Day 5 - Mackinaw City

We were up early today for showers and cereal and were leaving at 8:45a to hoof it up the hill to the backside of the fort.    

Each day, one person gets to fire the opening cannon at the fort.  I've tried several times to get a spot that worked for our travel plans and its never worked.  But believe it or not, when I called just last Thursday, our preferred day was open.  Yay!  

We met the staff at 9:15 am.  The young man that led us gave us a brief history of the cannon Tyler would be firing.  He went over the liability waiver and safety briefing and then got to the logistics.  The trumpet started to play, he gave Tyler the agreed upon ready sign and "FIRE!"  

It was so cool to be a part of!  Afterwards, we looked around the fort for a bit and then headed back to the boat.  We took a brief stop at the first church on the island and looked at the incredibly old stain glass windows.  Then I ran to Doud's Grocery Store for a few items and then back to the boat.

Once aboard we got busy with prepping to head out.  Our check out time is 11:00 am.  Just before we headed out, we saw some visitors in the water - 4 otters.  It was fun to watch and listen to them play in the water behind our slip.

We pulled out by 11:00a.  We have 12 miles to go but technically aren't supposed to arrive for 2 hours.  So we set our speed at 10 mph and just slowly made our way across to Mackinaw City.  The lake was super calm yet again with very little wind.

We stopped to fuel up and pump out and then made our way to slip A10 around 12:30p.

I ordered lunch from BC Pizza and while the boys finished setting up our water and electrical, Sammy and I took the scooters to town to pick it up.  We ate lunch and played a game of Ticket to Ride.

Then the kids took the scooters to find Tyler some ice cream.  Scott and I were gonna walk to Starbucks but found some bikes that are available to rent from the marina.  I was grateful for some wheels but have never rode a tricycle before and I was surprised how difficult they are to ride.  LOL.  Anyway, in spite of our how silly we looked, we pressed on and met the kids at Starbucks.

Then it was back to the boat for a relaxing afternoon.  We had ravioli lasagna for supper onboard and then decided to go play a round of mini-golf.

Tyler needed to head back for work so he and Sammy took the scooters to make good time.  Scott and I walked over to the postoffice to deliver some outgoing mail.  Then walked back.  Sammy worked on her audition choreography while I worked on church stuff.  After Tyler finished work, we listened to Sammy's latest script and then headed to bed.

It was a wonderful day!

Day 8 Repositioning

 We woke up and checked the weather   The winds for the next few days are not in our favor but we hoped to relocate down to Charlevoix to wait it out.  Petoskey has been a great stop but if we are going to be inside for a few days due to rain, we’d like to have better wifi and closer food options… both of which Charlevoix has.  So we decided to reposition.  It’s only about a 30 min ride if we can go full speed so we decided to get the kids up, have a quick breakfast of cereal and get under way.

We were on our way just before 10:00 am and were able to ramp up to full speed.  There was 2-3’ chop but the wind coming from the south made for a bumpy ride.  As we approached we slowed down to time out the 11:00 am drawbridge opening and were tied off in our slip B19 by 11:25 am just as a rain shower passed through.

We went to a new restaurant, Bridge Street Tap Room, that overlooks the marina for lunch.  Once we got back we shared our cards with Scott for Fathers Day.

It was a hot day with off and on rain showers so we were so happy to have a slider door to close rather than zipping canvases like our last boat.  

Scott and Jen took Coco for a walk through town and visited the sweetest book store.  The owner was a gem and certainly loved what she does!

The kids took a few minutes to run through the kids splash pad at the marina when out for a walk.

Honestly the day was back and forth between outside and in but we all found our place.  Eventually Scott and I headed over to fill up on groceries and met our delivery driver from BC pizza.  We walked home in the rain but it was worth it!

Scott and Jen finished the day out on the back of the boat - one of our favorite places.   

Weather: Partly Sunny, with intermittent rain showers throughout the day
Temps: High 73* Low 60*
Winds: 13-15 mph, gusts up to 26 mph;  SE, switching to S  
Waves: 2-3’ sporadic chop
Travel Distance: 18 mi

Day 5 - Mackinaw City

We started our day around 9:00 am.  Jen didn’t sleep well last night so she started ham and cheese crescents before the family had woke up.  After breakfast, we strapped on our sneakers and walked over to Colonial Michilimackinac.  It was about a mile to the fort so we enjoyed the walk.  Coco came with us so she was glad to stretch her legs too!

The fort was originally established as a Catholic mission by the French in the 1600s and held until 1760 when the English took over just a few 20 years before losing the American Revolution. We learned about life at the fort and all kinds of shenanigans with the local Indians.  It was fun to imagine the area without the bridge in view.

On our walk back, we decided to order some BC Pizza and got it to eat on board.  Coco was exhausted after the walk and slept most of the rest of the day.  

We relaxed on the boat for most of the afternoon.  Around 4:00 pm the winds picked up and a nice storm blew through. 

We waited until the rain quit around 5:30 pm and then headed to dinner at The Hook.  It’s an elevated restaurant next door to our marina which provided a great view of our boat.  We played a game of Ticket to Ride while waiting for our food to arrive and really enjoyed the meal. 

After dinner, we headed to a local theater to watch Inside Out 2.  We have been waiting for the movie to open and today is the day!  It was a great show and we all really enjoyed it. 

After the movie, we stopped at the post office to put out the mail and then headed back to the boat.  Tyler and Jen watched a show together… although Jen fell asleep pretty much immediately so she’ll have to go back to watch again.  By 10:30 pm we were all in bed. Tomorrow we head to the island.  Excited for our next destination!

Weather: Sunny, a thunderstorm late afternoon 
Temps: Hi 72* Lo 59*
Winds: varied but pretty strong 
Waves: whitecaps on the straights
Travel Distance: 0 mi