Another Week gone, Mackinac Island

If blogging were my job, I would probably be fired! Good thing this blog is only a personal record of our RV travels. I am committed to keeping it up, but I can do it at my own pace.

On August 23rd we drove all of 40 miles from Cedarville to St. Ignace, which is the small community on the north side of the Mackinac Straits. We could see Lake Huron from our front window.

St. Ignace sunrise from the Alfa door

I am sometimes awake at sunrise, but I rarely actually get up until later. On this morning, I woke to a room that seemed to glow with golden light. I peeked between the blinds and saw a glorious sunrise. Needless to say, I got up and went out to get some pictures. I confess, I did go back to bed for a while when I came in.

On our second day there, we took the 9:30 Shepler's Ferry over to Mackinac Island. It was very convenient because they sent a shuttle to our RV park to pick us up, and we didn't have to fuss with parking. Also that particular run goes out under the Mackinac Bridge before going to the island. It was a gloriously clear and sunny day.

No cars are allowed on the Island so we decided to purchase the Ferry and Carriage Tour package. We boarded our carriage a short distance from the Ferry dock and we off for a tour of the island.

We drove up several streets with historic homes and buildings. No one actually "lives" in this part of town, since they are all either businesses, Hotels, or B&Bs. This little building is the Post Office, but there has never been a letter delivered on the island. If you get mail, you have to pick it up. With no cars, people either walk, bicycle, or take horse-drawn taxies and carriages. You can also rent a horse and buggy, or just a riding horse.

After traveling through town, our tour went past the Grand Hotel, through some state forest and dropped us off at Surrey Hill, where there was a gift shope, a blacksmith demonstration, a Butterfly House,

and the Grand Hotel barn which houses the Surrey Hills Carriage Museum. 

We enjoyed looking at all the beautifully restored carriages and reading about the famous families that had owned them for use on the island. Many very rich people had, and still have, summer homes here.

The next leg of our tour was in a carriage pulled by a team of three large horses. Our driver said we could pet them if we wanted to. I think this one looks like he enjoyed the attention.

I have to post this, our mandatory picture of Arch Rock. It was one of the stops.              

The color of the Lake Huron water was dramatic. Almost turquoise in the shallows and a deep royal blue in the distance.











The tour also stops at the fort overlooking the village and harbor.

If you want to go into the fort, which we did, there is an extra small fee. I had packed a small picnic lunch and we enjoyed the above view while we ate lunch on a veranda. There is also a restaurant.

I loved these buckets so perfectly lined up outside one of the guardhouses. When the fort was active, these were kept full of water to fight fires. I doubt they were  all as new and shiny then.

After our History lesson, we boarded another carriage and were let off a few blocks away from the Grand Hotel.

This picture was taken from our inbound Ferry. The Grand Hotel is so big it is hard to get it in one image from land!

By the time we had walked there from where the Carriage Tour had let us off, we were ready for an Ice Cream break. We had been told that everything was quite expensive on the island, but we found the ice cream about the same as in any tourist town.

The Hotel on the other hand was no Motel Six. A room can cost as much as $1000 per night for a single, or as little as $400 per person for double occupancy in a shared room.  

There is a $10 per person charge to just walk around the Lobby, porch and gardens if you do not hae a room.

The drinks we had up in the 5th-floor Cupola Bar were pricey at $32 for one glass of Chardonnay and one Irish Coffee. But then, no tipping is allowed at the hotel. 

We walked through the Hotel Gardens and back to town past many other beautifully maintained Victorian homes. We spotted a number of huge mansions overlooking the water from our outbound ferry. There is a separate little village, which we did not see, away from the tourist town area, where a few hundred people live year round, but most only stay in the summer months and the island pretty much shuts down for the winter.

The next day we took the Jeep over the bridge to Mackinaw City. The bridge reminded us of the Golden Gate in San Francisco. We have been there before, so did not go to Ft. Michilimacinac.

Instead we went on a Fudge Sampling walk.

There were about eight fudge shops on a three block strip, and they each gave samples. It was hard, but we did choose just one and bought several flavors.

For us, sometimes it is all about the food! We like to try local specialities if we can. 

We had some delicious smoked whitefish, beef pasties, and in keeping with what is trending now, tried the Impossible Wopper at Burger King.

Earlier on this part of our travels I had changed some of our plans, which is why we ended up returning to Sault Ste. Marie for a few days. Being Labor Day weekend, I could not easily find a different reservation, or change our reservation without penalty. 

So, we had a couple more days of relaxing and watching the big lake ships glide by in Sault Ste. Marie.  Life is so hard!

Saturday evening there was a really nice sunset.

Campers gather at the river's edge and either stand or lounge in their lawn chairs, waiting for the ships to go by. 

These two look as if they were going to crash into each other as they moved in opposite directions.

But of course that was just an illusion, and they each went their own way.

I am writing this on Sunday. We might find something to do tomorrow, or we might just hang out at home in the Alfa, at the Aune Osborn Campground, on the St. Marys river in Sault Ste. Marie Michigan.


Full Time RV Life is good!

Sunrise + Craig's walk in the Atlantic

I got up early enough on Sunday to catch the sunrise. I didn't even have to get dressed or leave the coach. I watched most of it while seated in the passenger seat. I did step out long enough to take a couple of shots.

Sunrise, Long Key Florida

Slightly later:

We started Sunday by taking a one hour walk on the nature trail in Long Key State Park.  It was a nice walk, but not enough for a day's activity.

Karen had mentioned there was a weekend Flea Market on Big Pine Key where we could buy produce, so we headed that way. The pickings were pretty slim, so we passed on buying anything, but we did enjoy driving over the seven-mile bridge to get there.

It was still early in the afternoon,  and having driven this far we decided to go on to Key West.  

I'm not sure what I expected, but we didn't see much on our hour or so drive-around. The parking situation was as bad as we had been told. We saw an on-off bus driving around, and if we ever do go back we will look into using it. As it was, Craig wanted to get back to the coach for a football game, so our trip was limited to just a drive around town. In the older area the houses were quaint, and there were lots of people on the streets. We drove by Mallory Square and it was very crowded. Perhaps another time. We might have tried harder to find parking if we were there for dinner, but since we were not, I was fine with just a drive-by look and was happy to get back to our own little piece of paradise in Long Key.

On Saturday evening I discovered that if I walked west, up the beach for about 400 feet, I could see the sun set over just a thin line of land. I did not take any pictures on Sunday because it was quite cloudy on the horizon, but I'll try for some in the future.

Monday morning dawned bright and clear after a very heavy overnight rain storm. 

Craig had emailed Russ K about a football game Saturday night.  Russ replied, suggesting they bet going for a swim if their team lost. Craig didn't see the email until the next morning so there was no wager, but figured that going for an outdoor swim in Oregon would be about 10 times worse than here in Florida, so given 10-1 odds he probably would have taken the bet.

So today he set out to take a swim on our beach. 

A bit shallow to dive right in so he started to wade out.

And out ...

And out... a very gradual slope.

He said he thought he would soon need a passport when he reached Cuba!

Finally he ducked down so he could claim to have been swimming and came back in.

He says the water was not very cold, but he wished he had worn footwear instead of being barefoot. The ocean floor was sandy, but there were rocks and prickly things from time to time.

But a bet is a bet, and if Russ had lost he would have been a lot colder in Oregon!

Last Day At Grand Canyon

Our Saturday plan was to get up very early and take the shuttle bus to Yaki Point in time to watch the sun rise over the canyon.

Didn't happen. Craig woke me up and told me that if I wanted to do that, it was time, but that he didn't want to go. My body was not ready to leave the warm bed either, and so I cuddled up next to him and went back to sleep.  We are just not morning people. After the exhausting hike the day before, and the half bottle of celebratory wine, I needed sleep more than I needed to see a sunrise. In fact, for once I lingered in bed long after our usual wakeup time reading blogs and looking thru the pictures we had taken the day before. So nice to be retired!

Although we did not do sunrise, we did follow our plan for the rest of the day, which was to explore some of the east part of the park that is accessible by car. As we drove along Desert View Drive we lost sight of the Canyon. The land is flat and covered with scrubby pine forest. I imagined what it must have been for the explorers who first discovered the canyon, or the early Indians who came upon it without knowledge of its existence.  They may have heard stories, but to see the canyon for the first time without pictorial preparation must have been amazing.

Our primary destination was the Watchtower at Desert View. Although it looks old, it was actually built in the 30's for the park service as an observation tower. The stone is all local.

It has four levels, each open at the center.

The walls are decorated with Indian motifs worked so they appear to be ancient and weathered. Fascinating.

There is a large patio observation deck off the second level. As you can tell from the picture we were there before the Saturday crowds started to come. 

In the distance to the East we could see the flatlands and Cedar Mesa. It is beyond the park borders; the locals call it "Flat Top."

This part of the canyon is quite different from the areas we viewed over the past few days. The primary cut seems narrower, and the side canyons not as deep.

On the way back to the campground we stopped at all the remaining points and vistas we could find. We were able to see more of the river at this part of the canyon.

We relaxed and rested during our last afternoon at the Grand Canyon. Craig went out to buy the T-shirt he had seen on our second day and I stayed at the Alfa to work on my blog post. However, since he took his phone, I had no hot spot.

One of our small traditons is to enjoy a dinner at the grand lodge of each National Park we visit if possible. I made reservations at the El Tovar Hotel months ago.

We had a window table and a sunset time, but we really couldn't see much of the canyon, and the sunset was unremarkable.

It didn't mater, because our whole experience had been marvelous. One thing I enjoy about our special dinners is the sense of history and past luxury. There was a time that only the rich would have been able to eat at these grand hotels.

I am so glad our country has preserved our National Parks, and that now ordinary people can enjoy them. 

Our country is rich in so many ways. 

We should all remember that, and support public works.