Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Beaver Islanders All

None of us has ever been to Beaver Island, so why not? We had a free day, the weather was good, and there are caches there! So - up at 5, leave at 6 and drive to Charlevoix. It was a beautiful morning for the drive.

The Beaver Island Boat Company boat we were on is named the Emerald Isle - a very comfy ferry. Besides passengers it can carry bikes, cars, and Semis!
Several times over the years we have had to wait on US 31 while the Charlevoix drawbridge went up and down. This time, people were waiting for us.


On the deck it was chilly and breezy at 8:30 a.m.!


Inside it was very comfortable and enjoyable:




Beaver Island, here we come!!
Yes there was a Spartan Stores semi on our ferry!
The Emerald Isle returning to Charlevoix:
Laurie and Dick went caching out in the middle of nowhere. I hear that it was mosquito heaven!

Here's our rental - Dick says that it was less than chic :)


There was also a cache at this remote coffee shop - can't pass up an opportunity!
This is the Feodor Protar Cabin - he was an early settler of the Island. There were so many bats under the siding - so many that we could hear them scuffling and squeaking around under the boards! It was what you might call...creepy!
At the southern tip of the Island is the Beaverhead Light. It's owned by the Charlevoix Public Schools!

On the map, we located a Gillespie Road. We went in search of it for obvious reasons. When we found it, there were no street signs! So Dylan put on the Gillespie sweatshirt and we made our own road sign...

The Gillespie Family at Protar's Tomb in a remote part of the Island.

Back to our boat, The Emerald Isle.


Returning to Charlevoix

This beautiful ship had arrived in the harbor since we left this morning. It's called the Pride of Baltimore and it's owned by the State of Maryland. The ship and the flag it displays are representative of the War of 1812.
Charlevoix was really crowded because it's the middle of the Venetian Festival. We came all the way back to Traverse and ate dinner at Bubba's. One of us skipped dinner for a snooze!