Friday August 5, 2011

Today our only plan was to visit Mackinac Island.  Gerri did wash in the morning and we were ready for adventure by one.

St. Ignace Light House

The ferry company we choose has a shuttle that comes to the park and took us to the dock.  We were running late for the 1 o'clock boat for some reason there was no 2 o'clock boat.  The shuttle took Glenna and Gerri to the boat while I bought tickets.  There was one man in line before me and pretty soon I realized he was asking the clerk to go through all her quarters to get him different state quarters.  The loud speaker on the boat called a last call for boarding and she just continued sorting quarters.  I didn't understand why she didn't ask the quarter seeker to wait while she sold me tickets.  As I got the tickets the 5 second warning was given. Fortunately the timer counted slow so we made it onto the boat. 

"Mighty Mac"

It was about a 20 minute ride to the island.  The brochure said the ferry went under the bridge, but the closest we were was about five miles away.  Gerri checked later and was told that they only go under the bridge early in the morning and late at night.  The boat was only about half full but when we got to the island it was a bustling crowded place.  

Most of the businesses along the water front were bike rental shops.  There were hundreds of people on bikes going pretty much helter skelter everywhere with little regard for pedestrians trying to cross the street or for the horse drawn vehicles on the street.
We took a tour around the island in a horse drawn carriage.  A team of two horses pulled the carriage in the town part of the tour and we switched to a triple hitch for the more remote parts of the Island.  During the carriage change, I found a nearby cache.  There are hundreds on the island.  Automobiles were banned on the island in 1904.  The only motorized vehicle are fire trucks, two ambulances and a police vehicle.  A special permit is required to bring other vehicles to the island, even for construction equipment.  A state park takes up about 80% of the island.  There are bike and hiking trails everywhere.  The winter population is about 400 and they have up to 8000 tourists a day during the season.

On the park part of the tour there was only one stop at view point and a limestone arch.
After the tour we walked downtown and found a restaurant on the waterfront, Mary's Bistro.  We decided to just split a 12" pizza and have supper later back at the coach.  WELLLLL, the pizza was so good we ordered another and made that our supper.

Fudge shop purchases

After eating we stopped at a fudge shop, Glenna had been reading the signs on fudge shops all afternoon.Fudge shops seem to be the second most plentiful after bicycle shops.  Two of the fudge shops claim to have been opened in the 1880's.
The boat ride back was about like the boat ride over, no trip under or close to the bridge.  The shuttle ride back to the park was more exciting.  A Honda stopped suddenly in front of us and made a turn.  The shuttle driver braked and barely avoided a collision.  Gerri and I both were thrown forward and got little nicks.  Since I take warfarin, mine bleed a lot.  It really worried the shuttle driver.  I got the bleeding stopped after I got to the Jeep and had wipes and band aids handy.  I really have to buy stock in Johnson and Johnson.
We got back to the Park at about 9 PM.  Gerri tried to catch up her computer time and I talked to a neighbor until after dark.  I tried to get my e-mail via Wii, but the connection was too slow.  After a little TV time we were all in bed.