Monday, June 12, 2006

Whitefish Point and Mackinac Bridge


What a day! First, we had a great breakfast compliments of our motel. Then we loaded up to head out sightseeing, and the van wouldn't start. Called our mechanic. He suggested that we replace the coil pack, which we did. Still nothing. Called our mechanic. He said, try replacing the spark plugs, which we did. Still nothing. So we called AAA. Got towed to Cooks garage. Rented a car, and went on to the sightseeing plans. Had a great time. While we were at Whitefish Point, Mr. Cook called to say the van was ready. New fuel pump, which was what our mechanic figured it probably would be. We didn't hurry back, because we were about an hour away from the garage. Continued our visit at Whitefish. Saw where the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in 1975. Saw big ships way out in Lake Superior. It was beautiful. Then we came back to Sault Ste. Marie for dinner at the Locks View Diner. Enjoyed an excellent meal while watching big ships go through the Soo Locks. Guess what we had to eat? Whitefish! It was delicious. We were fortunate enough to see the biggest ship on the great lakes lock through. It was the Paul R. Tregurtha, and it was huge. Tomorrow we plan to do a boat tour of the Soo Locks. After supper, we drove down to Mackinac Bridge. Actually we drove across the bridge. It's long! And HIGH! We saw several ships and Lakes Michigan and Huron...at least that's what we think. We walked the beach and visited the Mackinac Lighthouse. Then we returned Sault Ste. Marie. We're really enjoying the trip, the sights, and even the van breaking down was an interesting and funny detour in our plans.
We took the boat tour through the Soo Locks the next morning. It was interesting and informative. We were actually in Canada, but without passports. We went under the International Bridge and through the Canadian locks. We so enjoyed the Locks View Diner that we went back for lunch. Went shopping in all the gifts shops along Portage Street, and then decided to go back home through lower Michigan. With no destination in mind, we started driving south. We enjoyed the scenic drive along the lakeshore until dark. We kept driving because none of us seemed to want to stop. So we arrived home at 6 o'clock! Our trip may have been short in duration, but we logged nearly 2000 miles of travel and had a great time!

Sunday, June 11, 2006

It's nearly midnight, and we've arrived in Sault Ste. Marie. Had a great trip. We enjoyed the scenery. The drive up highway 2 along Lake Michigan shoreline was beautiful. Tomorrow we plan to see the Soo Locks and maybe Mackinac Island. Watch for more news!