Crawdad on the Loop: Crawdad Summer Cruise of 2013

On Monday, August 26, 2013 Crawdad said goodbye to summer. Now that she is out of the water and I have time to write the blog!

We had a wonderful summer, traveling to the Great Lakes Cruising Club Rendezvous in Charlevoix, Michigan and the Great Lakes Grand Banks Association Rendezvous in Frankfort, Michigan.

Our adventure started at Wheelers, in Bay City Michigan at the end of June and we traveled through Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. We rented a car in Frankfort and Jim drove me to Port Huron to race in the Port Huron to Mackinac Race.
Jim drove to Mackinaw City to pick me up at Mackinac Island with the boys, Buddy and BooBoo in tow.

The Epic Team pulled off a 3rd in the Mac Race!

Sometimes boating is fun, but sometimes those darn boaters have fireworks and Boo isn't so happy about the loud noises, but he has found a safe place to hide.

Buddy, on the other hand, doesn't care about much of anything, except a soft place to sleep and a good meal every now and then. Oh, and a little ball playing every now and then.....

The Officers of Great Lakes Cruising Club are reviewing the fleet. Nice uniforms! Our friend Phil Doolittle is the scowling face in the front of the raft. He is really a rather pleasant guy. Must be Crawdad didn't look as good as Phil thought she should.....

We enjoyed the Great Lakes Cruising Club Rendezvous in Charlevoix, Michigan. The Municipal Marina is top notch as are the staff. The kids have a great place to play in the fountain.

Immy and her pal, BooBoo. Doesn't Boo look happy?

Evey, Immy, Boo and I enjoyed walking around downtown Charlevoix.

This is Alissa, my niece and her three beautiful daughters, Abby, Immy and Evy.

The GLCC took us on a tour of the Mushroom Houses. They are so unique and charming! The architect was a local man from Charlevoix.

There was a cigarette boat race on the day we were leaving Charlevoix. The boats jammed the only exit from Lake Charlevoix and Round Lake. The drawbridge operator was clueless as he lowered the bridge on boats in the exit who were trapped by boats in front and behind. We were the last boat to escape before the drop of the bridge. A bit hectic to say the least!

Leland, view from the Cove Restaurant. Leland is an old fishing town. The old fishing buildings are now charming shops.

We were surprised to find Mr. Dorian in front of one of the shops, boyfriend to Ms. Dorey Kasper, from Fenton. They look like twins. They were made for each other.

We were joined by our friends Ann and Dan Larmore. They are considering buying a boat and cruising. Will they want to cruise after spending a week with us on Crawdad?