Aug 23 DeTour MI to Mackinaw City, MI

Aug 23

Off the docks before 8AM headed for Mackinaw City.   Nothing but open water and quite a few lighthouses.  Water barely had a chop with a light NE breeze giving us a slight push at the stern. 

DeTour Reef Lighthouse

Reynolds Reef Lighthouse

Mackinac Island Lighthouse

Round Island Point Lighthouse

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse

   A very peaceful and tranquil ride until we approached Mackinaw Strait where passenger ferries come from every direction at full speed throwing huge wakes as they shuttle people back and forth to Mackinac Island.   We rocked and rolled and generally just tried to stay the heck out of their way. 

One of the smaller ferries but still plenty of wake

We got tied up at Strait State Harbor (try saying that one 3 times fast over the radio).  Another very nice marina operated by the Michigan DNR that was virtually empty. 

Coast Guard Ice Breaker museum ship behind As You Wish

  We strolled around the town which is very much a tourist trap with all the requisite t shirt, novelty, ice cream and fudge stores.   Found a park with a good view of the Mackinac Strait  Suspension Bridge.  It was the longest suspension bridge in the world when completed in 1957 at 5 miles total length and today is still the third longest.  When we cross under it we will officially have left Lake Huron and entered Lake Michigan.

We found a theatre on our walk that was playing “The Art of Racing in the Rain” so after a very late lunch/early dinner of fish and chips we hit the 5:15 show.   It’s based on a book with the same name we’ve both read and while some of the book is based around racing the story is actually about a dog.   Patrick Dempsey (actor/heart throb/race car driver) bought the film rights to it and as producer did a very good job of keeping it true to the book.   Despite overcast skies most of the day it completely cleared off  by evening delivering another  orange and crimson  delight.

Journey for Aug 23