Day 13 of 30 | Northport to Suttons Bay

1/23/2025

Wednesday, July 24, 2024: Today was extraordinary! Our next destination is Suttons Bay, where our friends, Matt & Keri, live. We have been talking about bringing our boat to Suttons Bay Marina for several years and today is the day it happened! With Mike & Mary staying at Matt & Keri's house, the plan was for Paul & Patti to drive from Traverse City and we'd all meet at their house later this evening, after they were done working for the day. With plans already in place, we didn't have any reason to talk to anyone until later so we enjoyed a relaxing morning in Northport and left at 11:56 a.m.

It's 12:30 p.m. as we are nearing Suttons Bay. Serendipitously, Keri texted me to ask, "when do you think you're going to bring the boat over?" I quickly replied, "right now!" and sent her a picture to show her our current location. Typically, I'm not watching my phone as we're approaching a marina so this was very unusual that I had it near me. Keri received my message and immediately ran to her balcony to take pictures of us as we entered the marina. Do you see how magical this is?! I didn't know she was doing this at the moment so it was a wonderful surprise to see the pictures later.

We were concentrating on getting into the boat slip. As we turned into the marina, we could feel how strong the wind was. Thankfully there was a group of four people standing on the dock who assisted us with lines, making the task less stressful. They had arrived moments before we did. After we secured the lines and started talking with them, they asked where we're from. We explained that this is our 13th day traveling on the boat and that we're from Grosse Pointe Woods. They were astonished and offered us high praise and congratulated us for coming this far. :-)

I heard my phone and when I picked it up, saw the pictures Keri took of us and I listened to a voicemail message from Mike. He was watching our every move through a telescope and was describing what we were doing. It was so exciting and funny. I will keep that voicemail forever. This was literally a dream come true for us and we have it documented in so many ways. Absolutely magical! The bay behind our boat is breathtaking with a beach, wildflowers, and a boardwalk. In the distant treetops, we can see Matt & Keri's house and we're ecstatic. "We did it!"

Mike drove down to pick us up and take us up to the house. It was wonderful to visit with everyone and savor the breathtaking views from Matt & Keri's dream home. By 8:30 p.m., we walked down the winding hill and back to the marina. We agreed to text once we were back on the boat so they could watch for us. Larry turned on our spotlight and shined it in the direction where Keri and Mike stood on the balcony, flicking their light on and off. Yep, we might've looked ridiculous to anyone watching but it was so fun! What a day this was! Not one we will forget.