Mackinac Island

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Another long drive today.

We hated to leave our friends but it was time to get started to make our target destination by 3:00pm. We got on the road about 9:00am. We had a plan to visit a number of interesting beachfront cities and towns along the way. And we did.

Our first stop was the Sleeping Bear Sand dunes. The views at the top are spectacular. Only, I know that by reading. We chose to skip this dune climbing test and move on. We think that Baldy, in the Arcadia Dunes was enough of a test and we passed. These are stunning though and if you come by you should climb.

Next we made it to Charlevoix, where we had lunch at the Weathervane Restaurant. Once again the weather was perfect for an outside lunch right on the waterway. Next top was Leland. We drove off the main street towards the Lake to visit Fishtown.

From here we passed through many nice towns along M-22 and I-75 before we reached Mackinaw City. We chose not to tour the city since we were anxious to get to the island. So, we drove over to St. Ignace across the massive 5-mile bridge. Here we spotted Lake Huron for the first time. You can also see Mackinac Island from this shore. As recommended we tuned in the AM radio station to get updates on the drive over the bridge. There was a heavy fog over the bridge. It was about 2:00pm when we approached and we were warned that there were high winds over the bridge and we should drive slow as we crossed (20mph). We never had any unusual weather conditions as we crossed. I concluded that message is fixed to slow traffic over the bridge.

We had no problems buying our tickets for the ferry. It was scheduled to depart at 3:00pm. We had plenty of time to unload our bags and drive over to the free parking space across the street. The ferry ride over was only 15 minutes. The sky was clear and the sites on the island clear.

Once we exited the boat we had only a short walk to our hotel, the Bicycle Street Inn. While we were checking in our baggage arrived. We unpacked in our room and hurried out to explore the island. It is measuring up to our high expectations.

We were tired and decided to have a drink at the Pink Pony and then return to the hotel restaurant for dinner.

We were in bed early and excited for tomorrow.

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Photos

Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes
We were there. But we chose not to climb this dune.

Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes
You can see how tall by spotting those two climbing the sand.

Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes
The dune is moving. You can read this history of a plank that was positioned in 1985. It has been here for 33 years.

Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes
Not sure you can read the but it says the dune has reached the 81 ft mark. So, the dune is growing almost 3 ft per year.

Bridge to St. Ignace
This is one large bridge. Five miles from shore to shore.

Mackinac Island
Our first view of the Grand Hotel. Spectacular.

Mackinac Island
If you look close you can see Jackie and me on the island.

Mackinac Island
The Bicycle Street Inn. Our home for two nights.

Mackinac Island
Our first view of Fort Mackinac. Also, a view of the common mode of transportation.

Mackinac Island
When you first arrive you are not certain how important each site is. Marquette Park is nice and very common in the middle of town.

Mackinac Island
Time to visit the Pink Pony for some refreshments.