Eh!!!

Another 6:30am alarm. That just seems wrong on a vacation. But it would start out our full day in Canada, eh!

We made our way to the Algoma Central Railway car #3 named Lake Superior for our day on the train. We found great seats and settled in for a nice 8am to 12:25pm ride to Agawa Canyon. This is the view outside our train window as we departed Sault Ste. Marie.

Yep, we had a forecast for a high of 48 degrees and a 70% chance of rain. This, my friends, is 70% rain.  We were not complaining. The forecast when we left our home in Kentucky was for rain Monday through Friday and we had some sun every day on Mackinac Island. We wore jackets with hoods and took umbrellas.

One of the things we noticed again was that we were the youngest of the old people on this tour. It seems when you retire early that means you can now travel at the best times of the year, May and September.  However, this is when the reality of being on the young end of travelers for these times of year becomes clear.

The ride to Agawa Canyon is 114 miles and the train goes 40mph at its highest speed. When we reached Agawa Canyon we would have 1 1/2 hours to do as we pleased. Then we would get back on the train for a return trip. The train is the only way to see this canyon.

We first learned that Agawa Canyon is pronounced Ag (as in 'ag'riculture) -a-wah. The accent is on the first syllable.

The train was quite comfortable. Nice big seats. There is a snack car and a dining car on the train. We had a shelf overhead for our jackets and pockets in the seats in front of us for our umbrellas and things. The only problems really was the windows fogging up with the cold and rain. Eventually the attendant came through with a roll of brown paper. She tore off long sections for each passenger to wipe down their windows. This really helped those of us wanting to try and take pictures.

Claude and I found several things amusing. There was one passenger with striped socks and shorts (remember the temperature).  There was a very loud man behind us with very strong opinions. There was a very loud woman in front of us with very strong opinions.  There was a kindly travel/tour guide walking up and down the aisle being sure the people on his tour knew what to expect. This was helpful to Claude and I as he gave them pointers for what to do when they got to Agawa Canyon in case it was or was not raining. There was a loud man with an Irish accent that seemed to be a hit with his tour group. We had people from Germany, England, and Amish people, of course Canadians and Americans, people of Arabic descent and on and on. Lots of fun and interesting people on this tour.

The train has 'mile' markers on it. Being in Canada one who expect these would be 'kilometers'. When the train line was built kilometers were not in use, miles was the unit of measure. To keep that tradition they have kept the mile markers and use them on maps and instructions.

The streams are full of dark water. It almost looks like their might be oil in it. It is see through, not thick and dirty. They told us the water has 'tannin' in it and that is what gives it the dark color. When we visited the Wisconsin Dells years ago tannin was also in their water.

I've wondered if the word 'Sault' meant something. On this tour we were told 'sault' means 'waterfall'. Originally the town was name Sault Gaston. Sault for the waterfalls and Gaston for a ruler somewhere. Eventually some priests came to the area and they changed the name from Sault Gaston to Sault Ste. Marie after the Virgin Mary. So, Sault Ste. Marie means Waterfall Virgin Mary.

The train is equiped with video display screens. Every now and then a chime would sound and we knew that they were going to teach us something and show pictures on these screens. Sometimes it was the history of this portion of Canada or the building of this railway. Sometimes it was facts about the land and people. Once it was about a moose that stood his ground on the train tracks.

When they built the train they found the moose were not concerned at all with their horns. In fact, the moose were attracted to the trains during rutting season. They actually had to try several different kinds of horns until they found a sound that would cause the moose to move and leave. Now they have horns that work to repel moose.

The trains wheels made grinding noises on those wet rails, particularly when we were in the curves. One time when the train was going a little slower I had a flash back in my head to my Northern Exposure series I loved so much. As the wheels made a prolonged groan-like grinding noise, I found myself saying, "The ice is breaking. The ice is breaking."

One of the neat things was crossing the two tressle bridges. The first was smaller. The second was a bit larger and curved.

Claude did go to the snack car and bring us back donuts and hot chocolate. It was soooooooo good.

We also ordered lunch boxes so we could have a picnic in the park in Agawa Canyon.

Eventually we got to the point where the track drops 500 feet into Agawa Canyon. It is a very gradual drop. We passed Bridal Veil Falls on our way into the Canyon.

The train stopped and we got off in a nice drizzle and found a picnic table. We had a great quickly eaten lunch as the sun tried to come out. It never really made it through but it did dry up the mist for a bit.

Then we were off to walk to Black Beaver Falls.

Then we walked to South Black Beaver Falls.

Then we found we had enough time to hike to Bridal Veil Falls.

Along the way Claude was the 'River Whisperer'.

I really loved watching my Big Guy walking on the lovely paths between these falls.

Here are a couple of pictures of the river that runs through the Agawa Canyon.

 

We hurried back to be the train. Claude gave me an evil grin and said, "Get your camera ready." I had tucked my camera into my purse to keep it out of the sprinkle that was starting. I pulled it out and put it in my pocket. We approached the train and Claude showed me his strength...ready...here goes!!!

It is truly fun to be old and foolish!!

The couple across the aisle agreed to change sides of the train for the trip back so we could see the other side of our journey. While we were out of the train the train attendants had flipped the seats to face the direction we would be going now. We settled in for the ride home.

From this side I was able to get a picture of Lake Superior in the distance.

As we approached Sault Ste. Marie I noticed a lot, I mean a lot, of seagulls and other birds flying around the steel mill.  I mentioned this to Claude and commented I would understand if it was a seafood packing plant but why in the world would they be circling over a steel mill in in mass.  Claude, in his usual quiet way, said, "They are trying to re-calibrate."  We both had a good laugh.  When the compass on my car goes out of kilter, you are to drive it in tiny circles at a slow speed and then it will find north again and work fine. We kind of wondered if when the birds get north do they have to re-calibrate also.

We had a great day, relaxing and informative, beautiful and interesting. It is well worth the trip to enjoy this beautiful scenery. They say the best time for fall colors on the Agawa Canyon Train Tour is the last two weeks of September and the first week of October. We were right in the middle of that. Rain can't be helped but it didn't diminish our adventure in the least.

Now...a good night's rest (with no alarm in the morning). Then we are off to Chelsea tomorrow to have an evening with all the Michigan portion of our family. Looking forward to grandmonster hugs.

Service Please...

This morning we left Mackinac Island. We were anxious about getting to the Buick and seeing if it would run.

The first ferry out of Mackinac Island is at 8am, the next isn't until 9:30am. We wanted to catch the 8am ferry so we could get on down the road, hopefully, to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan where they would check my car over. Our alarm was set for 6:30am...yuck!!

It's fun to watch the dock in the early morning. We found a semi-truck from GFS on the Shepler Line pier along with the long cargo wagon and two huge horses to pull it. The Arnold Line pier had a boat pull up and a fork lift shuttled things from the boat to the beginning of the pier as though the invisible line wouldn't let the fork lift past. There are not usually motorized vehicles on The Island. 400 horses and 100 different types of carriages, 50,000,000 bikes and lots of legs walking about but not motorized vehicles. There is a police car and a fire truck. But you don't see them unless there is some type of emergency. So seeing these motorized vehicles on the piers was an interesting experience.

Soon our Star Line ferry was ready and off we headed to Mackinaw City, Michigan.  For a bit we were in a race (at least it felt that way) with a freighter headed our way.

We were pleasantly surprised to get to our car and the remote key opened the trunk and unlocked the doors. Yeah!!  Love those tiny miracles.  Then Claude got behind the wheel and tried his key.  Double Yeah!!  And we were off...it's always fun to cross the Mackinac Bridge.

The fog was amazing as we cross the bridge into St. Ignace.

Now we had about a 1 hour drive to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It went quickly and the car did not even blink. I reset the clock. The compass was still out of kilter. But to recalibrate it you must drive in tiny little circles at a very slow pace. This is not possible on I-75, even in Michigan.

We found Rodenroth's dealership and headed inside. We gave them our history and they quickly drove my car into the bay. Claude and I camped out in the waiting area. It was now about 9am. We would be there until 3pm. They would find practically NOTHING. They ran all kinds of tests and traced wires and everything they could think of. The only thing the mechanic could come up with was a notice he had received that sometimes some of the wiring can get worn under the brake pedal. He checked it carefully and found no wear at all. He did make sure all those wires were nesting where they should be. Other than that one preventative measure there was nothing to fix. Geez!!!

While we were there I finished another needlework project, Claude and I walked to Wendy's and had lunch, I walked him back to the dealership and I headed to Walmart. I bought yarn and returned to the dealership. Such was our day.

We left the dealership and drove over the Soo Locks on the bridge between the United Stated and Canada.

We found our hotel and checked in. Then we went in search of the train station for Friday's adventure. We found that with no problem and picked up our train tickets.

We wanted to find a place for dinner.  The man at the train station gave us a map and some suggestions. We drove off the map and didn't find a place. So we turned around and found our way back on the map and way up at the top of it. This was a fortunate thing because we found a steak restaurant. Claude had not had a steak dinner on this trip. He usually dines once on steak when we travel. This was a great meal.

Back to the hotel for the evening.

This day was much different that our others but we both feel better knowing that whatever was the matter with my little red car is okay now. Now we're off to Agawa Canyon tomorrow and that alarm clock, it is set for 6:30am again.

Update on Claude:  He is doing okay. He has a very sore left knee.  He is taking Tylenol.  He is still trying to find the best way to get into the car in the driver's seat. He thinks he may have pulled something in that knee. Other than that our bike ride has had no adverse effect on our aging bodies.

The Wheels on the Bike Go Round and Round...

Wednesday, our last full day on Mackinac Island.

We were ready to leave our room about 11am.  For lunch we dined at the Village Inn. We ate breakfast at this place each morning on our previous trip. Lunch was great. While there we wrote on the post cards for the grandmonsters.

After lunch we walked to the post office. Between the restaurant and the post office we stopped in the shops on Market Street.  We found a potential purchase in one. It was a 'thumbpiano'. We made note but didn't want to carry things with us yet.

The post office on Mackinac Island accepts mail but does not deliver it. You must come to the post office to get your mail. Mailing errand complete we discussed how to fill the surprise of a sunshine filled day.

Back to Main Street and across to the bike rental place. Oh My Goodness...were we really going to do this. Yep, two 60+ year olds who have not ridden a pedal bike in F O R E V E R were going to rent and rides bikes. Here is Claude renting our bikes. We briefly discussed a tandem bike but since we couldn't even strum guitars together we didn't feel we could pedal bikes together. So we each got our own bike.

The guy that gave us our bikes suggested we go to the end of their drive where the concrete had a bit of a downward slant. That would be a better place to start trying to ride. Right there on Main Street in front of all the tourist on The Island. Oh man...prayers were being said that I would NOT fall flat on my face as I started out.

How good it felt to actually stay upright on the bike, a little wobbly in the beginning, but upright and going forward. Yeah us!!!

Our goal was to go to Arch Rock and take pictures from the bottom. We were off.  We actually arrived there in one piece with no falls. However, I now realized I had to stop this bike and get off gracefully. No other bikes around to be crashed into so that was in our favor.  We managed to stop and get pictures.

Claude took on his alternate personality and became the Arch Rock Whisperer.

One of the beautiful things along the coast are the cairns. These are little stacks of rocks left by tourists. Other tourists will come and add to them or build their own. Some are very simple. Some have flowers or feathers added. They add a unique feel to the coastline.

The coastline is beautiful and there is no way to see it except taking this road by bike, walking or a carriage.

We met a nice couple who took our picture with Arch Rock in the background.

The road around The Island is 8 miles long...8 very long miles long. Claude was thinking we might go a couple of miles and then head back. Ahhhh...he forgot he is married to a compulsive lady.  I now knew I could ride without falling off.  I could also stop and get off, not very gracefully, but really, who will ever see me in life again that was on this island today. I figured we could at least go a couple of more miles before turning back. And I was really, really curious about what the other side of The Island looked like.  I suggested we go another mile and stop for a break. Claude was okay with that.

We found a pull off and I walked out to check out the huge bird on a rock stretching its wings. Couldn't ever tell what kind of bird it was because it was just too far out in the water.  However, I did find a seagull by a cairn that I got close enough to zoom in and get a picture.

Along the road was a really neat cairn that was on a rock pedestal.

We got back on the bikes and road another mile and found another pull off. It yielded this beautiful picture of the water through the trees.

As we continued I realized how amazingly clear the water was along the shore. You could see every rock in the water. At our next stop I walked down the hill to the water to get a picture of the rocks in the water.

We stopped at British Landing. There are restrooms and a snack bar there.

I headed to the snack bar for water for Claude and me. The couple in front of me ordered food and drinks.

Claude met me at the picnic table and he started to chuckle. He said, "I don't know if that guy intended that or not but the bird is enjoying his food." I didn't know what guy he was speaking of but I reached in my purse for my camera. A seagull was on a picnic table across the road and was pecking away at a hot dog.

As I turned around with my camera I saw the young man in the couple who ordered ahead of me. He was approaching the table with another hot dog and saw the seagull hauling off the weiner out of the hot dog he left on the table. He shewed off the seagull. When his female companion arrived at the table you could hear her gasp with what had happened. Claude and I could only chuckle.

Every winter the ice freezes on this water between Mackinac Island and St. Ignace. The residents on The Island take their old Christmas trees and line the path where the ice is frozen deep enough to travel over.  This ice bridge is used by the residents to go back and forth throughout the winter. This picture actually has Mackinac bridge going over to St. Ignace on the right end. That is a long ice bridge folks!!

By now we were over half way around the island and we were ready to being the last leg of our journey.  Our next stop would be at Devil's Kitchen.

I hiked up and down the shore a bit for a few more pictures.  I watched several of the ferries cross in front of the Mackinac Bridge. These were coming from St. Ignace. One of them was a Star Line Ferry which is the kind we took. Love these because of the big rooster tail they make as they speed through the water.

I was also able to walk down a bit and get pictures of the light house near Mackinac Harbor.

We got on our bikes for the last leg of our journey. We didn't know we would have one more surprise stop. 

We are cruising along and Claude's cell phone rings. I couldnt' believe it.  What was more amazing is that he was reaching for the holster to answer the phone. 

At about that time his bucket hat blew off his head. I told him to keep going and I would pick up the hat. I stopped and got his hat, tucked it in the basket on my bike and started pedaling again.

As we got a little further I saw Claude's bike start to swivel and he wasn't getting it under control. He went to the side of the road and the bike laid over behind a tree. He didn't hit the tree. I hurried on to catch up and see if he was okay.

The obsurd biker in one of those bikes you lay back in passed us again. I say again because that was his third lap around the island while we were trying to finish our first. He did not stop to help, I just heard him say, "Looking good." 

I caught up to Claude and he was in a heap with his leg under the bike, no cell phone in sight and on top of rocks under the tree.  Hayden would have said, "Pa is a mess!"  Hayden would have been right.

Claude was in such a position that he couldn't get out from under the bike enough to get something to lift himself up with. My arm helped with that and we managed to get him standing. He was not hurt and could move. I found his cell phone and it was working fine. We got the bike up and it was in good shape. Then Claude cell phone range again. Claude finished his call and then we were on our way again.

We made it into town and turned out bikes in.  Claude found a bench on which to sit.  His knee was sore and he was concerned he may have twisted it funny. He sat and I shopped.  I went back to the other side of town and purchased the thumbpiano and found a couple of other things I liked in other stores.

Then I headed back and found my hubby standing where I left him. We sat back down on the bench and watch people for a bit. His knee was sore but he walks with no limp and seems to be okay.

I was ready for dinner. We shopped in Doud's which is The Island's only grocery store. Small but the only one they have. We wanted to get some rolls and juice for breakfast since we would have a very early start to make the 8am ferry to the mainland.  Purchases made we found Sinclair's Irish Pub for dinner.

Sinclair's is a family friendly pub that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. This was a good choice and I can now vouch for their leek soup. Yummy!! 

The really cool part was our server. He came to the table and we ordered soda. I had my first Mountain Dew since being on The Island. They do not carry Dr. Pepper or Mountain Dew in any other store except Sinclair's Irish Pub.

After our server left I said to Claude, "He really reminds me of Todd."  Todd is Nissa's fiancee.  Claude heartily agreed.  I prepped Claude that I would have to ask this server some questions. Claude doesn't do that kind of thing but I do.  Just wanted him to be prepared.

Our server returned and I told him he really reminded me of Todd. I asked him if he was Native American. He smiled at me and said, "About half." We had a wonderful discussion and he told he his family was originally from the Canadian branch of the Chippewa's.  He was a delight and we really enjoyed visiting with him. It only confirmed more to me that he could be Todd's brother. He commented he was a Gemini and that means twins so maybe...

As we left the store he came outside and said, "Would you like to take a picture for Todd to see?"  I said, "Sure" and grabbed my camera.  Claude and he posed.

What a great day. Claude and I are both so happy we biked around the island. We have had a great time on Mackinac Island. Next time we probably won't bike but we learned we can rent a carriage for two people and Claude could drive us around the island, just the two of us!!

Now for some rest before an early rise and hopefully a car that will get us to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan!!!

Let's Blog About Tuesday...

We slept in...I mean, we REALLY slept in. It was just the right thing to do and it felt GREAT!!  I got up for a bit and then went back to bed. It was my first morning not taking my antihistamine for a while and I still slept in. Amazing.

Okay, that covers the morning....

We walked down Main Street trying to find something for lunch. Claude wanted to try 'Millie's on Main' so that is what we did. We each ordered a pastie. We ate these several years ago while on an Upper Peninsula road trip and really enjoyed them. It was a foggy morning and a little cooler so a nice warm pastie covered in gravy seemed like a good idea. These turned out to be 'okay' in my book but I really liked the ones we had in the UP better.

We headed to the information booth to find out what options there were to travel the highway around the outside of The Island. There were several:  jog (not happening), walk (a possibility but it is an 8 mile trip so not very likely) and ride a bike (hmmmm...it has been so many years since we either did that but it holds promise).

I also asked about the butterfly conservatory. Turns out there are two of them. I thought there was only one and it was on the surrey turn of the southern end of The Island. That is one of them but there is another off Main Street in this lovely little town. It was even within walking distance.

We talked and determined we might like to start our afternoon with that surrey ride around the island and include the butterfly house on that tour. Tickets purchased we took our place at the head of the line for the next surrey. I wanted a picture of the horses and surrey we would be riding in and got this one of my dear hubby being a 'horse whisperer'. He and the horse had quite a conversation.

We did this carriage tour when we were on Mackinac Island several years ago. It was fun to do again. This time we learned their are many varieties of lilacs on The Island. They have a Lilac Festival every year. Made Claude want to plant more lilac bushes in our yard. I also found a house on this tour called the 'Either Or House'. Clever!  The Little Stone Church has plexiglass over its beautiful stained glass windows because they built a golf course across the road. Geez!  It only took 93 days to build the Grand Hotel. There have been 2 movies filmed there. The Grand Hotel has a 2-tiered parking lots for the guests bikes. There is NO valet parking for this lot.

I loved this spider web in a tree by the Grand Hotel. 

We visited the Butterfly House at Surrey Hill this time. It was closed on our previous visit.  It was delightful to be in the peaceful setting full of flowers and gorgeous butterflies. They had mellow country music piped in which must be the kind butterflies like. How would they know that? I know, butterflies do a line dance together and they know it the tune they like.

A man walking around with a really big camera taking pictures had no idea a butterfly was hitching a ride on his cap. I saw it and took a picture. That butterfly stayed put. I finally turned around and told them man he had a butterfly on his cap. He asked me to take a picture. I took a picture and it didn't work. The butterfly was still there. I took a second picture and the butterfly almost posed for it. When I last saw the man, that butterfly was still on his cap.

Once again, Claude took on an alternate identity and became the 'Butterfly Whisperer'.

We boarded the surrey and continued the tour to Arch Rock.  The tour takes you past three cemeteries - the Catholic, the Protestant and the Post Cemetery (this is the military one). It also goes past Skull Cave.  They have a practice rifle range on a hill. It goes from Ft. Mackinac to Ft. Holmes. They have kept the old rifle range cleared. Years ago they had a pulley system to move the targets up and down the hill. Then the surrey stops at Arch Rock.

There was fog over the water but it was still a beautiful site. Below Arch Rock in the rocks along the shore people placed rocks in patterns and words.

Our tour guide and driver of the surrey told us we were also viewing the 'International Building'.  This is really the bathroom. The reason they call it the 'International Building' is when one enters they are 'Russian', while inside they are 'European' and when they leave they are 'Finnish'. Such silliness!!

These are the three horses that pulled our surrey playing with each other while we were at Arch Rock. Bailey would love these white horses.

The carriage drove down the hill from Arch Rock to the Governor's Mansion. We decided to disembark the surrey and walk down the path to Main Street.  We saw what appeared to be a dark cloud in the sky above the water. Upon closer observation we found it was the fog rolling in for the evening and covering the island beside Mackinac Island. This picture has the clouds covering the other island and the two lighthouses in the Straits.

This was a steep hill and afforded a peek of the top of the Grand Hotel, beautiful elderberry bushes full of bright red berries, gorgeous old victorian homes and then Ft. Mackinac, Marquette Park and Mackinac Harbor.

At the edge of Marquette Park is a replica of the Missionary Bark Chapel. This was what Father Marquette would have used for a chapel in the beginning of his work on The Island. Ft. Mackinac is on the hill in the background.

Claude and I decided to take a walk down Main Street to Arch Rock. We met a policeman on his bike. I took a picture of him to show Bobby Bruner, the Sadieville policeman, how he could make his rounds without his police cruiser. We got all the way to the Executive Putting Course and the fog really started to roll in. We determined we should head back to town.

We did find an interesting flower. The blossoms looked liked little pumpkins. I have no idea what kind of flower this is and have never seen it before.

Dinner was at Good Fellas. We looked in a few of the shops on our way back to our hotel. We found our bed turned down at the hotel and a fresh box of fudge on the counter. Nice!

Farther North to The Island...

We left Chelsea, Michigan around 9am. This was a great start time for us. We had even managed to eat a bite of breakfast at the hotel before leaving. I filled my two styrofoam cups with ice and water and we were ready to roll.

Claude reviewed the Michigan map with Jake the night before. We determined we would head north out of Chelsea on Michigan 52. That, my friends, was a most excellent decision. It was an absolutely beautiful relaxing drive.

When we reached I-96 we hopped on an traveled to Lansing where we found Highway 127 north. We would stay with that until I-75 joined it. That would take us to Mackinaw City, Michigan. My needlework surrounding me in the passenger seat and fingers flying while Claude quietly put the miles behind us made for a nice ride.

Some items on note on this drive were the worn out car in someone's front yard with 'parts' spray painted on the hood. That is one way to get ride of an old car that you can't sell. It appeared you just took the pieces that you might need.

We also passed the '20 Blackbirds Country Store'.  I immediately started into the nursery rhyme, "Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie..."  Claude admitted he was trying to remember how it started. I commented that kids don't really learn the Mother Goose nursery rhymes like they used to. Then Claude said, "Nope they now download and upload."

We both liked the city sign outside Ithaca, Michigan. It said, "Cherishing the past, Living in the future."  I told Claude we could adopt that for Sadieville. We both agreed we would change the second part of the phrase. We would say something like "Cherishing the past, Looking toward the future."

We wanted to see fall color and there were places along I-75 that had great color. Love those fall colors. These were deep and rich and vivid.

I noted several working oil derricks. I grew up in the north west corner of Louisiana. Texas had lots of oil derricks, especially in Oil City. There were even some in Louisiana. I just have not seen them in a very long time.

We made out pit stop about 90 miles south of Mackinaw City, Michigan. There was a gas station with an Arby's and it was time to stretch our legs and have a bite of lunch.

Along the islands where the gas pumps were located were shrink wrapped flats of sweet potatoes. That is something one doesn't see every day. I also noted some corn shrink wrapped on flats. I was thinking they might be for starting fires. Maybe not.

We placed our orders with the cashier in Arby's. I took our cups to fill with soda. Claude gave her his name to write on our ticket so she could call us when our order was ready. The only problem was, when Claude said his name, she heard Clog. Whoever would name their kid Clog!!!

Claude, or Clog to some, ordered a french dip sandwich. As I watched him eat it I commented that most of us don't want our bread to get soggy when we eat a sandwich. Now he chose a sandwich that he was deliberately making soggy to eat it. This led back to our discussion on Sunday about French people being called 'frogs' and then pondering if Kermit the Frog is French. Such is the in depth dialog after 41 years of marriage when you put your brain into vacation mode.

We drove through Gaylord, Michigan. This is of note because Gaylord, according to their city sign, is located on the 45th Parallel which makes it 1/2 way between the North Pole and the equator. Pretty cool factoid!

Now, the harrowing portion of our Monday. I don't think Monday would be Monday without there being a harrowing piece in there somewhere.

As we drove on to Mackinaw City, Michigan after lunch the air conditioning in the car stopped.  It was immediately noted by Claude and me. Then Claude said we had a warning light for the passenger air bag again. The traction system warning light came on. Then the anti-lock braking system light. Then the tire pressure warning light. Things were not looking good. The car was running fine but its systems were shutting down.

I got the handbook and started to read out loud the things about each warning light. We at least knew we had brakes, just not the anti-lock portion of the brakes.

The air conditioning came back on and the warning lights went off. Eventually the warning lights went on again. The air conditioning stayed on. Thank goodness.  Claude determined he would keep going as long as he could with the car. The closer we were to Mackinaw City the better for getting some help. However, while we drove we lost all the meters on the dash. We had no idea how fast we were driving, how much gas we had, etc. We also knew we had no power to our windows and the blinkers were not working.

We made it into Mackinaw City and made a loop around this tiny town. No car dealership or repair places were found. On our second loop Claude pulled into a gas station and sat in the car with the motor running while I went in and asked if there was a garage to which we might take our ailing vehicle. The cashier told me there was only one small garage in Mackinaw City and it was up the street past the next light. We drove there.

We pulled into their parking area in front of the shop and Claude turned off the car. One of the things I read in the handbook is that your keys computer chip can sometimes wear and it will cause silly things like these to happen. Claude could not get the car to restart with his key. I gave him my car keys. He tried but it still would not start.

I went inside while Claude lifted the hood. I explained our situation to the owner of this little business and his mechanic. The mechanic said he had about 10 minutes more work on the car he was finishing up. He would look at our car as soon as he finished.

I cleared out my needlework in the front seat and made the car ready for someone to work on it. Then I headed into the repair shop to wait. Before I headed in an elderly man came up to Claude and me and said, "I just want you to know you have an honest and very good mechanic in this shop to look at your car. I have been in your situation and I thought you might like to know that." I thanked him profusely for this kindness.

Claude tried to start the car again and it started. The mechanic said to not turn it off. He had us drive it into one of the two bays in the garage.

After looking at all the fuses, the battery, inside and under the car the mechanic only had a guess as to what was causing this trouble. I called Frank Shoop, my dealer in Kentucky, and got the only repair from their history that has ever been done on my car.  It really didn't factor into this problem. I also got the name of the closest Buick dealer and they are in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. We are headed there on Thursday. I made an appointment for them to give the car a once over on Thursday.

This honest mechanic ran all the electrical tests he had equipment for and then told us he had done all he could. The car was running fine for him. He noted he had not changed any of the computer notes the car made about what might be the problem and he had not added any in his efforts to help us. We paid him for his time.

We determined we would go to the Star Line Ferry and leave the car in a spot so the front was facing out in case we needed a tow. We decided to go ahead and enjoy our time on Mackinac Island and then head to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on Thursday on our way to Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. It seemed the car worked fine after a rest. Maybe a few days rest would be good enough to get us to the dealership on Thursday.

As we left this little garage it began to pour rain. We unloaded our luggage at Star Line. Claude parked the car and we waited for our ferry to take us across the water to Mackinac Island.

We had a very bumpy ride to The Island.  We chose the Star Line because their boats make a really cool 'rooster tail' in the wake as you speed across the water. This, in and of itself, causes a bumpy ride. There was no going outside to see the rooster tail. The waves from the storm only added to the bumpiness. We had lots of sprays of water coming out along the sides of the boat.  This picture is the Mackinac Bridge viewed from inside the boat and you can see the lovely spray of water as the boat splashed forward.

The boat ride is only 18 minutes and was over too quickly. There was a valet provided by the hotel to get our luggage from the Star Line dock and bring it to our hotel. We are staying at the Main Street Inn & Suites. We stayed here on our other trip to The Island. It is just a little up Main Street from the Star Line docks. We walked up and checked in. It wasn't long before the valet came with our luggage.

We set things up in the room for our stay and then headed out for a walk. The rain had stopped. It was good to stroll the streets and unwind.  We were looking for a place for dinner and we found it. The Seabiscuit Restaurant on Main Street. The food was excellent. I had a Curried Chicken Salad that was the best I think I'll ever have in my entire life. It was great.

Then we walked off the fullness before heading back to our hotel room for the evening.

Here are a few pictures. It was cloudy and getting toward evening.

Mackinac Harbor

Ft. Mackinac on the hill; Horse drawn Surrey in foreground

Freighter going through Mackinac Straits

As we walked back to our hotel, I noticed this dog in the display window of one of the stores. Imagine my surprise when it moved!!! Yep, the owners real dog found a way to climb in the window. This puppy was a real ham. As soon as it realized I was going to take a picture it struck a pose for the camera.

While in our room during the evening we heard the rain storms come in with great force. We each got up at different times to look outside to be sure we were heaing what we thought we were hearing. Yep, it was pouring down rain. Eventually Claude did note we had a barn behind the hotel with a metal roof on it. That probably applified the sound but it was a nice sound and made for a good nights sleep.