We wanted more time on the island so we booked an extra night here. However, the weather tomorrow looks rainy so we plan to leave around supper time tonight instead.
We decided to sleep in and have a nice breakfast on the boat. Scott made eggs to order, toast, bacon and sausage. Because our griddle is mounted outside, everyone passing by on the dock mentioned that it smelled amazing!
I called Burton Rentals right away this morning but wasn't able to get a rental car, so we opted for E-bikes instead. We walked down to the other side of town to grab our bikes and got under way around 11:00 am.
The bikes are great but more like a motor bike than a bicycle. We headed down Kings Highway following the directions we were given. But apparently he missed the first turn and we found our way to the two recommended stops in a round about way. On the island, only 10% of the roads are paved, so we spent the majority of our time on dirt roads.
We rode 22.5 miles in total and returned the bikes after two hours.
We stopped at the big rock. I'm glad there was only one other group there because we were ridiculous trying to get up and then slide down. OK it was me, maybe it was just me.
Then we stopped by the largest Birch Tree in Michigan. Scott's got a thing for old trees so really, this stop was just for him. But it's sweet that the kids rode all this way just to see his smile... well, and to tease him a bit... that happened too!
After we returned the bikes, we stopped for lunch at the Wild Strawberry Cafe. The boys took the scooters back to the boat to start prepping and Sammy and I walked. Then I ran back out to get milk (grocery store) and Brita filters (hardware). Apparently the hardware had never had someone carry milk in when they came to shop but I figured it was better than leaving on the sidewalk out front. We had a good laugh.
I absolutely love this island and the people who live here! It is not crowded. It is safe. The people are kind and hospitable. There's lots of green space, forest, and views of the water. We will definitely come back.
We pulled out of the slip at 2:45 pm and headed toward Petoskey. The weather is 73*, sunny with a 3 mph NE wind. Waves are under 1foot. Another amazing day!
We have a slip at the Bay Harbor Lake Marina for the next two days. When we pulled in at 4:15 pm, we were surprised that there was no fuel available. So we turned back out on the lake and continued up the bay to the Petoskey Municipal Marina just a quick 10 minute ride away.
We pumped out and fueled up and returned to Bay Harbor at 5:25 pm. This is a gorgeous marina with just a few slips for transient boaters. We are at the end of the South dock in slip B86 for the next two nights. The slips are fabulous with a main dock and a small dock on the other side for tying. We have 100 amp service and there are pump outs mounted on the dock for the larger boats. Fun fact... our boat was originally slipped in this marina by its first owners. And according to the board in the harbormaster office, they are three slips down from us. They are out for now, but I hope we can introduce ourselves before we have to leave.
I made a pasta dish for dinner and the kids had some leftover pizza. Then we took a walk for ice cream and enjoyed the loud music from a wedding on the lawn and window shopping in all the little shops. It's a busy area with so much to do but I'm grateful that we cant hear any of it from our slip.
We all settled in and had a quiet night. We are expecting rain tomorrow so it'll probably be a relaxed day on board.
