We were given an unexpected mid-summer swell on Wednesday. Mel and I hit the road to South Haven. Though it was blowing 20 knots, we arrived to a rather calm Lake Michigan.
The wind increased though out the day and shifting more NW than the NNE that it was when we arrived. This caused the waves built too. After kiting most of the day, I grabbed a couple of waves surfing before we headed home.
Mel and I had a blast at Layne and Zach’s wedding. It was a beautiful weekend up north celebrating such a great couple. The reception site was gorgeous and surrounded by a cherry orchard. It was clear Layne and Zach had the best day ever. Congrats you two!
The Roney family came out in full force again at this year’s Cherry Festival race and everyone posted great times.
We had another great weekend in Traverse City. It was full of activities like wake surfing, skating and paddling. The weather has amazed this summer.
One of the highlights was driving down the two-track to the mini in the woods. We unfortunately didn’t get to skate it for very long but it was really fun and I can’t wait to go back.
I had a great session this morning at the Ann Arbor Skatepark. Mike and Todd drove in from Kalamazoo. We were out there early and had a great time. The weather was perfect and it wasn’t too crowded. It was great having the guys in town to push each other into a few new tricks. All around, good times were had by all!
Mel and I hit the road to drive North to Arcadia Bluffs Golf Course for a couple of days after the wedding. Arcadia is just south of Frankfort Michigan on the banks of Lake Michigan. They cleared the trees and created a beautiful dune styled golf course.
After we checked in, we took a long walk on Lake Michigan. The water was still freezing and the skies were overcast. We then headed back to the bluffs to have drinks and dinner overlooking the course. They had fantastic food and a great sunset to go along with the meal.
The next day we played 18 holes. It is a beautiful course. The greens are huge and fast. The bunkers are taller than me and the views are spectacular. We both played a great round of golf. That evening we hiked around northern Arcadia and into Frankfort.
One of the highlights of the trip was when we were on hole #3 and the ranger came to tell us to be careful on hole #5 because there was a newly born deer on the course. By the time we got there, the doe and mother were gone. The next morning while having breakfast on the back deck the doe came wandering up to us.
It was a terrific trip!
Here are a couple photos from our time up north.
Our friends Nicole and Kellan are having a baby girl. Here are a couple of images from the baby shower.
I finally got to ride where Mel took her first kiteboarding lesson. It was a spectacular day! We made our way to Elk Rapids, Michigan to find the kiting location. the kite spot was over a mile away from the vehicles. We packed our gear and started the journey through a trail in the woods until we reached the sandy shores of East Bay. From there we paddled north to the point.
The wind was light when we arrived. I kited on the standup board for 30-45 minutes until the wind picked up to perfect 12m conditions. I played in the pool for a bit. It was great to ride in flat water again! We got Mel out and cruising for a while and we rode until the end of the day. It was a very long journey back to the cars but well worth it! Thanks to Edgar for shooting.