Muskegon Michigan

October 2, 2016

Suddenly things have changed; we are back in the land of people and boats. Before Ludington, the marinas we visited were nearly deserted! The lake was empty except for Mystic slowly slipping south along the eastern shore. We are elated and far less lonely. It feels like late summer. This is what we'd hoped our adventure would be. This is a good change!

Our next port is Muskegon. To get there, we will have to pass Little Sable Dunes. We could stop earlier or we could push further but we have our minds and hearts set on Muskegon today. Our friends Scott and Yolanda Moody have put together a care package for us. It sits at the Harbour Towne Marina waiting for our arrival. We've known this for over a week and are finally going to get there! Today is the calmest day we've seen. It is so calm, with a bit of fog; kind of spooky actually. We just hope that Mother Nature isn't playing a trick on us and that our day will remain teasy.

The Badger preparing her coal fired boilers Ludington, MI

Early morning fog leaving Ludington

Shelf clouds and fog

The Dunes south of Ludington

The Inland Sea

Lake Michigan Reflections

Little Sable Dunes

King of the mountain Dune Buggies on Little Sable

Little Sable Light

White Hall White River Light Station

Two Ships Passing near Muskegon on Lake Michigan 

Lake Express entering Muskegon Breakwater

Muskegon Breakwater Red

Under Way, Full Sail

Sailing into Muskegon Harbor

Welcome to Muskegon, Michigan

We arrived late in the afternoon but there is still an attendant at the fuel dock. She has to return to the office to fetch our delivery box. With excitement, we open it together. Inside, we find home-made chocolate chip cookies, Brandy, the book Heavy Weather Sailing, and a gift card with a note:

The note reads:

Please enjoy one night on us at the marina where you two can get a nice, hot shower!!! 

Be safe, Scott & Yo

We are delighted, mainly for the contact but also for the kindness of our friends! Yolanda and Scott have been keeping close contact with us the entire trip! They check in on us, make sure we are safe, offer help and have been our lifeline during those times when we felt like we were the only ones out there. 

The cookies were the first thing we opened! We haven't kept a lot of sweets on board Mystic so they were truly appreciated. The Brandy was no surprise and definitely a reminder of an evening aboard Scott and Yolanda's 27 foot Ericson, Della Grace, in which 'Brandy' was our theme. We not only drank it, we sang 'Brandy you're a fine girl' by Looking Glass. I can't remember if it was before or after the drinking! The book is meant to build our confidence in facing difficult sailing conditions. I have to be honest, it made me want to open the Brandy! The gift card was pure generosity and indulgence! What a thoughtful thing to do for us! We do hope Yolanda and Scott can join us some time during this adventure! We have a lot of fun together, always!

We didn't get to see much of Muskegon but we will definitely remember this stop! We got a much appreciated connection with home and a boost of energy and support to continue on. How lucky are we!

Scott & Yolanda Moody aboard Mystic Duluth, MN