Our departure took us under the Mackinaw Bridge, a 4 mile long, 135 foot high suspension bridge connecting the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan.
This lighthouse marked the southern portion of Grays Reef Passage on Lake Michigan, a vital landmark for our journey to Beaver Island.
It was fun to see these sailors flying their spinnaker as we cruised by.
After an 8 hour cruise, the Beaver Island Lighthouse was a welcome sight.
Beaver Island was originally settled by a group of Mormons. Today it is a vacation destination.
The First Mate is happy to announce our arrival and is ready to explore the island.
Shamrock Pub was a fun gathering place for all of us Loopers who arrived together on Joy Girl, Shangri-La, and Spiritus.
We departed Beaver Island, MI and headed to Washington Island, WI, passing by Rock Island.
Washington Island was our first stop in beautiful Door County.
We arrived at Jackson Harbor and found our spot well marked . . . .
. . . . or maybe it was a joke played on us by our friends, Lee and Jan, who arrived just before us!
Jackson Harbor had picnic tables right next to our boats so we enjoyed evening docktails together.
We were caught doing a little dancing on the dock as we sang a silly song.
We took advantage of Washington Island's miles and miles of bike trails.
We pedaled to "School House Beach", one of only two beaches in America with smooth limestone rocks.
These stones were unbelievably silky-smooth. The $250 fine discouraged us from taking a stone as a souvenir!
We knew we were in Wisconsin when we saw the Spotted Cow sign!
Many years ago our Wisconsin cousins introduced us to this beer which is sold only in Wisconsin.
Boaters docked next to Spiritus shared a bowl of Door County cherries that they had picked!
We discovered a little ice cream shop right next to Spiritus that sold Door County ice cream.
Linda was thinking of her Bunko Babes back "home" in Florida who were celebrating the 20th anniversary of playing, laughing, eating, drinking, and sharing life's milestones together.
The northern sunsets were sensational with the soothing colors reflecting in the water next to Spiritus.
We bid farewell to Jackson Harbor and continued our cruise to the mainland of Wisconsin.
The cliffs on Washington Island were extraordinary.
Cruising south to Sister Bay, we watched sailboats and reminisced about our sailing days.
Sister Bay Marina was a friendly, welcoming, amenity-filled marina.
We planned to only stay 2 nights and ended up extending an additional 2 nights!
We could not believe this young dock hand, Sam Jordan, graduated from Navarre High School this spring. After working at the marina for the summer, he will return to Florida to start his freshman year at Florida State University.
How about the awesome view off our stern? It explains why we came for 2 days and stayed 4!
And from our bow we could see the famous goats grazing on the roof of Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant!
While the goats grazed on the roof, we ate Swedish pancakes inside the very popular restaurant.
All the employees wore Swedish attire, reminding us of our time visiting the Scandanavian countries.
The streets, walkways, restaurants, and shops were vibrant with colorful flowers!
This bench, located behind Spiritus, became our morning coffee bench!!
It's not always fun and games; someone has to change the oil so Spiritus will keep running!
And someone else has to encourage the other someone with a favorite reward!
Chef Eddy grilled kobe sirloin burgers as the sun set. Good stuff . . . . the meal and the view!
Loopers Lee and Jan Rychel came over from Ephram to enjoy a beautiful evening with us.
When the laughter is long and the time is too short, you know you're with Loopers!
Giving thanks for another beautiful sunset and the opportunity to live our dream!
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