Birthday Surprises

It's hard to surprise Rick. But for his birthday I wanted to do something special. We were headed to the lake and knew we would do gifts after we arrived, too late for a nice dinner. But where could I take him in the north that would be delicious and fun? I didn't have a clue.

Enter Rick's bike friend, Michael. I didn't realize he had a sailboat in Boyne City. He suggested we come up for a sail, then dinner at a fine restaurant. How could we resist?

And it was wonderful -- Rick was surprised! And as we arrived, it was a warm day, yet another in the hot spell we've been having. We took supplies on deck -- lots of snacks (more than we ate!).

The guys got the sails up, with Captain Kathy's able help. Then it was time to cruise along Lake Charlevoix.

We had some threatening weather, but it didn't deter our fun. As the skies went from blue to dark, back and forth, we simply sailed along, laughed and had a wonderful time.

Some days just go better than you ever thought they would, even with a lot of planning. This one was right on course, all day long!

After the sail, we walked over to a wonderful restaurant, Cafe Sante, which is located on the water. It had a glorious menu -- I had Whitefish a Meuniere and Rick had Boeuf Bourgonoigne (Julia would kill me for spelling of that one, but she would have found the dish one to rival her own recipe.)

After, a stop at the ice cream store -- with huge thanks to Kathy, Michael and our little first mate!

Yes, some days are indeed better than you think they could ever possibly be.