East Jordan and Boyne City

East Jordan turned out to be a noisy harbor due to road construction to improve the bridge that runs along one of it' borders. The construction noise and the ironworks factory together made it a place to avoid (for this season anyway). We had booked two days and already paid, so, we stayed. We had a pleasant surprise when we found out they would have music in the park the first night...

.a folksy group of gals sounded wonderful from the back deck. We also happened upon their annual art fair weekend, but, could not find it after riding our bikes around town ???
From the moment we arrived the local swan let us know who was in charge. Over the next couple days we watched it chase many ducks, geese and even a snapper turtle away!

Ron and I took the dinghy across the bay to a beach and hopped out to get our feet wet. While picking at rocks on the shore, and watching the baby fish try to hide in the boulders we came upon a round object in the sand under 2-3 ft of water. It appeared to be the size of a half dollar or more...Ron helped me get to it and it turned out to be an Elgin railroad watch possibly dating back to as early as 1905. The place where the hands rusted to a halt shown to be 2:55. After closer inspection, we decided not to open it up until we had the correct tools which should lead us to a serial number and a better idea of the date.

After being treated to another gorgeous sunset, we were off to Boyne City and provided with an even better one.

Beautiful clubhouse! We stayed at The Harbarage Marina because we wanted a reservation. Turns out that was the right decision. Wolstrum Marine had a rendezvous at the other marina and they were full. Shower rooms  are spacious and clean and I would rate them as second best of all of our trips. Downtown is to die for if you like chocolates, ice cream, and art!
Our bicycle tour included a visit to the eastern shoreline where we found water as colorful as The Caribbean. The sandy bottom is shallow and great fun for kid's.  One hundred yards out there is a steep drop off ledge that is a deep blue color and allows larger yachts a place to moor for the day. Great place for a picnic and a good book! When we were getting to the beach we went through a great little neighborhood with shaded trees and a lot of little hills with wonderful shoreline access. Reminded us of the west shore neighborhood of Put-N-Bay.