Day 9 – Michigan Shoreline Tour
Saturday, August 9, 2008 – Harbor Springs to Mackinaw City & Mackinac Island
Well, the good news is that the air mattress didn’t leak after it’s patch job. The bad news is that the tent did. We had a pretty intense thunder storm sometime after midnight that lasted at least a couple of hours. We initially thought the tent held up pretty well….we didn’t find anything wet, and only a small puddle by the door, but when we started packing up and moved the air mattress, we found that we had a flood. This is the last trip for that tent!
Because the morning was cool, damp, and dreary, there was not a lot of incentive for our standard procedure of getting out late. We were on the road by 7:30, and shortly afterward, the rain started again and just stayed around long enough to make it not a fun morning. Even after the rain stopped, it was damp and pretty cold, so we weren’t much interested in taking our time. In addition, there wasn’t really much to see today other than woods on both sides of the road and a beach that it was way too cold to stop and enjoy. We had pretty strong winds off the lake that made it cold when we got near the water and warmer when we got inland, making it hard to stay dressed for comfort.
We reached the end of the ride about 10:00 am, and were one of the first few riders to finish. We quickly grabbed our luggage, threw it in the car, and headed off to our hotel for the night so we could go over to the island. Pam drove, and I rode the tandem alone, prompting the first comments about having someone missing before I got out of the parking lot.
Finished!
We left the car at the hotel, and caught the noon ferry to Mackinac Island. As soon as we got there, we grabbed a sandwich from a grocery store deli and ate it in the sunshine (yes, it had turned into a gorgeous day while we were on the ferry). After eating, we toured historic Mackinac Fort, then set out for our circle tour of the island by bike.
If you discount the tourists everywhere, the island was pretty cool. No cars are allowed, so the only transportation is by bike or horse drawn carriage/wagon. Bike rentals have run amok on the island, and it’s really hard to get anywhere for all the families/little kids/people who haven’t ridden a bike in years not knowing how to safely ride on a path or street.
Grand Hotel
We managed to complete our island tour by bike, then decided to take a horse drawn tour. It was OK, but a little anti-climatic. We enjoyed it, but was a little longer than it needed to be.
Natural arch on Mackinaw Island
After dinner, we took the ferry back to the mainland and rode a couple of blocks back to the last light house of the trip. After getting it’s picture, we headed back to our hotel and a much deserved rest….and got a flat tire on the way. It was flat when we got up the next morning.
Last Lighthouse - Mackinaw City
Last view of Mackinaw Bridge
