ONE OWNER'S ACCOLADE:
As a former subscriber to Coastal Living, and currently Cottage Living, I am writing to suggest to your magazine as an article on unique living experiences in Northern Michigan.

My husband and I would vacation every year in Northern Michigan and most years our children and their families would join us. As time went on, and the families increased in size, we outgrew most of our rental opportunities. Since retirement was in the near future, we began to look for a place to buy that we could maintain now and hope to spend summers at after our retirement. We happened on a wonderful place on Crooked Lake near Petoskey and Harbor Springs, Michigan. We became "boat house" owners in November of '05. The community is called Windjammer Cove.

This unique condominium consists of living quarters built above a 2 boat garage and 2 car garage. We are living right over the water! It is "boating made easy" with trex decking forming our own private dock, and automatic garage door openers to make our entrance or exit by boat or car a breeze. No more dragging all the provisions out to the dock for a day's boating. Now we are able to walk downstairs, hop in the boat and take off. The condo consists of approximately 2,000 sq. feet, built on 2 levels with views all around. It has the outside appearance of a Victorian cottage, but is built with all the amenities of a "new cottage".

We have a deck on each level, fireplace in the living room, hardwood floors, full dining room, state of the art kitchen with granite counter tops, all facing the lake, and a family room and full bath all on the 2nd level. On the 3rd level are 2 large bedrooms, connected with a sitting room, for extra sleeping capacity for family or friends and 2 more full baths.

Crooked Lake is part of the Inland Water Route in Michigan. Every day we can boat in a different area that has a flavor all it's own. Connected by rivers to other lakes, we can journey all the way to Lake Huron from our boat house or trailer our boat a short distance to Harbor Springs, Michigan to put in at Little Traverse Bay and travel the shore lines of Lake Michigan, stopping in Charlevoix, Traverse City, Suttons Bay or Leland, Michigan, to name a few. Depending on our journey, we sometimes boat through traditional draw bridges, locks and unique swinging bridges - all of which are still operated by people whose families have lived on these unique waterways for generations.

Winter time finds us at local ski resorts; Boyne Highlands, and Nub's Nob. Both ski resorts are less than 15 minutes from our cottage and with snowmobiles, cross country skiing, and snow shoeing. In addition to the downhill runs, there are plenty of wintertime activities to keep us busy.

In looking for a seasonal home, we found that boat docking space, in close proximity to homes was at a premium. Many areas of the Great Lakes water levels varied, and wind and rock made it hazardous to safely dock your boat. Other condo units we looked at sold dock space over and above the cost of the condo, making it cost prohibitive and difficult to use. Here at the Windjammer, our boat is safe and protected from the weather at all times and is actually part of our living space. On the grounds is a full service marina where friendly employees are available for all our boating needs.

The Windjammer is only in its first phase of construction. All of the first unit owners are from Ohio. My husband and I are professionals in Cincinnati, Ohio. We have 3 children and 6 grandchildren, living in southern California and St. Louis, Missouri. The grandchildren love to fish from our decks, taker their paddle boat out into the lake or play on a sand bar.

There is plenty more I could tell you about the wonders of Windjammer Cove on Crooked Lake in beautiful Northern Michigan and my wish is that you might like to share our story with your readers.

Sincerely,

Kathleen L. Gilgrist