Mackinaw City, Michigan, United StatesAmericas Best Value Inn Mackinaw City
112 Old US Hwy 31, Mackinaw City, MI, US
Appledore IV Sail
- Evening Sail - St Ignace
- 8/19/2021 6:00 PM
- Star Line Mackinac Island Hydro-Jet Ferry
We heard the loons last night - they finished with a big crescendo like audio fireworks - and then we heard them again in the early morning.
Kara even got a decent recording. My phone did not pick up any sounds from them. (Kara discovered that my recording sound was muted or something.) We were quite thrilled with the experience. We were up around 7 am, trying to stay in our sleeping bags until 7:30 am. We took down the tent, ate our muesli with blueberries, dates and milk, and then packed up the rest of our stuff. Kara went to get some water to wash our bowls and talked with the site host and found out we could keep our registration receipt as a souvenir. A man came by and asked if we were staying longer because he had dibs on our site and he put his registration on our pole. at that time I did not realize that he took my souvenir registration. I had thought he was a pleaant person and now I knew his true self was evil. Oh, well.
We drove out of the campground, made one wrong turn, but Kara caught it immediately and then we were driving back toward Munising. It was as if this road was our home road we seem to have been on it so many times, but this would be the last.
We found the gourmet food cart unopened for coffee so we continued on to the Miners Castle road for our last excursion into Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The rock was nice - the steps down and up were sufficient excersie for the day. We drove a little farther and decided we might as well check out Miners Waterfall - more steps, but it was a really nice waterfall so it was worth it. We met some nice people along the way. I think Kara said she recognized some fromt he boat trip of yesterday.
Now we went back to Munising for our coffee, stopped at a coffee shop to make a hotel reservation. Kara said she could wait for finding out about her flight changes. Kara couldn't find a supermarket in Munising and our attempt to get ice the day before had failed because the bags were too huge. We had some nice iced coffee and pastries for what would turn out to be our lunch. Kara then went back to get some ice from them for our coolers and paid them 2 dollars even though they said it wouldn't cost her anything.
We made our way back to Mackinaw City the way we had come - rt 23, 77, then something else and just before the bridge, I75. We got to our hotel which was very conveniently located off I75 and put the food in the refrigerator, took showers and then tried to figure out where to go for the cruise. By this time it was 4:30 or so. We discovered the cruise was from St Ignace and we had to pick up our tickets at a different dock there.
I was beginning to panic since, on the other cruise, people had all gotten in line more than a half hour ahead of time. So now we had to cross the toll bridge - 4 dollars each time - again to go back to St Ignace which is on the north side. Luckily the docks were not that far away. We saw dock 1 and then dock 2 and we saw the tall masts of the schooner. Then it seemed so much longer to get to dock 3.. The woman was very nice, gave us our tickets and wished us a good voyage and said it would be beautiful.
We got back to dock 2 and an empty parking lot. Then we saw a family sitting under a tree. They were waiting too. I saw two girls sitting on the grass beside the boat but didn't think to ask them. Then it was a quarter to six and there was no one else around. I was getting anxious so I called the ticket office. The woman was very nice and said the crew had probably gone out for food and would be there by six or a bit later and said this would probably be the best cruise of the season. Just before 6 we saw someone come up on deck, and then another blue shirt and then there were 5 crew members magically. We boarded - it was only the other family and the two of us. The captain introduced himself and his young crew. They lived on board all season and one of them usually stayed on as winter caretaker. He gave us the rules and then we got an opportunity to help hoist the sails. It was very hard work. The young woman who was paired with me did all the work really.
We had a lovely sail around the strait betqeen Mackinaw Island, Mackinaw City and St Ignace in Lake Huron. I hadn't realized the bridge was the demarcating line between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It was warm, with just enough breeze to put us under sail power completely. We got to talk to Red and one of the girls and asked a lot of questions. The girl had been a journalist for 10 years and wanted to learn to sail. Red with a braid and shaved head was doing this for 4 years. They were very nice and it was a great experience.
Once we docked and went ashore, Kara checked on a few food options and it turned out that the patio restaurant she saw in the distance down the street turned out to be one recommended on her cell phone search. (MI Patio Bar & Grill - St Ignace) She had a burger and I had a giant whitefish sandwich with fries. We had hard cider to drink and a 3 piece rock band of old guys for live music. They played covers of Van Morrison's Moondance, CCR, Bruce Spring steen and Bob Seger. The singer had a perfect Bob Seeger voice and one of the other men played sax and flute. He had had his 10,000 dollar saxaphone messed up when he rode over it in his car.
After our dinner we drove back to the hotel, Candae called and we chatted, then Kara checked her flights on her phone and they all seemed to be the same as originally booked. I started this blog and this will be all I can finish tonight. I might glance over my cell phone photos. I think Kara is already asleep
2025-05-23