Another weekend

We were in Leland yesterday to visit the Goodfallows and to buy some fish products from Carlson's. We got smoked fish, Whitefish Pate, and some fresh lake trout for the grill. Leland was busy, but not overly congested. The boat harbor was really full with the Chicago to Mackinaw race last week and the Port Huron race this weekend.
We had a really hot week but it cooled down dramatically over night. The are calling for highs in the forties here tonight!
Hope everyone is doing well.

Carlson's Fishery is under new ownership this year. It was bought out by the former owners son.

The harbor was loaded with boats.

The charter boats were lined up along the docks and in the river.

A view of Fishtown.

Enjoying summertime in the north country

The fourth of July has come and gone and we have settled into a routine here. We had a great time over the holiday with the kids and grandkids up for the long weekend. Laura stayed for a few extra days with Kara and Nolan and we had fun on the boat with them and had a great dinner at the Cove in Leland. Now it's quiet again and Nancy and I have been back to work and back to the routine.
Today we were both off and we decided to enjoy the day like the tourists do. We took the boat out to Glen Lake for a boat ride and then anchored on the sandbar to do some swimming and enjoy the sunshine. We got to the boat launch just before lunch and it was only half full! By the time we left at four the lot was full and cars were parked along the road with their boat trailers.
We went home and had ribs on the barbeque on the new deck, then later we went to the sand dunes for a jazz concert put on by the Glen Arbor Arts foundation as part of the Manitou Music Festival. There were hundreds of people enjoying the concert with their camp chairs and a bottle of wine.
Summer time just doesn't get better than this! I hope you are enjoying it too!
Come up and visit whenever you can.

Fourth of July festivities, getting ready to celebrate the month's birthdays!

The sunset let us down, but the colors were still interesting.

The deck was put to good use over the weekend.

It looks like it fits the house pretty well.

Basking in the sunshine on Glen Lake. The sand dunes are in the background.

The crystal clear water looks like the Caribbean!

 

Deck Raising with Mike

Mike gave me some deck building 101 classes this weekend. Here is the result. (he was only here for two days plus a morning and an evening)!

I had the posts in and pea gravel done last Wednesday

On Thursday evening we hung the beams onto the posts

Everything was leveled with Mike's laser level

Friday we got the joists in place and squared.

We went on to put in posts and bracing to hold them tight.

70 deck boards later we were ready to start laying the flooring

That didn't take long. We ate dinner on the deck on Friday.

Saturday we worked on railing and stairs

We can't believe we got this much done in a weekend. I now have some painting to do and finish up with the railing and some finishing touches! That Mike, what a guy!!!

A beautiful day up north

We've had a couple of gorgeous days here this week and are trying to make the most of them.
I have been busy putting posts in for our new deck and today Nancy and I spread pea gravel on the base. We are ready for Mike to come up on Thursday and we will start framing and building on Friday.
After working and eating lunch we headed for Lake Michigan and enjoyed a couple of hours in the sunshine. What a glorious day!

I spent a couple of days setting the posts up last weekend.

Today we spread pea gravel on top of landscape mesh to keep the weeds down under the deck.

After lunch it was off to the beach.

 

Shalda creek is runnng along the beach for a couple of hundred yards this year. We had to wade across to sit on the edge of Lake Michigan. Bugs were not bad at all today with a nice breeze blowing.

My throne awaits!

And you thought I was done for the summer!

I know it's been a long time since I posted anything here, but I was taking a break from the blog.
We have been in the "up north" groove lately with work several days a week, and Traverse City shopping, and friends and family visiting on the weekends.
I finally got my permit approved by the county and the new deck will be on the agenda for the next couple of weeks. We hope to be sitting on it for fourth of July weekend.
We have been down state a couple of times since we got back from our winter trip and have seen the kids and grand kids to celebrate birthdays that have gone by this year. Everyone is doing well and making progress in their lives and careers.
Becky and Dave have accepted an offer on their house and are working with a builder to build a new house in Ann Arbor Township. They will have a busy year ahead of them.
We haven't had very many beach days yet, as the temperatures are just starting to get hot the past two weeks. It seems when we do get to the beach the flies and bugs are bad. It has been a wet spring so maybe that has something to do with it. The cherry farmers should have a good year with a normal spring and no crop last year the trees should be ready to produce a bumpier crop and the warehouses are empty and will accept all the cherries they can get. The corn and hay should be good too with the rain and cooler temperatures we have been having.
Hope everyone will plan on coming up to see us this summer and spend some time. We are always glad to have company and the boat is ready for the water.
Hope everyone is well.

Settling In at Last

We are starting to get nestled in again in the north country. It took a while to lose the wanderlust that goes with being on the road for three months and waking up in a new place every couple of days. We are starting to get back into a routine and are getting into spring clean-up and back to work mode.
We are in the process of getting permits pulled for building a deck on the back of the house and are getting excited about starting that project.
Next weekend will bring some of the kids and grand kids here and we are so looking forward to visitors throughout the summer.
As the weather gets nicer we are getting out for walks and bike rides and today rode the Heritage trail from Glen Arbor to the sand dunes. The second phase of the trail construction, from the dunes to Empire is scheduled for this summer, but so far we don't see any progress at the sand dune end of the trail.
Here are a couple of pictures from today's ride...

The birds on the pier heads at Glen Haven. They still have snow fencing up, but I hope they don't get any!!

I have been sitting in the woods hunting the elusive wild turkeys the past two weeks (to no avail), but today I found out that they are hanging out at the sand dunes!

The sand dunes were starting to get visitors, but I was amazed at how small the hills look. It seems that every year they get lower and lower. Is it from all the climbers pushing sand down hill or is it just my imagination?

 

Rainy Friday for Traveling

It started to rain last night and we are getting a much needed light watering. The temperatures are falling for the next few days after getting into the seventies again yesterday. The trees are beginning to leaf out in earnest now and in about a week everything should be nice and green.
Today we are heading south to visit with the kids for the weekend. We are celebrating birthdays and are anxious to get together with everyone for a couple of days. We have a lot of catching up to do!