Wednesday 7 May 2025--I had never heard of Beaver Island when I started planning this trip; I just happened to spot it on the map. The more I looked into it, the more interesting it appeared. At one point, I thought I might stay on an island in each of the Great Lakes, and Beaver Island ticked Lake Michigan's box. I have three nights here, and I took a bit of a gamble--my car is on standby for the ferry trip, and if it doesn't get on, I'll be confined pretty much to the village of St James. Fortunately, the crew find room for my car in amongst all the cargo going over. But the village has everything one might need, and spending three days there wouldn't have been the worst thing.