I was up early and photographed all the Mackinaw
City businesses on Central Avenue and Huron Avenue, for my permanent records
and use on the MightyMac.org web site
and Facebook
page.
After a leisurely morning at the motel, we drove to Cheboygan,
16 miles away to photograph the US Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw and take
a shipwreck tour with Nautical North Family Adventures. New since
2019, they took us on a historic glass bottom boat tour of the lower Cheboygan
River and then showed us three wrecks in the Straits of Mackinac.
The captain and owner of the company, Jennifer Dowker,
mentioned that she had scuba dived and cleaned the outside of the windows
that morning. A few days later we learned that she had found a 95 year
old message in a bottle in the river when cleaning the glass again later
in the day, The message was from George Morrow and after posting the message
on Facebook, Morrow's daughter, Michele Primeau, learned about the message
on Father's Day and the message made the world news.
Yankee Sunshine
Captain & owner Jennifer Dowker
Fourteen Foot Shoal Light
Viewing one of the shipwrecks in Duncan Bay
Passing under the State Street Bridge on the way back to the dock
We had lunch at Pier M33 On The Cheboygan, a restaurant
I had never visited before, a few miles drive by car upriver. We sat on
the deck and had a nice view of boats passing on the Cheboygan River. We
split BingBang Shrimp, deep fried cheese curds and a perch dinner. The
shrimp was the best part of the meal but the perch was good as well.
The view from our table at Pier M33 On The Cheboygan
BingBang Shrimp & deep fried cheese curds
On our way back to Mackinaw City, we circled to Good Hart,
to buy dried strawberries at the Good Hart General Store, but were disappointed
to learn that they were out of stock.
Back in Mackinaw City, we stopped at Fort Michilimackinac,
a reconstructed 18th Century French and then British fortified community.
I worked at Fort Michilimackinac during college summers in the 1970s, wearing
period clothing, giving tours, demonstrating the firing of muskets &
cannons and working in the blacksmith shop. Archeology has been taking
place at this location since 1959 and the volunteers are happy to stop
and talk to visitors.
Archeology at Fort Michilimackinac
Musket firing demonstration
Supper was at the Keyhole Bar in downtown Mackinaw
City. Linda had a single shrimp skewer with baked potato. I usually get
fish, but I regularly recommend the burgers and hadn't had one for several
years, so I had the Sixties Delight Burger (ground beef topped with sautéed
mushrooms & Swiss cheese on a grilled brioche bun). My favorite part
of the meal was the onion rings. The Keyhole & Darrow's Family Restaurant
have similar onion rings, house made with sweet onions and a delicious
batter.
Keyhole Bar
Sixties Delight Burger & onion rings
After another relaxing evening on our balcony, we drove
down to the old State Dock, to watch the Friday night fireworks display
which is fired from a barge in the Straits of Mackinac south of the dock
at dusk. The fireworks shows continue though the summer every Friday except
July 2.
Part of the finale of the Mackinaw City fireworks display
Returning to our room, we discovered that the lights were
out on the south main cable of the Mackinac Bridge, so I didn't take many
photos. This had happened a few weeks back, but they had been working until
tonight.
Mackinac Bridge with cable lights out
