I can’t recall one spot along the Loop that we’ve been “stuck” for longer than a week when it wasn’t our choice. Any location we’ve stayed longer than seven nights was due to external travel or a need to recharge, so the past week was a change of pace. 

We knew when pulling into Charlevoix, Michigan, that there was a chance we’d be hunkered down for some time while waiting out strong winds, but we still held out hope that it wouldn’t be over a week. We were quickly proven wrong when, after one night on anchor, the winds shifted and picked up to 30 knots, forcing us to move into a marina. This wasn’t the worst thing, however, because we spent the next several nights hanging out with fellow Loopers who were in the same position as us…20 boats to be exact!

Due to a low-pressure system moving over Lake Michigan, we saw winds up to 40 knots. There was even a 14-foot wave recorded south of us in Grand Haven, which was more than enough reason to extend our time in the marina. We walked to the Charlevoix South Pier Lighthouse many times to get a feel for the conditions, and well, they were pretty intense.

I can assure you there are worse places to be stuck, because Charlevoix is one of the most darling towns we’ve come across on the Loop. At this point, we’ve walked into every shop on the main strip (all adorable), we attended the weekly farmer’s market, and listened to live music at the “Live on the Lake” summer concert series. We also celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary with a nice dinner at Terry’s! Later that evening, we met up with more Loopers who sang us “Happy Anniversary” to the tune of “Happy Birthday.” If we had to be stuck, we’re glad it was here with these people. 

We gathered several more times with the other cruisers, from a happy hour at The Townhouse Bar to a tailgate for the college football games. This was especially fun for Evan and me as the University of Iowa (my alma mater) and Iowa State University (Evan’s alma mater) went head-to-head as they do each year. Luckily, football continued into Sunday because the winds still hadn’t let up for us to leave. 

Looking into the week ahead, we plan to leave on Wednesday and make a big 60-mile jump down to Frankfort. Sadly, we’ll have to skip our time in many of the cute towns along the way because the good weather days are few and far between post-Labor Day on Lake Michigan. As always, safety is our top priority, which means we’ll just have to come back again in the future. 

Wish us luck as we continue this grand adventure!