U Gotta Regatta

This weekend is the annual Regatta Weekend in Little Traverse Bay. It is so pretty to see all the sailboats out on the water. Too bad it was a little rainy and gray on Saturday, hopefully the rest of the weekend will be nicer for the sailors. It is a nice place to be on a summer's day.

A Glorious Day on the Bay

On such a day as this, one of the best places to be is on the bay in a sailboat. It is lovely and blue, the bay's waves are not whitecapped, and the breeze is strong enough to get you where you want to go. It is quiet and peaceful and wherever you're headed, it will take you a while to get there, so you have to slow down and just enjoy yourself.

The Ice is Gone

This year the bay was frozen longer than I ever remember it being frozen. But finally all the ice is gone and the bay is back! Of course, it is still VERY cold and I don't want to go swimming, but at least all the ice is gone.

The Bay in Winter

Along about January or February, the bay starts to look like this; miniature icebergs that eventually join if the weather is cold enough for a long period of time. A cold snap will insure this happening, and that cold snap is likely on its way. The wind also plays a vital role in this production as it pushes water up onto the breakwall and the lighthouse and makes very interesting snow sculptures for our enjoyment. But for now, the temperatures are winter-comfortable (mid 20's) and there is no snow expected today.

At the Beach..or Not

Here in Petoskey itself, there are few choices if you want to head to the beach. This is one of the 2 (that I can think of) sandy beach areas around. The others don't have sand, they have rocks, which is great if you're looking for Petoskey stones, not so great if you want to play in the water or lay out on a towel. This area is where the Bear River flows into Little Traverse Bay, so there is a current here, I'm told. I've never gone swimming here, we usually go to shallower Walloon Lake. It takes until August for Lake Michigan water to get even remotely warm! Someday, maybe, I'll get a wetsuit and go swimming here!

Little Traverse Bay Shoreline

I do love this view. From the playground seen in the right foreground, you can have a lovely view of the bay, and we're there quite a bit in the summer. The water is beautiful, but here it is quite rocky. The best beach on the bay is in the State Park that you can't quite see on the left side of the shoreline. There the beach is nice and sandy with lots of shallow water in which to swim. The State Park also has camping lots available for those who want to stay a while!!

Activity on the Bay

If you look really closely, you can see the kayakers out there! The bay is deceptively large; it is about 7 miles across to Harbor Springs, that faint cluster of buildings on the far shoreline. These kayakers were out enjoying the fairly calm day on the bay (there are no whitecaps, so it's not too windy) and we got to enjoy the view from Sunset Park. A win-win situation!

What a gorgeous weekend!

It was a great weekend and my family came down to the waterfront a few times, we played bocce ball on the green here and had so much fun! It is a great place to play, to fly kites, or just hang out on a blanket with a picnic lunch. If you don't want to go the blanket route, there is a picnic pavilion with tables just to the right near where the river flows into the bay. Come check out the best picnic spot in Michigan!

A Lovely Piece of History

The Perry Hotel is a lovely piece of Petoskey history. It is a historic hotel that overlooks Little Traverse Bay and is beautifully preserved inside and out. There are 3 restaurants here at the Perry, one a pub in the basement with live music on the weekends, another a very nice main floor restaurant that overlooks the bay, and the third is seasonal, an outdoor cafe that overlooks the bay and is set in a lovely garden. The owner, (whom we met at another of his properties in the area when he took care of our hot chocolate cups for us), is very nice and insists that things be taken care of well. I always appreciate a trip to the Perry for dinner! The hotel has been here for over 100 years and has had its ups and downs, but it is a landmark on the bay, and we're glad it's part of Petoskey.