Petoskey to Leland

We stayed in Petoskey through Wednesday morning.  Had planned on 2 days, but the lake kicked up and we are fair weather boaters.  Slogging through 6 foot waves is not our idea of a good time.  Petoskey is a very boater friendly city, with a bike and walking path along the water and downtown in easy walking distance through a pedestrian underpass.  We rode our bikes to the grocery store, a little over 2 miles along the bike path toward Harbor Springs.  John rode south toward Charlevoix and was pleased to note that the bike path no longer runs along the highway.  We did some walking and a little shopping and relaxed-our theme for the next year.

We left Petoskey about 8:30 and ran on smooth water to our next planned stop at Leland, arriving there about 10:45.  We skipped Beaver Island, a favorite, as walking and biking there is over rough terrain and Mary's hip is still healing.  Bypassed Charlevoix, also.  We had planned to stay there and play in the dinghy, but it's not usable in its present state.  About an hour after we landed, the Leland Harbor became very busy.  Even though the renovations are extensive and included 20 new docks, many boats were still rafted by early afternoon.  Enjoyed charming and historic Fishtown, as always, and bought some smoked fish sausage to try for dinner.  Walked to the Verterra Winery tasting room to try a local Leelanau Peninsula wine for dinner.  The 2010 Unwooded Chardonnay was recommended to accompany the sausage.  Chardonnay is not usually a favorite of ours, but it was perfect to offset the salty fish.