Back in the USA

 TRAVEL DAY 104 - Thessalon, ON to DeTour Village, MI

August 25, 2023

3.3 Hours/25.4 Miles

    The sun popped out and the day dawned absolutely beautiful. After 38 days in Canada we were preparing to transit back into the US from our northern most point on the Loop in the North Channel across to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

 

A beautiful day to cruise back to the USA

    We couldn't have asked for a better travel day. We had a choice of two destinations, Drummond Island or DeTour Village. Up until about 30 minutes into our trip we had no idea which place we would land. After a little research, we decided on the best of 2 small towns, DeTour Village. Heck, we weren't even sure of our route. Today we pretty much figured it out on the way.

 

Last of the North Channel

    As we crossed into the United States, I opened the CBP Roam app. The app is used to satisfy the customs and boarder crossing into the US via a smart phone by uploading all of your travel information. Once you start the process the app says "pending". A few minutes later a Border Agent called and asked us some questions and we were cleared. Back in the USA baby! We had a great time in Canada but I was feeling elated to be back.

 

DeTour Harbor

    I called the DeTour State Harbor for a slip and was given an assignment. We cruised in, located the dock and backed in. Tied up and hooked up, we were anxious to grab a bite in town. We explored some, and even got a number to the local Pickleball Club. The guy called me back and offered to pick us up in the morning to play. Perfect.

DeTour Village - Day 2

    Saturday morning the wind was howling pretty good and we wondered if Pickleball was still on. The plan changed from outdoors in Cedarville, to indoors at the local High School in DeTour. We played with 4 other folks, one was the principal for the school. They were good, very good, we held our own but knew we needed to play more than once a month to stay sharp.

  

DeTour Village Pickleball friends

    The rest of the day was spent cleaning the boat, doing laundry and re-provisioning. The usual after a few days cruising.

Thessalon to DeTour Village

     TRAVEL DAY 105 - DeTour Village to Cedarville

August 27, 2023

3.48 Hours/27 Miles

    Weather forecasts and especially wind forecasts are everything. I not only look at the day's forecast I look at the trend. I use multiple sources to see an agreement on the velocity and the direction. A little higher wind from a direction that is shielded by land may have little significance, while that same wind moving unobstructed can produce miserable conditions. We pick and choose our days. With a mostly open travel day into Lake Huron (the second of the Great Lakes on our adventure) the forecast was for light winds from the N/NE.

 

DeTour Reef Light

    We broke out from DeTour Passage and rounded DeTour Reef Light into Lake Huron. Getting low on fuel I kept the engine at a steady 1900 RPM to retain Betty's "fuel sipping" ability. 

Les Cheneaux Islands

   Traveling along the pine covered coast and not seeing the huge Granite boulders of Georgian Bay was reassuring. We turned NW with Point Shab-Wa-Way to the east and Penny Island to the west and into the well marked bays leading to Cedarville. We didn't know a lot about this town but used this leg to shorten the trip on to Mackinac Island.

  

Cedarville Harbor

    As we neared the town the markers narrowed and so did the water, but we had no less than 6' under the boat. A call to the marina, and the dockmaster was there to receive our lines as we nosed into our slip. The docks and the marina building in Cedarville were not over 2 years old and very well kept. In fact the entire little town was neat as a pin.

 

Tipper Room

    Our friends from Last Arrow had gotten there about 30 minutes prior. We quickly tidied up the boat and grabbed our Pickleball gear and headed for the outdoor courts we had heard about from our DeTour Village Pickleball friends. We were able to play a few games on very nice courts before heading back into town to The Tipper Room, a local brewery & distillery for beer & dinner. A perfect end to a perfect day.

 

DeTour Village to Cedarville

TRAVEL DAY 106 - Cedarville to Mackinac Island 

August 28, 2023

2.65 Hours/20 Miles

    A highlight for this trip will be Mackinac Island. We worked our way through Islington Bay and the backway out of Cedarville through the well marked channel and back to Lake Huron. The seas were flat with just a slight ripple on the water surface.

Mackinac Island

    As we got closer to the Straights of Mackinac we could see large freighters passing east and west. One freighter on AIS showed a length of 1001', that's 3 1/3 football fields! 

 

Slick Calm on Lake Huron

    With Mackinac Island in sight, I called the marina to announce our arrival and slid into our slip in the crystal clear tropical looking water. We got the boat tied up and headed into town. Mackinac (pronounced mackinaw) Island is a very unique place. There are no motorized vehicles (with the exception of a firetruck and an ambulance) allowed on the island. The main mode of transportation is bicycle or horse. The name is derived from "Mitchimakinak" a native word meaning "Great Turtle", denoting how the island pokes out of the water like a turtle shell.

The Grand Hotel

Little Stone Church

    We walked the bicycle and carriage busy streets in search of a snack and some famous Mackinac Island Fudge, every shop saying they had the best. The only way to know for sure was to sample some at each shop. This might take awhile as this promised to be a great 3 day stop. 

Beth's new friend

    We met up with the crew of Runaway whom we hadn't seen since Beaufort, NC. and headed for the Grand Hotel. We avoided the $10 fee to enter by acting like we had been there for awhile. Our group headed to the top of the hotel and the Cupola Bar. More stunning views of the Straits of Mackinac and the surrounding town.

 

Docktales at the Rooftop Bar in the Grand Hotel

  Mackinac Island - Days 2/3

    The day started cold and rainy but promised to clear up mid afternoon. I made a few phone calls to Florida to get an update on Hurricane Idalia that was forecast to make landfall on the Gulf coast pretty close to home. The rain let up and we set out to take a carriage ride around town with the crews of Jolly Roger Too and Shorebilly. This gave us a real sense of what was on the island and some history.  

 

Arch Rock

 

Our team of horses

    Mackinac Island is touristy but not in the way most tourists town are, it retains it's charm I think mostly with the lack of motorized vehicles and chain stores, although there was a Starbucks. We visited Fort Mackinac which was originally constructed by the British during the Revolutionary War and set high on the bluffs of the island to control the Straits of Mackinac. It was the scene for 2 strategic battles of the War of 1812.

Fort Mackinac

Marquette Park / Fort Mackinac

    We did what everyone should do when on the island, ride a bike! We rented bicycles and did the 8.2 mile ride around the perimeter of the island, then a hike back up to the fort for lunch. The view of the harbor is incredible, just like most every view from the island.

Ride around the island

Gravel Beaches

    In the evening we had dinner reservations at The Woods with Last Arrow & Ramble On II (a Canadian couple that we met as they started the Loop in Little Current). The restaurant was nice, the food pricey and the portions small, but the highlight was the duck pin bowling alley at the bar!

 

Mackinac Harbor

Dinner with Last Arrow & Ramble On II

  

  I'm sure we didn't do everything Mackinac Island had to offer, but we definitely tried.

• Bike Ride around the Island
• Horse Drawn Carriage Ride
• Drinks at the Grand Hotel
• Horse Drawn Taxi ride
• Fort Mackinac
• Arch Rock
• Skull Cave
• Great Turtle Brewing Co.
• Fudge
• Ice Cream
• Rum Runners at the Pink Pony
• Dinner at the Woods
• Bought the T-Shirt 

 

Cedarville to Mackinac Island