Sail Far Live Free

Mackinac City to Harbor Springs: 47NM - July 14 & 15 Erin and I got a mid-morning start on the route from Mackinac City to Harbor Springs after enjoying a quiet breakfast together at a restaurant in Mac City. After leaving the marina we quickly passed under the mighty Mackinac Bridge and were in awe of the view from beneath. The weather began to deteriorate as we moved westward towards the abandoned lighthouse east of Gray’s Reef and offshore from the mainland. Waves were building to from 2 to 5 feet and the sky darkened with rain clouds. It wasn’t long before we were motoring into the wind and waves in an intense downpour. Surprisingly, this is one of the few times we’ve need our foul weather gear on this trip. The rain stopped after about an hour and the skies cleared but the seas remained lumpy as made our way past another mid-lake lighthouse (Ile Aux Galets Light) and into the relative protection of Little Traverse Bay. Harbor Springs was busy with summer cruisers so we were...

Mackinac Island After securing the boat, we promptly headed to the busy main street on Mackinac Island to take in the colonial charm of the architecture, lack of cars, and plethora of horse drawn carriages. Both Hannah and Izzy were amazed that bikes and horses did all the work of cars and trucks on this unique island. After grabbing a Mexican combo plate at a mainstreet pub, we climbed the steep trail up to Fort Mackinac. The Fort dominates the landscape from the southern view of the island. Seeing the picketed barrier fences, the old cannons and reading about the history of British and American soldiers at the Fort we were all taken back a to another the 19th century. Next it was on to the governor’s residence on Mackinac Island. Every incumbent governor of Michigan is gifted the use of a colonial styled white mansion perched high on the sandstone bluffs of the island just down the road from Fort Mackinac. A fiercesome boy scout stood guard the day we walked by. We continued o...