Onto our third Great Lake-Huron! After a laid back evening in Detroit, we took off up the Detroit river traveling between the US and Canadian border the whole way. We were careful and only dipped into the Canadian waters a couple of times. The rule is, if you drop anchor or dock on land, you’ve crossed into Canada and will be deported—or something.I have no idea what happens and as we have lost our passports (physically—not because we’re criminals), and we don’t want to risk it.

Several people clued us into how beautiful the water is in the Great Lakes, but we didn’t quite grasp it until we got here. It’s gorgeous! I’m talking Florida Keys turquoise in places—and I don’t get it. I guess I just assumed that the Caribbean blue waters were unique to southern latitudes. Not so! The color can hardly be captured with my iPhone 12, even with fancy filters, but I am posting a couple of pictures anyway.

In Detroit, we were docked at a state park marina near an amphitheater on the water and a cool biking/walking trail. There was a band sound-checking and warming up and we could hear them perfectly from our slip. Thank goodness it was jazzy music and not some head-banging nonsense.

Traveling up the Detroit River towards Port Huron we were situated between the US on our port (left) and Canada on our starboard. Each country flew the other’s flag. I’m guessing this is a friendly gesture so as one side won’t fire upon the other???

Port Huron, MI was our next stop and another on the list of quaint towns along our route. We, once again, hopped onto our trusty bikes and headed out towards Fort Gratiot Lighthouse a mere two miles from where we were docked. This lighthouse is Michigan’s oldest dating back to 1814. The whole spot is quite picturesque and I even found a few black squirrels along the way.

Some may already be aware of this but as the temperatures dip here in the northern parts, the weather and lakes can get a bit iffy. Our original plan was to have been up here earlier in the summer and to dilly dally in Lake Michigan a bit longer. As it is already starting to cool off up here, we have dilly-dallied less in the last week or so.

Since we were in a bit of a rush to get to the eastern coast of Michigan, we spent only one night here and headed to Harbor Beach, MI, where we also spent one night before heading to Tawas on the east coast of Michigan. That ride was a little more roly-poly than I bargained for but I made it without dramamine which is an improvement for me.

The dock at Tawas was full of some of the nicest holiday boaters we’ve come across and the dock team was top notch, which makes a huge difference–in my book anyway. Most people have been friendly along the journey, but we’ve found that Midwesterners are extra-special friendly. Originally, we planned to stay just one night here as well, but the setting was too gorgeous, the the town was too inviting and the weather too pleasant for us to hurry off. We stayed long enough to catch Mizzou’s opener against……Central Michigan! I decided to leave one of my rock creations behind at the Big Boy as a reminder of our win.

It’s truly beginning to feel like fall here. You can see a hint of fall color popping out on a tree here and there and we’re feeling a nip in the air both morning and evening. Today, we woke early and found it 47 degrees out. Time to test the heater!

Next, we’ll be making our way towards Mackinaw Island to meet up with our CA traveling buddies with a stop or tow along the way. Wish us safe travels as these lake waters can sometimes get testy!