Leave It to Beaver

Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday, June 9-11,  part 1

0.00 miles (well, no wait, that’s technically not true...we did have to change slips)

We planned to stay on Beaver Island...but only for one day.

The weather is broken. Chuck tells me that we are at the extreme high end of the bell curve for wind at this time of year on the lakes.

Oh well, yet another beautiful place to be stuck. Please don’t throw me in the Briar Patch!

Last night when we got docked and mostly settled, I took Feather for her constitutional. There are two townships on the Island and the Marina is in St James Twp...like right in St James Twp, on Main St. The Marina is nice with a clean bathroom and a shower stall (not as nice as Frankfort, but as welcome).  We actually arrived the day before the Marina officially opened, but thank goodness the building was unlocked.

The town itself looks like a typical old Midwest town with storefronts and houses mixed together with churches and  parks... maybe a little more spread out than the typical small town to take advantage of the shoreline. The grocery store (McDonoughs, a very nice well stocked store) is the equivalent of maybe three or four city blocks from the marina in one direction; the hardware store is about 2 blocks in the other.  Apparently, when you’re living on a boat and you come into a port or Harbor, these are the two businesses you want to find quickly, and you want to be close by.

The sidewalks periodically have these compass roses embedded in them... very cool. Some are more worn than others.


There is a little city park just half a block from the Marina where Feather got some water time in and failed to impress Mama or baby ducks at all with her ferociousness.

There is a little walking tour with “Pierre the Beaver” that takes you through some of the history of the town in the few blocks around the Ferry for people who come over only for an afternoon. Alas, the sign said the museum would not open until June 20. There was at least some information on the outside of the building about a stone circle on the island that I was interested in learning more about.

But, it was getting dark and we were all wiped out, so we didn’t even really talk to our friends very much after they helped us dock in the high winds.  We did get a little info on the lay of the land..where to eat drink, be merry,etc.



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