Day 1 - an afternoon departure and an easy introduction for Rosie

Bellow Island, on the approach into Northport

Did you know that the collective noun for a group of shags is a 'hangout'?

Looking down the Leland River towards its outflow into the marina

A Hupmobile parked outside our dinner venue near the Leland marina

The Leland River weir and nearby motel from our dinner table at The Cove

Cahoe salmon leaping to climb the weir. A great shot by Rosie!

Southbound - Days 1 and 2:

Oct 3–4 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

Traverse City to Northport... we head north in order to head south! Our return adventure has begun! Rosie and I were on-board on Thursday and provisioned the boat, courtesy of Tom's Foodmarket and Meijers [pronounced 'Myers']. The only item we were unable to source was CUSTARD POWDER. In some parts of the USA they've never heard of it. Turns out it's called 'pudding' by some, and 'cornstarch' by others. We figured it out, and Rosie will make it for our stewed apples and our strudel 😀.

I returned my rental car, after a 3,500-mile odessy around Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan, and we departed the Centre Point Marina at Greilickville, near Traverse City around 1430 for the (just under) 3-hr voyage up the length of Grand Traverse Bay to the Northport Harbor Marina. Fun Fact: Preston tells me that back in the day, before the super wealthy had private jets, they had private railroad cars, and many of them came to Northport (when there was a railroad here) for the summer. The railroad had a number of stub-end spur tracks that these cars would be shunted onto for the duration of their occupants' stay.

Nina arrived at the marina, and Preston left us to our own devices while he went home to attend to some logistical arrangements. Nina will fly back to Florida and the springer spaniel, Leland Louise, will be driven home. Rosie whips up a risotto to clean up the roast chicken we had last night, and we binge a few episodes of the new series of Yellowstone while we wait for the Aurora Borealis to appear in the northern sky. It doesn't, so we retire... Borealisless.

Preston returns in the morning and--having topped off our potable water--we are 'off-chocks' around 1100 to motor out of Grand Traverse Bay, around Lighthouse Point, and into Lake Michigan proper.

A couple of hours heading south down the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan in unseasonably mild 'Indian summer' weather brought us to Leland, where we may stay until Monday as high winds are forecast for the lake, starting tomorrow. The beach is busy... there are even kiddos in the water. The marina is pretty empty; people are taking yachts and cruisers out of the water before the winter ice arrives. Leland is Preston and Nina's northern summer home, and they're setting their residence up to be 'shut up' for the winter.

Rosie and I investigate the village and go out for dinner.Read more