Muskegon, MI to Saugatuck, MI September 11, 2018

September 11-12, 2018

Have to say it's a bit of a challenge to write the blog more than 11 months since we were there. But here I go thanks to a few key words on our ships log. We departed Muskegon, MI at a little after 10:00 AM with sunny skies and just a light chop on the lake. Our destination is Saugatuck, MI. With only 38 miles, our run today takes just over 3 hours including the the long channel that leads to the harbor. One little fly in the ointment FOG. About 5 miles from the inlet we encountered fog. This is only the 3rd time we have had fog to deal with . Most of the time we run with the radar on so when the time comes to navigate in the soup (another word for fog) we are comfortable with relying on the radar image. Between the radar and the chart plotter we locate the entrance to the harbor and once a few hundred feet inside the entrance the fog lifts. We are able to enjoy the magnificent homes with their yachts docked out front as we make our way to Sergeant Marina located right on the edge of the village. Saugatuck Village is much like Nantucket, MA.

Harbor Entrance

As luck would have this marina only has one or two slips for visitors and when I called in the morning one opened up. Our slip was at the edge of the marina and we docked stern to the dock overlooking the little town green, clearly the best spot. After docking, time to visit the village and we had to try the ice cream. The village, only a few hundred feet from the boat offered lots of small shops. I even got Patrick a Christmas gift, a Hartford Whalers cap.  Speaking of restaurants we enjoyed dinner at Phil's, and had a wonderful meal on the little outside patio. The next day we decided to put a little different adventure into our journey,  a Dune Buggy Ride. We off load our bikes and take a 3 mile ride out of town to where the ride begins. This turned out to be very interesting. My only experience with sand dunes is Cape Cod. These sand dunes are way bigger than the Cape. All aboard the over sized SUV and buckled up, our driver provides a very thrilling ride as he wipes this SUV along the winding sand path to the top of the dunes. Once at the top we are able to get out of the SUV and join our driver guide on the history of the sand dunes. Seems that way back when it was a big logging are for lumber to support the fast growing city of Chicago. The problem is, the loggers strip the timber and never re-planted new trees. With the trees gone, there was nothing to prevent the loam from being blown away leaving sand to be carried inland creating Michigan's beautiful sandy beaches and these massive sand dunes; some as high as seven hundred feet.

On our return to the Saugatuck Village we take a different road that travels alongside the channel we used the day before. I have to share this with you, more so I don't forget. We run across this little shop the offer for rent small boats that have been restored to there 60's vintage. They are so cool. I later learn that the old outboard engines all have been converted to battery powered. For anyone who ever

had an outboard motor in the 60's you know very well that they are not very dependable. Not back then, certainly not now.