Back In The USA!!!!

Point Iriquois Lighthouse

As much as we have come to love and appreciate our big ol' neighbor to the North, truly.... there's no place like home!!!  And we all shouted a collective "howdy!!!" to our wonderful USA coming across the border.  Off to our right lay the massive Lake Superior who had been our companion for many days.  Whitefish Bay and the Point Iriquois

Whitefish Bay

Lighthouse seemed to be waving goodbye, urging us to return for a future visit.  Smaller, but still huge, Lake Huron lay low on the horizon to our left with a vast and mysterious necklace of islands separating the larger part of the lake from Georgian Bay to the North.  She seemed to be giving us a somewhat chastening look - reminding us that we had not spent much time with her.  We silently assured her that we would be back one day.  And then it was on down I-75 and this slender land corridor leading into Michigan.  Shortly, we reached St. Ignace and got our first glimpse of the spectacular Mackinac Bridge.  At 26,372 feet in length it is the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere with the actual "suspended" segment nearly 9,000 feet long. Rising to more than 200 feet above the water at the top (155 feet to the bottom of the roadway) the bridge is truly awesome.  And, in case you weren't impressed before ... because of the potential for very severe weather - including extreme winds - the bridge is engineered to allow for lateral movement of ."thirty five feet!"  Wow!  At the southern end we took time out to visit a couple of local neighborhoods including McGulpin Point, a well-hidden neighborhood with a remarkably beautiful lighthouse nestled back on a secluded point.  The lighthouse is a full-time residence but we did not get to meet the lightkeepers.  We did meet some of their neighbors, however, and they sent their regards to our "horse-buddies" back home. Then we headed into Mackinaw City - a really cool place for dining and shopping - including one of the best "outfitter" shops we found on the whole trip. Our visit to the area was well past the regular "tourist season" so we were really fortunate not to have to deal with large crowds at the restaurants or shops.  But - you can make a safe bet that during the summer months this place is REALLY jumping!!!   And ... although time and weather didn't allow for it this time, you can also take a ferry out to beautiful Mackinac State Park located on Mackinac Island for either a "day trip" or longer visits. I hope we are able to make it back up here some day. Leaving Mackinaw City (....yeah, yeah, I know it looks confusing when we sometimes use "Mackinac" with a 'c' and sometimes "Mackinaw" with a 'w' - but, that's the way they spell 'em!!!) ... we abandoned I-75 for US-31 which runs along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan - a more scenic route.  We reached Traverse City and moved a little to the West to pick up the coastline, soon heading South toward Frankfort.  As we cruised down the 'true' coastline we began to go through some cities we had heard a lot about but had never had the opportunity to visit.  We had decided we would spend the night in Grand Rapids - even though it would mean moving inland from the coast - but we wanted to be well rested when we got to some points like "Holland" and "St. Joseph."  So .. we'll stop for the time being and get a little rest so we'll be able to show you the sights along this remarkable lakeshore.  Rest up!!!  See ya.