Week 7 America's Great Loop

Week 7

Aug. 25-31

Monday

We stayed all day in Blind River. The winds are really high today. We don't mind a down day here and there. We get a lot of chores done. Ed took the scooter and went looking for a windshield wiper blade. The marina store and auto parts store didn't have one. He was told to try the junkyard. He rode several miles to the outskirts of town to find that the yard was closed.

He changed the oil and filter. That is a messy ordeal. I scrubbed the flybridge and rinsed off the main deck. I think if we keep up on it, it will not be near as hard or take as long. I also got some embroidery work done. I need to get a craft fix in here and there.

We rode into town about a mile away and went to the grocery. It was small but really well stocked.

We met several loopers today. I think there's 5 of us here in this marina. Four of us came in yesterday and one today. It's fun to visit and learn how everyone is experiencing the loop. One big boat left today even with terrible winds. His boat is big and he thought it would be ok. Ed told him that lake is unforgiving and dangerous. He only made it 6 miles out and a big wave hit and broke his dingy rack. He had to come back and call a welder to come fix it. We all think we're going to leave tomorrow. It should be good weather. It's chilly these days. We have temps in the 50s today.

Tuesday

We got off the dock this morning just before 8. The winds are not so strong today. We crossed Lake Huron to Drummond Island Michigan. We crossed into the U.S. and cleared customs and got fuel. This darling older lady next to us was so friendly. She saw our Erie canal flag and told how her great grandfather was a lock master. She just had to sing me an old ditty her grandfather taught her about the Erie canal. See our YouTube video.

Then we cruised another 8 miles to arrive in DeTour, Michigan. It was a nice small marina. Two other looper boats came in after us. We're seeing them all the time now that we caught the flotilla.

We went exploring a bit. The main street is about 6 blocks long with 2 flashing yellow on each end. Not a lot of traffic here. We walked to the botanical gardens. They were lovely and right on lake Huron. It made for a beautiful backdrop. On a sign in the garden it tells that in the 19th century the life expectancy of a sailor in the great lakes was less than 7 years. Between 1878 and 1898 5999 ships wrecked on these shores which 1093 were total losses. There was a mega gale in November 1913 where 12 ships were sunk and another 31 stranded with the loss of 248 sailors in one weekend alone. Crazy.

We went to dinner at the best restaurant in town- it was in a mobile home! We traveled 43 nautical miles today.

Wednesday

We left the marina at just after 7am to catch the best wind window we could for today. We crossed lake Huron to St. Ignace MI. It was a pretty smooth uneventful crossing. The wind was picking up as we arrived. It was good to get in the next marina when we did.

We got some chores done and we went for lunch before the rains came.

St Ignace gets its name from the founder a French Jesuit missionary Jaques Marquette in 1671. It's in honor of St. Ignatius the founder of the order that Jaques was a member of. Marquette started a mission here and the place grew to the city it is today. It's a very popular tourist place during the summer. There are 3 other looper boats here currently.

It's interesting that on the east coast we were in unusually hot temperatures and in Georgian Bay and here in Michigan we are in unusually cold temperatures.

We ventured out a couple of different times in between the rain to do some shopping (I needed a couple of pair of sweats and long sleeved tops and Ed needed some boat stuff). I wasn't prepared for this cold of weather. We were told we would be chasing 80 degrees with an occasional cold day not weeks on end. We also walked on this really nice boardwalk that follows the coastline. It's been a really nice relaxing day.

Thursday

This morning we headed out early to Mackinac Island. We docked at the slip right on the shoreline in town. It is the most charming place!!! We loved it. We started out on a hike. We went to the major landmarks i.e. fort Mackinac, the somewhere in time gazebo, arch rock, sugar loaf rock, fort Holmes (the highest point on the island) the cemetery, and the governor's summer home. It took us several hours to complete that circle. We couldn't get into the grand hotel, no spots available. We were told to go to The Woods for dinner. It's tucked further back on the island by the Stonecliff Inn. It was amazing. It's the best meal we've had on the loop yet! We had to take the horse drawn taxi to get there which took about an hour to go about 2 miles. It was a really fun experience.

Friday

We didn't have to check out till 11, so it was a leisure morning. Jeff, a fellow looper came to the boat to talk to Ed about the river systems we'll be hitting in a couple of weeks.

While they chatted I went for a walk down to mission point. It was a gorgeous walk of charming homes, bed and breakfasts, and some inns.

We crossed the straight to Mackinaw City to that Marina. You'll notice the spelling change. The French originally settled the island and often they don't pronounce the last letter. The English settled Mackinaw City and wrote it with a W. Both pronounced the same as if it were w. It's a nice marina with all the amenities. We did a deep clean of the boat. Elise and Milani arrived around 4. We were so excited to have them come. They had a long day of traveling and were starving. We went to dinner right away to a seafood restaurant right on the water.

We had to do a grocery run which was at least a mile away. After putting everything away, I realized I couldn't find my phone. Ed used my watch to find it. It was in the public restroom we had used back in town. Elise and I grabbed the loaner bikes from the Marina to go retrieve my phone. Luckily it was still there!! We continued to ride bikes on this beautiful night. We rode through a neighborhood and came out right on the coast. We followed the coastline back to the marina.

Saturday

We caught the 8:30 ferry to Mackinac Island with the kids. It's the holiday weekend, so the marina didn't have any slips for us to stay right on the island. We beat the crowds by going early. Elise and Milani had never been to the island and were so enchanted! We started out with a horse drawn tour around the main sites. The second half of the tour we were on a wagon the size of a semi-truck! We stepped off at the grand hotel to go to lunch in the main dining room. It was such a treat. It was a buffet of really good food and it was $77.95 per person. We walked around the inside of the hotel looking at the memorabilia and then the grounds. The pool is called the Ester Williams pool. The older folks will know who she is. She was also in a film that was filmed at the grand in the 1940s. We found the secret garden and walked through that. Then we headed for the horseback riding stables. That's all Milani wanted to do. Elise and Milani went riding. Ed and I didn't care to do that. We walked to the coast and then found a bench on main street to wait for them.

We rented 2 tandem bikes and rode the whole circumference of the island-8 miles. It's a beautiful ride. We did a little shopping and caught the 5:30 ferry back to the mainland. We ended the night with a fireworks show. We're not sure why they had one on a Sat Aug 30th, but it was amazing. We had a great view from the back of our boat. It was a perfect day.

Sunday

We didn't have to leave the marina early today. We all got up, and dressed for church and waited 30 min for an Uber but never got picked up so we did boat church lesson on light and truth. Then we traveled under the Big Mac bridge into Lake Michigan to Beaver Island. The water got kind of rough as the wind picked up. Both Elise and Milani got seasick. 😞. It was pretty windy and really tricky getting into our slip. It's so nice that people just jump up to help and catch lines.

We went walking to settle stomachs and stretch our legs. In the late 1800s Beaver Island was the highest exporter of fish in the United States. It was settled by the Irish fisherman. There aren't any stop lights in this small town. It's super cute and has some nice small sandy beaches. There is even a Mormon printing press museum and some history of a Mormon polygamist who was driven out of town in the 1800s. Weird history.

Elise and Milani went to the public beach. It was on the cold and windy side. Ed and I stayed on the boat. We played games and watched Somewhere in Time, filmed on Mackinac island, to end the evening.