Mackinaw City

We left Presque Isle about 8:00am on Thursday. The lake was pretty calm and we left with high hopes for great seas and good weather. Our early forecast proved to be pretty accurate. We had great seas, 1-2’ until just past Cheyboygan. It was a great ride. We started started to see 2-4’s about the time we were nearing Mackinac. Dan figured it was the straits affect and the convergence of all of the waves there. I very much wanted to stay on Mackinac Island; but it just wasn’t in the cards. We called there about 45 minutes out and not only were they full; they had a long waiting list. So our final destination was Mackinaw City.

Windmills at the entrance to Straits State Harbor

Straits State Harbor



We easily made Mackinac Straits State Harbor by 1:00pm This is a brand new Michigan Harbor. It has only been open two weeks. By the time we were in the harbor the wind was blowing pretty good and we decided to take the closest slip open; which was just behind the gas docks. We had a little struggle getting into our slip; mostly due to my inexperience with the lines.

We took yet another afternoon nap; it’s going to be reaaaally hard to give those up after vacation. We had a nice cocktail hour and I made some dinner. After dinner we walked into town and had Dairy Queen!

This morning we slept late and I made some baked French Toast for breakfast. We decided to move our boat a couple slips south of where we were. We’ll have a little better view and it will be a closer walk to the bathrooms and shower. Unfortunately this harbor is so new that we don’t have water at our well. The spigots are there; but they have not gotten the okay to turn them on yet.

This is an absolutely gorgeous marina. The docks are very wide and they are all made out of cedar. There are four separate gangways to the slips. They have docks for everyone up to 60’. There is also a long dock that could probably accommodate a 100’ boat. The depth is at least 10’. The water is again incredibly clear and you can see all the way to the bottom. The facilities are all brand new of course and they just shine. Michigan does a great job with it’s marinas.

Today we did a little sightseeing. We took our bikes and rode south to Mackinac Mill Creek historic site. We bought a comprehensive pass that allows us to visit several historic sights. Mill Creek is the site of an historically accurate mill that used to provide lumber for the island and the local area. It was fascinating to watch how lumber was produced.

Mackinac Mill Creek Sawmmill

Cutting lumber with water power


After we left Mill Creek we rode north again to Fort Michilimackinac which was part of our pass. This is the fort that everyone sees from the BIG bridge. We toured the old buildings and watched a musket demonstration and listened to a cannon firing.

Voyageur Canoe



Bridge View from the Fort


We left the fort and rode back into town and stopped at Shepler’s Ship Store to see if they had anything we couldn’t live without. Dan bought a Mackinac T-shirt and we decided to visit the USCGC Mackinaw. The Mackinaw was decommissioned in 2006 in favor of a new Ice breaker. The new one bears the same name. They docked the old Mackinaw here permanently and it is now open for tours. It is much larger than I ever would have imagined. We enjoyed the tour and finally made our way back to our boat about 5:30.

Coast Guard Cutter Mackinac


One of six engines


A piston


The windlass for the anchor


I had marinated some chicken breasts before we left this morning and we walked back up to the picnic area with our grill to cook our dinner. I popped some egg rolls into the oven and we soon had a nice dinner. We are still in the picnic pavilion because it is the only place I can get internet access. I have not had a problem at any marina we’ve been at so far. I thought Mackinaw being our biggest port we would just naturally log on. Not so!

Tomorrow we plan to go to Mackinac Island for the day.