Greek's Folly on the Great Loop: July 14, 15, 16 Fayette to Garden Bay to Washington Island

July 14, 15, 16 Sun, Mon, Tues Fayette to Garden Bay to Washington Island

Happy Birthday Pam. Tom cooked pancakes for breakfast and we celebrated Pam's Birthday on the back deck of our boat. Tom, John and Colletta rode their bikes to the top of the dolomite cliffs to view the harbor from high on the bluff. The skies are blue, the water is blue and calm and Snail Shell Harbor looks like the perfect boating destination and we are here. At 1315 we move on and head north to Garden Bay to anchor in a secluded, quiet bay. We board the dingy and head into The Dock Grill and Bar for a birthday dinner on the deck. Nice setting. We are back aboard Greeks Folly before sunset - 2130 and have a peaceful night.

In the morning we awake to sprinkles falling - something not in the forecast. We pull up anchor; travel around the point and into 3-4 foot rollers. The captain slows our speed to make the ride more comfortable. After a few hours of heading south, the sunshine breaks through and the water is still bumpy but down to a 2 foot chop. We slowly head into Washington Island. The bay off of Detroit Island is large and comfortable. We dropped anchor and relaxed. During the night, the rain fell, the wind blew and the boat jerked. Tom jumped up to check our position and found that the anchor had dragged we were no longer where we thought we were. This was the first time this had happened in our 4+ years on the Loop. In the dark in the rain, we removed the bridle, let out more chain ad reset the anchor. This time all is well - firm holding.

In the morning we dingied past the ferries and into Washington Island to catch the Cherry Train which gives a two hour, five stop tour of the island. We watched the ferries load and unload cars, and people come and go and even had a pizza lunch while waiting for the tour. Hans, our driver and guide showed a few highlights of the island; Schoolhouse beach - where the beach is made up of round, smooth stones and cool, clear water; Fragrant Isle lavender farm with wonderful smells and a beautiful site; Stavkirke which is a reproduction of a Norwegian church, the historic farm of how things use to be on the island and the art center which promotes activities for the children. A wonderful true look at the island. After the tour, Hans drove us, in his car, back into town to Nelsons. Here Tom became a member of the Bitters Club by drinking a shot of bitters. We walked up the street to Katy's for burger night - tables set up in the parking lot, burgers and fries for $4.50 - delicious! A local, Karen, whom Pam chatted up, gave us a ride back to the dingy and we headed back to the boats after an adventuresome and fun filled day.

Snail Shell Harbor

Bay at Garden, Michigan

Goully Harbor where we anchored

Cliffs of Washington Island

Running in the fog on our way to Washington Island

The War Memorial on our Cherry Train Tour

School House Beach, a popular tourist attraction

Wading in the COOL waters of School House Beach

The beach is made up entirely of this smooth stones. There are
signs posted at the beach of a $250 fine if you remove any stones

Hans, our tour guide and driver

The actual church was constructed by volunteers
from the Island

One of the two main volunteers/contractors passed
away right before the church was completed. In
his memory the volunteers hung his tool belt in
the rafters.

What the farms looked like back in the day. Historic with amny
antique pieces of machinery

One of many butterflies we saw. The Island actively plants
milk weed plants to attract the butterflies

Lavender operation we stopped at on the tour

Just one of the fields

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The lavender aromas and colors were magnificent

At Nelson's Bar, an Island historic hangout, you take a shot
of Angostura bitters to join the club, oh, and $4.50 for the shot

Jpoining the club. I can honestly say that after owning a bar
for over 15 years at no time did I ever think about taking a
shot of bitters. Tequila, rum, bourbon yes, but bitters?