Mackinac Island

 If only we could have had the average of the last two days rather than both extremes for wind and waves. We started out sailing at a decent pace, then later in the morning the wind died never to return. We motored the rest of the way. We got inundated with another kind of bug that didn't bite but was annoying by their numbers. They were also very slow or didn't even bother to fly away, so we had dead bugs all over. You had to remember to swipe the seat before sitting down or you'd kill a bunch of bugs on your pants.

A lighthouse in the middle of the Straights of Mackinac.

This part of the trip did include traversing under the Mackinac Bridge. It is a beautiful sight and at the rate that we were going, we got to see it a long time.

First view of the bridge. The ends and Mackinac Island are to low on the horizon yet to be seen.

Full bridge in view with Mackinac Island under the center span. It is about 5 miles past the bridge.

Mackinac Island has a lot of history and many old buildings. It also had many newer houses for the wealthy. The old buildings downtown have been converted to tourism. There had to be a dozen fudge shops, Mackinac Island is known for fudge, sourvineer and T-shirt shops, bars and restaurants. No cars are allowed on the island so there are horse carriage taxis and more bicycles than you can count. There are ferries running from Mackinaw City on mainland Michigan constantly bringing tourists back and forth. There are at least two different ferry companies.

View of the Grand Hotel from the boat with one of the ferries passing.

One of the light houses between Mackinac Island and Round Island.

I think this is the lighthouse keepers residence.

Another type of ferry.

The lighthouse on the other side of the channel with the tourist district of Mackinac Island in the background.

The tourist district of Mackinac Island as we approached the marina.

The tourist district with horse drawn carriage taxis and bicycles lining the road. Watch our for horse apples when crossing the street.

The marina was very nice and new. It had large showers and laundry. It was another municipal marina. All but one of our marinas so far have been Michigan municipal marinas. This one did not have a sitting area though. It as very close to the downtown strip, so we didn't have to go far for dinner. Was also were able to walk to the Grand Hotel.

The Grand Hotel up close.

The marina at night.

We ate dinner at the Great Turtle brewery. I had broiled pretzel crusted Whitefish again (I'm going to eat as much locally caught fish as I can since it won't be available after this) that was very good. As for beer, they had a good selection that featured a lot of fruited beers, but had enough pure beer. I had a flight of Hoban Street Stout, Big Aft Double IPA, Two Bluffs Barrel Aged Ale and Rusty Fender Amber Ale. I also had a Pedal Fast IPA session beer. All were quite good and pretty true to style. I did not try any of the fruity or deserty beers as those are typically not my favorites. After stopping to see the Grand Hotel, we stopped at the Pink Pony on our way back to the boat. I went out of my box and ordered a Biere Du Mac Brewery (Mackinaw City) Blueberry Wheat. It was a take on all the citrusy wheat beers but with blueberries. It was pretty good as you could taste the wheat and the blueberry was subtle.