Old Mackinac point Lighthouse Saturday - Day 10 (July 22, 2023) I started the day with a revisit of Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, which is right next to the Riviera Motel in Mackinaw City,, You can only go up in the tower with a guided tour and I went up with a party of 6. Unfortunately they don't let you go out side on the tower any more so the photography was limited.
Following the tour, we drove back to Cheboygan where they were having rare tours of the USCGC Mackinaw (WLBB 30) at its home port. the 240' cutter is the largest icebreaker currently on the Great Lakes and I a fond of it, having been to its Splash Launch in Wisconsin and its dedication at this same location. I've been on this ship twice before, but the first time my camera was stolen and my pictures were lost. The second time I toured the new Mackinaw, they did not allow the tour to go below the deck, so I have no photos of the engine room. Sadly they did not let us go below deck level this day.
For lunch we drove south to the community of Topinabee on Mullet Lake. We went to Breakers and had a nice meal on the patio. Linda was going to have the Michigan Woods salad with warm house made banana bread, but they were out of the bread. So she had the grilled chicken club and I had Detroit Style Coneys. The hot dog buns were a little dry, but the coneys were the real deal. They had Forbidden Fruit Black & Blue hard cider from St. Jullian on tap and it was so good that I had a second one.
After we had booked our lodging for this trip, Mackinac Associates, the non-profit fundraising organization which supports Mackinac State Historic Parks, had added an event for this evening. Even though we left Mackinac Island yesterday, we took a ferry back for the evening. With no luggage, we walked down to Shepler's for the ride to the Island. Supper was at Yankee Rebel Tavern. Linda had the Shrimp & Mussels Diablo, which was a very generous serving and a touch spicier than she wanted. I had the Prime Rib Melt which I get every year - 6oz slice of prime rib served open faced on grilled sourdough with horseradish ailoi, smothered with grilled onions, mushrooms, and melted Swiss cheese for $21. It was wonderful!
We took our time walking up to Fort Mackinac for the reception celebrating the 125th anniversary of the automobile ban on Mackinac Island. In addition to drinks and nice food, all of the fort was open. The program included an overview of "Where Horse Is King," a new Mackinac State Historic Parks vignette written by Phil Porter and a demonstration featuring a replica 1886 Benz Motorwagen which had special permission to be on the Island for the weekend anniversary celebration. It was fun catching up with friends on the staff of Mackinac State Historic Parks and I also had a chance to meet some people who I already knew of, but had ever met. I introduced myself to a Facebook friend who I've never met and was pleased that he seemed delighted to meet me. I highly recommend joining Mackinac Associates to my friends. Starting from just $75, two people get one year's unlimited admittance to all of the park facilities on Mackinac Island and Mackinaw City, plus invitations to a number of exclusive events like this and updates on what is going on in the parks.
Our 10PM return ferry to the mainland was the first time I have been on a Mackinac Island Ferry after dark in many years. As we left Mackinac Island, we watched fireworks over the bay in St. Ignace and it was nice seeing the Mackinac Bridge lights from another direction. |
