Saturday, June 20, 2009

Northport Lighthouse and Maritime Festival

Big day today in Northport. Lighthouses, schooners, and a fish boil on top of that! How could anyone stay away?

On the way up M22 we stopped in Suttons Bay at an earth cache called Suttons Bay Wetlands. There's a trail with informative signs behind the Inland Seas Education Center. I'm sure at one time it was a nice little trail, but it hasn't been kept up, and it's crying out for some maintenance. The signs are aimed at school children, and I think it would still be a valuable field trip for a class studying eco-systems. These pictures went on our log of the cache:




Hooray! We found the festival! Northport was buzzing with activity this afternoon. It was a nice, small event - there was a craft fair, lots of child-centered activities, ships at the dock, and of course, the food tent.




For me, the highlight was Kitty Donohoe, a folk singer from Ann Arbor. She sings wonderful songs about Michigan, the Great Lakes, lighthouses, rivers, and lumberjacks. I enjoyed it immensely, and bought one of her CDs for the car.



After the festivities, it was time for a stop at PlantMasters in Suttons Bay, since it seems that all imminent danger of frost is over. Annuals and a couple of perennials filled up our cart. The colors in this tent of annuals knocked our socks off.



As we drove away, we said, "Didn't we used to do this at the end of May?" It has been a cold, cold Spring.

Back in T.C., West Bay was just filled with boating activity of all sorts! It makes for a very picturesque sight on such a blue sky day.



But for me, the prettiest view is always a tall ship under full sail.