After a short day in Petoskey, MI it was an early start for our short run to Charlevoix, MI City MArina located in Round Lake. Tab and Yvonne were still with us and this will be their last run with us as they will have to go back to the real world. The weather was fair with ten to twenty knot winds out of the east. We were joined along the run with “Permanent Vacation” and “Bama Breeze”.
We arrived at the Charlevoix Harbor entrance canal about 1115 as planned to make the 1130 bridge opening. The canal is a protected channel that has a long wall on the southside that we were allowed to tie off while waiting for the ferry boat to clear the bridge before our entry into the lake. After checking in we got out the bikes and borrowed to bikes from the marina and took a nice bike ride around the small town of Charlevoix.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlevoix,_Michigan
The town is known for their mushroom houses that are all over the area. Designed and built by Charlevoix native and legend Earl Young, the Mushroom Houses are over 26 of the most fascinating stone structures ever built. An avid nature lover, Young constructed each house from the stones and boulders that line the miles of shoreline in Northern Michigan. You can pay for a tour of the homes in Charlevoix or get a map, rent a golf cart or bike ride to view them. We chose the latter. We rode along the lake where there is a great beach then passed the small airport leading us back to the East side of town and stopped at The Back Lot which is a brewery with a view of Round Lake and had a couple food trucks. We rode along Ferry Avenue passing the Charlevoix Yacht Club where there were beautiful mansions leading us back to the marina.
Charlevoix had several shops and small restaurants but as has been typical a lot of them were closed or had limited hours as the summer was over and they were preparing to shut down for the season. During our stay we stopped at the Earl of Charlevoix Hotel for a cocktail on the roof before walking to the Stafford Weathervane Restaurant that overlooked the canal giving us a view of the passing boats heading out to Lake Michigan to challenge to rolling seas and strong winds.
Tab and Yvonne had to depart on day two so we said our goodbyes as they took their long ride to Traverse City to fly home. Our last full day in Charlevoix was uneventful with a stop at the Cantina for lunch located a block off the main street. It was cold and windy so we made it an early night for our run south on Lake Michigan on September 11th.
