Days 28 & 29

We departed Green Bay and headed north and east, following the coastline of Lake Michigan. At some point we crossed the state border into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We soon learned that people that live in the Upper Peninsula are called Yoopers. (while people in Lower Peninsula are called Loopers?) As we continued to follow the coastline we passed the Mackinac Bridge and arrived at St. Ignace. The bridge connects the Upper and Lower halves of Michigan. It also separates Lake Michigan from Lake Heron, so now the coastline we're following is of Lake Huron! Our campground is at Straits State Park and our campsite has a great view of the lake and of the Mackinac Bridge. The big attraction is to take the ferry over to Mackinac Island, which has been a favorite tourist destination for over 100 years. In fact, we learned that Mackinac Island was the second designated National Park in the USA, immediately following Yellowstone. But later the NPS handed it over to the state of Michigan, where it is now administered.

The island isn't very big. Since 100 years ago they have used horse-drawn carriages for all transportation needs on the island. No automobiles or motor vehicles are allowed. Visitors can either walk, take horse-drawn carriage, or rent a bicycle for their transportation. The ferries allow you to bring your own bike on the boat (for a fee, of course.) I was REALLY looking forward to Susan and me bringing our e-bikes on the ferry and really cruising around. It's an 8-mile trip to ride around the island. Well, my hopes were dashed - twice!

First of all, I read this notice about the island's ebike policy. Well, neither of us have a "documented mobility disability." And also, our ebikes are more powerful (class 3) and have throttles! So, we have to disable the e-bike functionality if we're going to bring our bikes.

We cruised the quaint streets, saw the old Fort Mackinac, and then walked up to the Grand Hotel. The drizzle let up after a while and we had a very enjoyable day, ebikes be damned!

By then also, it rained all Tuesday night and we woke up on Wednesday morning hoping for clear skies. Nope- it was still drizzling. Riding ebikes in the rain isn't quite as enjoyable. Oh well, so we ditched the bike idea altogether, but hopefully this should at least cut down on the crowds. We headed over to the Ferry pier and caught our boat. The seas were rough and it wasn't long before John was looking a little green. But luckily it's only a 20 minute ride and we were soon docking.