Leland to South Manitou Island, Michigan

Ben and I woke up early and walked to get coffee from Madcap Coffee Company, off Main Street, before Moose and Bear were awake. Roo was watching TV when we left and we told her to tell the kids to stay in the boat until we got back. 

When we got back, we untied and pushed off the dock. One of the men from the marina helped us push off and told us to be careful anchoring off South Manitou Island because it gets deep fast. Ben said he found a good, protected spot and it shouldn't be a problem. 

It was a bumpy ride on the lake to the island for about 2 hours. We had giant splashes of water hit the cockpit windows and had to turn the windshield wipers on to keep it clear to see out of. Ben even had to move the bikes that were on the front in the SUP bracket because they were moving as the boat landed with each wave. The waves were mostly 2 footers with a few 3 footers. The fetch is what makes it so uncomfortable, but each time we are on the lake, I don't enjoy it, even with ashwaganda! 

Ben read an article while we were underway about someone who beat the (unofficial) record for doing the loop in 19 days, 19 hours, and 50 minutes. In it, it says how 150 boats start the loop each year, but less than 10% ever finish. I said the 90%+ make it to Lake Michigan and end their loop. If I owned a boat and lived in Michigan, I'd only use it to get to Mackinac Island, or go to the North Channel and Georgian Bay. That was the best part of the trip!

When we got to the spot Ben wanted to stay, he realized the charts were off and it WAS deep where he wanted to anchor. He reassessed and saw a shallower spot a little further north, so we went there and dropped the anchor. It set right away and would have to be pulled uphill for us to slip at all. 

Made lunch and hung out inside for the hot part of the day, then the kids put on swimsuits and we loaded into the Chicken. We pulled ashore and the kids started digging in the sand. Ben and I sat on our towel and started looking to see if the visitor's center was open. It said open until 6 and it was 5, so we got in the tender, went back to get a wallet, and then pulled the Chicken up on the beach closer to the visitor's center. 

As we walked on the sand, we noticed it was squeaking. It sounded like sneakers skidding on tile in the school or gym, but we were all dragging our bare feet. One of the people we asked said he thought it was from the broken down zebra mussels. That made sense because it would be rubbery, like sneakers on a gym floor. 

Ben saw the park rangers but the visitor's center closed at 5, not 6. We didn't get to peek in or buy anything, but we walked to the lighthouse and got to see inside a few buildings that were open. One building had the weather forecast that looked favorable for us to cross the lake tomorrow.

We met and chatted for a bit with a sailboat couple from Wisconsin traveling for a week with their 2 nieces from Florida. It was fun to come across another kid boat! I just wish we were staying longer so the kids could hang with them.

When we got back to our tender, we zipped over to the spot we were in before and the kids resumed their digging, I listened to a book, and Ben caught up on some news. All 3 kids were super sandy and needed to be rinsed off using the back shower before going inside and putting on pajamas. I made a cherry dump cake (after Bear pitted and cut the cherries earlier today) and then we went to bed. Ben and I snuck outside to see the moon. It was so pretty, and of course, the picture doesn't do it any justice. 

(Not sure why this is posting upside-down. I'll try to fix it next week.)

We anticipate leaving around 6 am tomorrow morning for our big lake crossing. I am full of anxiety about it. Pray for us. It is supposed to be shorter waves than the past few days (not sure about the fetch) with an 8 hour day to complete our 54 mile crossing, and alittle bit further through the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal to the marina at Sturgeon Bay. I'm anticipating taking some ashwaganda and dramamine or benadryl to sleep for all or most of it. I really am on board with crossing to Wisconsin. We can check off another state AND I feel like the weather and waves are less scary on that side, since wind and weather typically move west to east. So, despite all of this anxiety, I think it is the right choice- I just want to be done with it already.