Day 353: Friday, August 23, 2013
Port to Port: Mackinac Island to Mackinaw City, Michigan
Underway: 10:58 am Motor Off: 12:20 pm Miles Traveled: 7 Stayed At: Marina
Mile to Mile: We wanted to pack as much of the island in as we could this morning so we got up early and went for a long walk along the shoreline. We had planned to walk up a long, steep set of stairs to get to the Arch overlook but it was closed and under repair. So we walked half way back to town and up a steep side street to get to a trail that took us back along the shore again only high up on the bluff. What an amazing view. The clear turquoise water below looks so inviting but, at about 60˚, I think I’ll pass. We were all alone – in our two+ hour walk, we only saw a couple of runners and a park ranger.
We headed back to civilization and passed by the Fort just in time to watch the flag raising – they simultaneously raise 6 flags on command as a bugle plays in the background. The town was starting to wake up – we actually found people wandering around, most of whom had cups of coffee in their hands. We stopped by a hotel we passed yesterday advertising a breakfast brunch for $7.95 and were pleasantly surprised at how good it was – all of our favorites for one low price. We won’t have to cook today.
After a little more window shopping, we were ready to go and so was Carina. We cast off and motorsailed across the channel to the mainland (Irish Attitude and Journey followed us across too) and we all ended up at the Straits State Marina (after navigating one of the trickiest entrances on the trip) a few minute walk to all the shops and restaurants. Can you say “What time is happy hour?” We have something special to celebrate too – Mike and Gay finished their Loop today. What an amazing accomplishment. Now they just have to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives (that’s a lot harder challenge I think).
We like these 7-mile days – lots of time to get boat project done and have fun before Looper Midnight. Boat projects first. I walked a little less than a mile to a gas station – worth the walk to save $1.00/gallon. I paid for half of our marina fee with a 20 minute walk. We next took the mast down to fix the solar light and check the antenna. (One thing we really like about the marina life is how helpful everyone is. Someone on another boat saw that I was fiddling with the antenna and loaned me his antenna checker to see how much power we were putting out). We experimented with a two-to-one pulley to put the mast back up and it worked like a charm (how long did it take to figure this all out?). We finished just in time for docktails after which there was a nice Gold Loop Flag raising ceremony on Irish Attitude. Congratulations Mike and Gay on a Loop well done. There are lots more adventures in your future, I’m sure.
After an amazingly full day, we still had time to do the touristy thing and wander around the shops downtown. We didn’t buy anything but it was fun to people watch and enjoy the sights. We did challenge Linda (the Dairy Queen) and have ice cream on the way back. After seeing what the single scoop cones looked like (they were huge), we actually opted for child size cones that I could barely finish. Definitely the best ice cream deal of the trip so far. We live a hard life on the Loop, don’t we.
