Charity Island Lighthouse

I know I might have said this before, but I honestly think my weekend in the thumb of Michigan was my favorite weekend in Michigan. Ever. Crazy, right? I’ve been all over the place... to Pictured Rocks, Porcupine Mountains, Copper Harbor, Tunnel of Trees, Detroit, Traverse city and St. Joseph, and this weekend maybe tops them all. It honestly could have been the atmosphere, or just that I had some really fun things planned, but yeah, I seriously loved this weekend. So much. I already can't wait to go back.

We drove into Caseville and got there right on time at the Caseville Municipal Harbor to hop on board for the boat tour and dinner cruise to Charity Island. I've been semi-dying to do this for forever, and I'm so thrilled we finally got the chance to. The weather was pretty gray, but it was so warm outside, and just such a cool atmosphere. It's about an hour trip to the island, and they offer up soda and water (you can bring your own adult beverage if you want) and they also serve up cheese and crackers! My heart!

We got to the island, docked the boat, and headed off on the quarter-mile trek to the lighthouse. Of any lighthouse tour I've ever done, this was the most busy too... I think if you offer food with anything, people are more likely to be interested. Ha! We got to the lighthouse, which is all private property now. It was kind of a bummer to see the actual historic lighthouse tower (built in 1857) in shambles, and the house that was built to it is a "historically inappropriate" Cape Cod style cottage, so it didn't feel like the lighthouses we normally get to see. Thankfully though, the owner said that they just received a grant to fix up the lighthouse tower, so that's great news for future visitors!

We snapped a few pictures, walked around the lighthouse for a bit, and headed to the pavilion. They had a bar, where you could order beer or wine, and then we sat down for dinner. The owner of the island talked for a bit about the history of the island and the lighthouse, which was fun to hear. After that, dinner was served and it was excellent! I opted for the great lakes yellow perch, which was served with artisan bread baked in their wood-burning oven, sauteed fresh Michigan vegetable medley and baby red potatoes poached in fresh dill broth. YUM, right? It was so delicious!

After dinner, we walked back to the dock to hop on the boat because the sky was getting so dark and the wind was picking up like crazy! Our ride home was pretty rough. At first, I was having a blast, and kept calling myself "Sailor Tiek" and boasting I can handle anything! Of course, I immediately regretted that, because about halfway through, I felt so sick. I just had to sit in the chair, not move, not speak, and not breathe. Haha! They offered up strawberry cheesecake, and I was like... nope! We have to take that to go. Even with the motion sickness though, it was such a fun trip. I honestly just loved that night so much.


Outfit details:

Banana Republic Medium Wash Straight Jean
Anorak Up The Points Jacket c/o ModCloth (similar)
Key to Calligraphy Top c/o ModCloth (similar)
Course of Nature Backpack c/o ModCloth (similar)
Scarf (similar)
Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Sneaker