We had another sunny, warm, calm day as we headed for the Mackinac Straights and the Mackinaw City Marina. We saw a couple of "lakers" ...
The Mackinac Straights connect Lake Huron to Lake Michigan and Mackinac Island is right in the middle of the Straights. There are three ferry companies each running boatloads of tourists out to the Island and back every half hour. We felt like a turtle crossing the highway dodging them and their large wakes.
The marina at the Island has a reputation for being very wavy because of the ferry wakes and they were full anyway, so we opted to stay at Mackinaw City Marina (just 7 miles away) on the mainland. We walked around the perimeter of the shoreline of this very touristy town and visited several small city parks scattered along the shoreline among the homes.
We got great views of the famous Mackinac Bridge. Yes, the water is really that color, these pictures are unaltered. The bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world when it was built in 1957, connecting lower Michigan with the Upper Peninsula. The deer hunters were happy because every fall they waited for hours in lines stretching miles to cross to the UP. Seriously, they were instrumental in the drive to get it built.
The next day we took our bikes and rode the ferry to Mackinac Island. 500 people live on the island year round, but about a million visit each year, most of them from June to August. We went up to the Fort which has been immaculately preserved and rebuilt. There are costumed soldiers who shoot off the cannon and the rifles, conduct court marshalls, and even provide musical concerts. We enjoyed a great lunch at the Fort Cafe where we had this view of the harbor.
The Cafe is where you see the yellow umbrellas.
After lunch, we rode our bikes around the eight mile road that runs along the perimeter of the island. No cars are allowed on the island, but there are hundreds of horses (mostly pulling carriages) and thousands of bicycles. As we left the town, we passed by many meticulously maintained and beautifully landscaped homes. This one happens to belong to the Mackinac Island Yacht Club.
We stopped to hike up the hill to Arch Rock.
The views along the road were wonderful, one of the best bike rides ever and so nice to not have to worry about cars coming. It was overcast, but that kept us cool.
We stopped at the ice cream and snack stand that is strategically placed at the four mile mark. As we came back into town, we turned up the hill to see the Grand Hotel. The hotel and gardens are spectacular, but alas, it costs $10 to walk the grounds, so this was a close as we got.
A parting shot of the main street where the carriages, bikes and pedestrians all manage to move without running into each other. It's very entertaining to just sit and watch it all happen.
Today, we had another perfect day as we went under the Mackinac Bridge and entered Lake Michigan.
We are at the Municipal Marina in Petoskey tonight where we scored the last two available slips. Took a tough uphill ride to a "real American supermarket" ... fabulous ... and are now planning our next move.
No comments:
Post a Comment