Pat and Jim Aboard Northern Lake Michigan

Getting ready to begin the Mackinac Bridge Walk on Labor Day

At the finish line with tired feet, but still smiling.

Pat and Jim took the 8 a.m. ferry from Mackinac Island Monday and met us at the St. Ignace dock.  From there we caught a shuttle to the staging area for the annual Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk where we joined 60,000 others to walk the 5 mile bridge on a beautiful, sunny day. We started walking around 10 a.m. and Tom and Jim soon outpaced Pat and me.  They don't take their long legs into account. We met up with them at the other end of the bridge around 11:30.  The bridge walk was one of those happy accidents we didn't plan, but the timing worked and it was great fun.

Linda and Pat near center of bridge.

Going under the bridge tower.

View of  sparkling Lake Huron from bridge.

Linda receiving completion certificate.

The committee did a great job organizing this event.  Without any wait, we caught a shuttle from Mackinac City back to the staging area in St. Ignace.  From there we got on another shuttle that let us off right at the marina.

Since the water was flat and the wind/wave report for Monday and Tuesday was predicted to be better than the rest of the week,  we decided to head off to Beaver Island that afternoon.  We were underway around 1 p.m. and arrived at Beaver Island about 5 p.m.  We ran fast the last hour as a storm was brewing to the northwest.   We were in and tied fast by the time it let loose.  That night we had dinner at the Shamrock Bar and spent a few hours playing table shuffleboard (Tom and Jim eked out a victory) as the  storm continued pounding.

And the view just entering Lake Michigan.

The view going under the bridge en route to Beaver Island.

Due to the walk, the Coast Guard had a presence under the bridge .
This was our auxiliary Coast Guard escort under the bridge.

 Tuesday morning we were up early and underway by 7:45.  We had 80+ miles to go that day to reach Fayette, MI.  The weather was cool and sunny and the water was almost smooth the entire way.  Someone is definitely watching over us!
 We set the radar detection screen and let "Auto" have the helm while we played dominoes (with frequent helm checks by the captain and crew).

We think this little hitchhiker  is a Kirkland Warbler that has a very small nesting range in  northern lower Michigan.
He joined us about 40 miles into the run to Fayette and "hung on" until we were almost there.

Dolemite cliffs at entrance to Fayette harbor.
The dolemite was mined and used to remove the slag  in the iron ore process.

  Arriving at Fayette, MI around 4:30 p.m. we tied in the middle of a face dock with five other boats.  Fayette is a Michigan state park, the site of a historic 1800's iron ore community. The town was abandoned in the early 1900's when the hardwood forests used to make charcoal were depleted and the iron ore process became unprofitable.  The hotel remained open and was run until the mid-1950's.  After that the state of Michigan took over the site. Several of the buildings have been restored and display the history of the town.  Others are in the process of or slated for restoration.  It was a very interesting stop, and a bit spooky at night.

Iron ore furnaces at Fayette, MI

Historic village of Fayette with Raydiance at the dock.

Restored auditorim where the Fayette Coronet Band would often play.
Backstage the wallboards have signatures from the traveling troupes that had played there
including ventriloquists and animal shows.

Hiking the bluffs at Fayette

The beach on the south side of the island was made up of these
wonderful, smooth rocks.  I must confess a few made their way to the boat.

Sunset at Fayette with Mormon family in foreground:)

I love the birch trees in this area.  Guess I get that from my parents.

Tom and Jim found a guide to Yooper Bars at the gift shop.  Nothing would do but to try one that evening for dinner.  So we walked a mile to Sherry's and had a good walleye dinner.  Checking the book we discovered dat da two restaurants in DeTour were also classified as Yooper Bars.  Oh ya!!

Sherry's Yooper Bar

Having spent Wednesday exploring Fayette, we left for the 27 mile trip to Escanaba on Thursday morning.  The moon was still visible as we left the harbor, so we truly were going to "Escanaba in da moonlight"!  The harbor at Escanaba had high docks, but they were in good shape.  Pat and I explored the area using bikes  the marina had available.  The guys joined us that night and we biked to Hereford and Hops (an upscale yooper bar) for dinner.

The Bobsey twins getting ready to ride!

Do you think this might be Packer country?

Sand Hill Lighthouse in Escanaba, MI

After many checks of the wind/wave and weather reports,  it was decided that Friday--even though it was forecast to rain all day, which it did--was the better day to go on into Menominee,MI.  Sally and John Scott, Pat and Jim's good friends from Wausaukee, were able to rearrange plans and make the run.  I drove their car from Escanaba to Menominee and met them at the dock as they came in.  Although it wasn't a sunny day, the waves behaved and stayed one footers. So they enjoyed a smooth ride playing dominoes and Five Crowns with Jim and Tom alternating at the helm.

Tom, Pat, Linda, Jim, Sally and John

Arriving in Menominee, MI on a calm, but rainy day.

Pat and Jim spent Friday night with us and headed home to Wausaukee (30 minutes west) on Saturday.  Having been aboard twice now, they are becoming quite the experienced crew.  We are already making plans to meet somewhere on Superior next year!