Blue Horizon Adventures: Wed Aug 30: Mac Island to Mackinaw City

The most important thing about today is that it is Claire's BIRTHDAY!!! Happy 26 to our favorite daughter - we hope this next trip around the sun brings you joy and happiness...

Now on to our regularly scheduled programming --

While Rick was getting the boat ready to go, I made a quick fudge sortie. I couldn't decide if it would be a better story if we DIDN'T get fudge in the Fudge Capital, or if we DID. (I'm all about the story.) I decided to use the kids' leftover college money, and buy fudge. I bought three pieces, to save money, with the idea that we can give Claire some. HAHAHAHAHAHA.... As though it will last that long....

It was a gorgeous day - but MAN was it bouncy. And this was a pretty good wave day. But the waves were ‘disorganized’, meaning there was no real pattern for the boat/us to settle in to. We were grateful to only have 6 miles to go….

The two channel markers as you come past Mackinac Island and into the Straights of Mackinac. I think the second one looks like a drowned barn.

The downtown area with the fort up on the hill.

The Grand Hotel with well-behaved ferry passing in front.

Uh-oh... Here comes the ferry-in-a-hurry. You can see why there were so many wakes in the marina. There are 3 different ferry routes to the island, each coming every 30 mins.

And the Grand Hotel with crazy ferry passing.

This pirate 🏴‍☠️ ship helped distract us from the wave situation, a bit. Where there are tourists there will be a pirate ship, fudge, an escape room and a tattoo parlor.

Mack City is just before the famous Mackinac Bridge. I won’t make you look at too many pix of it now, as I’m sure I will get carried away tomorrow, when we cross under it.

Of course I had a list of thing for us to do in little Mack City. This giant hot dog was NOT on the list.

On the list was a visit to the Wacky Tiny Taxidermy Museum (thanks, Atlas Obscura) where little vignettes are formed from small stuffed animals. Who WOULDN’T want to visit?! Sadly it was closed so I only got pix of the window displays. You’re welcome…

But WAIT! There’s more!! I had a surprised planned for Rick.

Me (earlier in the week): I have a show I want to take us to on Wed. Do you want to know what it is? Are you in?

Rick: I’m totally in! I don’t want to know ahead of time-whatever it is I’ll enjoy it, I trust you.

Rick - at 5pm, when he found out we are going to the Jack Pine Lumber Jack Show: WHAT?!?!? We’re going WHERE???

🙄🔨

But we had a super fun time - even though we had to ride our bikes 15mins to get there (no Uber). We learned some about the timber industry (those of us who grew up with Paul Bunyan know a lot already). We learned that many schools in the Midwest and NE have a competitive LUMBER JACK TEAM. What??!! I didn't know that was even a thing....

Don't know if the video will play...