petoskey, we noticed dark storm clouds were rolling in off the bay, the wind was picking up, and it was just starting to drizzle. We had to make a decision...put the canvas up and launch as quickly as possible, or try to wait the storm out. We decided to try to launch as quickly as possible and try to beat the storm.  Within minutes of reaching our assigned slips we realized it was the right choice!

Walking to dinner at Mitchell Street Pub, Petoskey

Mitchell Street Pub - Moose

After settling into vacation mode and enjoying the fact that we had FINALLY made it to Petoskey, we decided to have a late dinner at a nearby pub in Downtown Petoskey. Dana chose Mitchell Street Pub based on the fact that they covered 2 of her Friday night dinner requirements: fried fish and interesting beer. We loved the fried walleye, and salmon for Christa, along with some interesting local beers. Dana enjoyed the "Petoskey Horny Monk," a Belgian Dubbel by Petoskey Brewing.

After dinner, we were all stuffed and tired from a long day, so it was off to bed! We all had a great first day of vacation, and cannot wait for the rest of the trip!

Trip details:
Portage, IN to Petoskey, MI - 320 miles towing
Left Portage 8:10am CST, arrived Petoskey 3:30pm EST
3 fuel stops along the way (+ one bathroom stop)
 Weather: rainy, cloudy, strong west wind - which made the Petoskey Marina quite uncomfortable

The Beginnings of Operation Adventure

For years, our friends Dennis and Christa have trailered their boat "Wet Ink" to Lake Michigan to stay for a week-long visit with a small group of us from the Four Winns Forum. During last year's visit, they took a trip from our marina to South Haven, Michigan for a few days, and we could tell they had fallen in love with Michigan's high bluffed sandy shoreline, clear water, and lovely lakeside harbor towns.

Wet Ink and Seapickle II hanging out in Lake Shelbyville and making plans

Over the winter as we tried to figure out our own plans for a summer trip, we thought of how much we enjoyed our first big trip exploring Michigan's coastal towns and how after 3 long years it was time to plan a return visit. Remembering how much Dennis and Christa enjoyed their cruise to Michigan, we sent them an email telling them of our newly formed summer plans, and offered for them to join us. Luckily for us, they accepted! We spent the coming months making plans, picking out destinations, and locking in harbor reservations as time got closer. We even named our newly forming plans, "Operation Adventure!"

A week spent with friends in Northern Michigan is sure to be a great time, but we didn't stop the planning there. We really felt that after last summer's North Channel trip gone wrong, it was time to give our dream trip another go. So at the end of the week spent in Michigan we will load our boat back on the trailer, say goodbye to our friends Dennis and Christa, and head North to Spanish Ontario.

Wave Pointe Marina, Little Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

View from the marina side of Wave Pointe Marina & Resort

For our Door County adventure, a friendly blog reader and fellow Four Winns forum member who had seen this post about our 2013 trip planning recommended Wave Pointe Marina & Resort in Little Sturgeon Bay as a great place to launch our trip! (Thanks Jeff & Kim!)

View from the marina side of Wave Pointe Marina & Resort

The pool-side tiki bar and patio

Nice swimming pool

We were very impressed with the Marina & the facilities (definitely the nicest bathrooms & showers we've ever had while boating), and the pool was an added bonus since Dana loves to get in a morning swim whenever possible. There was a restaurant on-site (which we didn't get to try) that is a nice touch since the nearby town of Sturgeon Bay was about a 10 minute drive.

Looking down the dock to Little Sturgeon Bay

Seapickle II docked at Wave Pointe Marina

Looking toward Carmody Park public launch ramp

Another reason we chose to launch in Little Sturgeon Bay was the nice public launch ramp ($7 launch fee) that was directly next to Wave Pointe. There was a long dock to tie up to while parking the truck and trailer. There was no overnight parking there, but Wave Pointe offered free truck & trailer parking in the open field across the street from the resort. Compared to some other places we've had to park the trailer, this was a huge deal for us!

Good room to get the boat ready for trailering home

Free trailer parking for marina guests in the field across the street

Another view of the trailer parking field.

A Long Weekend in Door County, Wisconsin

If you remember this post from a few months ago, we were thinking a Door County, Wisconsin trip would be our "big trip" of the year. Well... soon after writing that, we decided that we're heading to Northern Michigan and the North Channel for 16 days this summer instead! BUT, we still wanted to spend some time in Door County, since it's been a special place to Ben since childhood. So we found time for a long weekend trip (Thursday-Sunday) and loaded up the trailer for the 5+ hour drive to Little Sturgeon Bay! We left the house about 11am, and arrived in Little Sturgeon Bay around 5pm. The trip took a little longer than expected since it was the first trailer trip of the year, and we stopped multiple times to make sure the trailer tires were holding up.

Carmody Park Public Launch Ramp

At dock - Wave Pointe Marina

Birminghams - a family tradition

Our first stop once getting settled in at the dock was Birmingham's in Sturgeon Bay. Ben's family always stayed at Andropolis Cottages in Sturgeon Bay, and Birmingham's (right down the road) was a must-have on every vacation. Ben ordered the Filet & Deep Fried Lobster Chunks, and I ordered the Filet & Shrimp. Both were excellent, served with salad & baked potato. After dinner, we made the mandatory Walmart stop where Ben got an "As Seen on TV" Expanding Pocket Hose!!! which he says is the "best purchase EVER." :-)

Fresh blueberry pancakes on the griddle

Relaxing with a book and coffee on the back of the boat

Friday morning I made blueberry pancakes on the griddle (fresh picked blueberries from our garden!), then went for a swim in the pool, and finally relaxed on the back on the boat with my book and coffee. PERFECT first day of vacation so far! We were having a great time at Wave Pointe Marina, so we took our time in the morning and left for Sister Bay, with a stopover planned first at Horseshoe Island. 

The weather forecast was not looking to be in our favor, but we lucked out and missed all of the storms and rain surrounding the area.

Dana's favorite place to be - navigating in Little Sturgeon Bay

Storms to the South and to the West

Gorgeous bluffs along the Door County shoreline

Red Marker #6 was making Ben uneasy until we found it. We were able to go through with no trouble.

The trip from Wave Pointe Marina to Horseshoe Island was pretty smooth, although watching the storms move in to the south and to the west of us was a little unsettling.  We lucked out though, and arrived to Horseshoe Island in less than an hour. We were very excited to be there... we weren't sure if we'd make it or not on this trip, and we heard that it can get very busy on weekends.

Beautiful, serene Horseshoe Island

Seapickle II anchored at Horseshoe Island, stern tied to a tree on shore

Horseshoe Island was all that we'd hoped it would be. A quiet, protected little anchorage only 4 miles off Sister Bay. We enjoyed hiking the 1k "rugged" trail around the island, and seeing that outside the protection of the island the wind was howling and waves were building. But we spent a wonderful afternoon relaxing before heading over to Sister Bay for the next 2 nights.

On the opposite side of the Horseshoe Island anchorage

Hiking Horseshoe Island

Monument off the hiking trail, to Moravian settlers who died there in 1853

Making friends - Colby on "Midnight Flyer"

As soon as we were outside the protection of Horseshoe Island, around 5 in the afternoon, the waves had built to 4-6 feet and we were forced to make a slow 4 mile journey to Sister Bay Marina. We arrived in about 45 minutes, feeling very windblown and worn out! The very friendly harbor master, Wendy, suggested dinner at Husby's when we asked for a good perch dinner. And she was right on! The perch, walleye and cheese curds were fantastic! As was the atmosphere, beer list, and service. We liked it so much we went back Saturday night for the BBQ Rib special!

Arriving to the Sister Bay Marina

Ben anxious for some dinner at Husby's in Sister Bay

Cheese curds! Because we're in Wisconsin!

The winds and waves were not in our favor Friday night and Saturday

A very fashionable Dana enjoying coffee overlooking Green Bay & the Sister Islands

Al Johnsons' goats on the roof

A Swedish breakfast at Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant

The Country Walk Shops in Sister Bay

Couldn't leave without some Door County Cherry ice cream!

We spent a relaxing Saturday in Sister Bay. Enjoying coffee on the rocks in the morning (as in, coffee on the breakwall, not coffee on ice), breakfast at Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant (famous for their goats on the roof), and then a long walk and some shopping. Later Ben took a nap while I walked to the Country Walk Shops and bought some Renards Cheese at the Piggly Wiggly. My lunch purchase was rounded out at Cupcake Heaven, with a strawberry shortcake cupcake for me, and a peanut butter cup cupcake for Ben. After lunch, another walk and some shopping (new pink Door County cap for Dana!) and then dinner again at Husby's (excellent again, but longer wait on Saturday night). 

Overall, we had a wonderful, relaxing 4 day weekend. We wished we had more time to explore more Door County ports & islands, but I guess that leaves a reason to go back for the next adventure!

Last night of our Door County adventure