Day 7 - Bay Harbor

 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.

Day 3 - All the Sights!

We were up early again but Scott was struggling with sinus pressure so Sammy and I walked to Starbucks to let the meds kick in.  We left around 9:00 am and headed out in search of breakfast.  We had saw an advertisement for a Cafe, with an all-day breakfast that's just around the corner so we decided to check it out. By first glance, it didn't look promising.  It was a retail store front advertising Teriyaki Chicken and rice but the posted menu offered a lot of breakfast options so we decided to give it a try.

The service was so quick and the food was amazing!  We all raved about the breakfast here and hope to go back again tomorrow.  Who would have guessed!

We had some time to kill this morning so we walked along the Embarcadero and enjoyed the views.

We stopped at Pier 39 to check out the local wild life.  We spent at least 15 minutes observing the sea lions and pretending to know what they were thinking.

Then we grabbed an Uber and headed over to Blazing Saddles to meet our tour guide for our bike ride.  Tyler and I met Mark McHugh on a similar tour in 2023.  We had such a great day with him we wanted to do it again!  So off we went on our bike-riding adventure!

Just over an hour into the tour, I ran into some mechanical issues.  Riding any bike through the hills of San Francisco would be difficult but riding a much heavier E-bike without any motor assistance was next to impossible.  I kept up with the group while trying to troubleshoot until the base of the next hill.  I called out and Scott and Mark came back to help.  We tried to reset the little processor with no luck, called back to the rental company and they agreed to bring me a new one.  Just as I was to start walking my bike to the meeting point, I noticed a little wire that was hanging down and once we got it plugged back in, we were back in business!  Phew.

The Palace of the Theater of the Arts which was the site of the 1915 World Fair.  The space is beautiful and hardly seems real when you ride up on it in the middle of the city.

We visited a George Lucas studio and design space with the famous Yoda fountain.  Then peaked into the windows to see C3PO, R2D2 and Darth Vader himself in the lobby.

There was so much more... Stops to hear history of the city, point out famous residences and homes featured in movies, military barracks, cemeteries, etc.  

Then we took one last stop for a final picture and began the ride across the bridge.  

We were on the Pacific side of the bridge and it was super loud and windy.  It was exhilarating for everyone and maybe a bit too overwhelming for some.  

 

We stopped just past the halfway point for photos and then continued on to the small quaint town of Sausalito for lunch.  To get across the highway traffic, we had to take this small switch-back filled road down and then under the bridge.  There weren't any cars allowed for the better part and we paused at this beautiful lookout for this photo.

Lunch was at the Joinery.  It was excellent food and since it was already after 3:00 pm, we were all getting quite hungry!  Mark stayed and enjoyed the meal with us and then brought us over to the ferry dock.  We decided the ferry would be a better route home since the temps have been falling since we started this morning the ride over the bridge was pretty chilly.  There we parted ways with Mark!

The ferry ride back was likely only 20-30 minutes but was a quiet and relaxing way to reset after a busy day.  

We weren't trying but also found a perfect view of the bridge as we rode back across the bay.

It was a 10 minute ride from the ferry dock back to the bike rental shop but it was far busier than it had been this morning.  We dropped off the bikes and headed over to Ghirardelli Square for some ice cream.

(Don't mind the hair - honestly we were in helmets all day!)

Then we sat on a bench in a little park and marveled at all the sounds of people enjoying the city.  It was a little after 5:30 pm but already dark out when the kids headed back to the hotel.  Scott and I circled the block again to check out some tricked out cars that we had seen gathered along the water.  

Once we got back, we all decided it would be best to stay in tonight and just relax after such a big day.  We ordered some appetizers from Applebees and had a picnic in our room.  Then it was time to relax. 

Scott's already snoring and I'm heading there soon!  It was a great day today! 

Day 4 - Exploring San Francisco

We were tired and decided to take it easy this morning.  We got up around 8:45 am and then headed down to breakfast in the lobby.  It was a pretty good selection so we ate well.

We had a few options for touring the city today: big open-aired bus, GoCars, or bike.  Tyler chose the electric bike option so we walked a few blocks west to find their office.  We had planned on riding over the Golden Gate Bridge and taking the ferry back… the entire trip would last only a few hours.  But the sales man highly recommended a tour guide (that happened to be leaving just then) so we decided to do that instead.  Mark was an incredible guide - very funny and knowledgeable - he’s lived here his entire life and knows fun facts about everything.  

There were 7 of us with Mark on the tour when we started but along the way, the three from France left us because of the language difficulty.  

We stopped at the site of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition… and marvelled at the incredible architecture.

We also visited the Lucasfilm / Letterman Digital Arts Center (think StarWars) and took some fun photos where some of our favorite movies are made.

Then it was time to head over the Golden Gate Bridge.  We stopped at the top of the bridge for some photos and then decided to leave the other two guests because they were heading back for something they left behind.  So we continued on just the two of us and Mark. 

The view from the bridge was incredible.  The Bay Area really is just gorgeous!

We stopped for lunch in Sausalito and then Mark offered for us to skip the ferry and join him on a ride back across the bridge.  We had less than an hour to get back, return our bikes, and get to the ferry dock for our next tour of Alcatraz but Mark was confident we could do it… I had some doubts but decided to go for it.  I used my watch to record the stats and distances.  From our lunch spot up to the start of the bridge is a pretty long hill.  It took us 13 minutes and we ascended almost 300 ft - the length of a football field!  We rode much faster on the return trip and it was a blast!  The staff was super excited that we made it back so quickly! 

We called an Uber and said goodbyes to Mark (I’d highly recommend his tour with Blazin’ Saddles bikes or with Dylan’s on bus if you are ever in the area)  In all, we spent 5.25 hrs with him and enjoyed every minute!  (However, I’m quite certain my back side could be sore for days)

Then we went straight to the Ferry dock for our evening tour of Alcatraz. The Uber driver dropped us exactly 1 minute before we were scheduled to arrive.  I love when God works out the details so perfectly.  We had a short rest on the 10 minute ferry ride and then began the walking tour of the Rock.

The evening tour is a special event to raise funds for the National Park.  It offers a longer boat ride around the island, the usual audio-tour through the cell house and then additional lectures on various topics associated with Alcatraz.  We stuck around to listen to the story of Bill Baker, one of the inmates and then headed outside for a lecture on an infamous escape attempt.  So cool to hear their stories!

After the sun went down, it was FREEZING.  (We were dressed for a bike ride in the sun not for standing still in the dark.)  The last talk wrapped up at 6:30 which was time for our departing ferry.  We rested again and warmed up, making a plan for dinner, on the ferry ride home.  Then it was a 15 min walk to get back to our hotel.  

We had Uber deliver Applebees for supper and tried to watch some shows.  I was so tired - as soon as I started to warm up, I fell fast asleep.  Tyler ended up tucking me in and just turning off the lights.

It was a very fun day today.  We learned a lot!