2018 Summer RV Trip – Days 19 – Mackinac Island

Warning - Long post with lots of pics.

Wednesday was devoted to the must anticipated trip over to Mackinac Island via a 45 minute ferry ride on The Star Line’s “Straits of Mackinaw.”  We had purchased rides on the 15 minute fast ferry but it couldn’t hold everyone in line and we didn’t want to wait 30 minutes for the next one.  The one we missed and the one we took.

2018 Summer RV Trip – Days 18 – St Ignace, Bridge, and Fish

It’s cooler over here on the water than the Leelanau Peninsula and I awoke to 60F temps but at 95% humidity, I opted to stay inside for my morning coffee and computering.

One of my goals while along the Great Lakes is to try the various types of lake fish and after two unimpressive restaurant meals, I decided to try cooking some myself.  So after a little research and reading reviews (how did we live without the web), we decided to head across the Mackinac Bridge to Massey’s Fish Company in St. Ignace (ig-nis).

The company is owned by a couple where he is the fisherman and she is the sales person – mostly to restaurants with a small retail outlet.  Smoke from the fish smoker was billowing as we pulled up.

Note:  being the camera clutz that I am, I have my camera shooting very cool (blueish) pictures and I can’t edit all of it out so please overlook the varying photo colors.

2018 Summer RV Trip – Days 16 & 17 – Moving On & Mackinaw Area

A/C Update – Saturday was our first hot day and, while it got into the high 70’s at the front of the coach, we made it fine on the 91 degree day and it helped that it got a little cloudy late afternoon.  Using the portable fan to blow cool air into the bedroom worked well and while we usually have the bedroom cooler, I still slept under the covers.  It’s good to know we can survive a day in the 90’s as I think we may see more on our way back south.

Sunday was moving day and our 120 mile driving route was pretty simple – MI-22 back the Traverse City, US-31 to I-75 for one exit, then US-23 to the campground.  Except for a few repaired sections, US-31 was in bad shape and the coach rattle most of the way over here.

2018 Summer RV Trip – Days 14 & 15 – Cider & Wine Tasting & Boone’s

For our next to last day in the Suttons Bay, we decided it was time to hit the wine/cider trail and sample some of the local offerings before the weekenders poured into the area.  This area is a major grower of cherries and apples, as well as some grapes.  We began at Tandem Ciders about 10 minutes from the campground and drove past many apple orchards on the way there.

They had a nice tasting room with two nice young ladies doing the pouring at $1.50 for a 3oz sample- we tried eight and the ones in this area are very different from those we’ve tried other places in that most are very dry.  We began with the driest and worked our way to sweeter where I found the ones I preferred although they were not really sweet.  I guess it’s like wine where you start out with a sweet white and work your way to dry red.

2018 Summer RV Trip – Days 12 & 13 – Sleeping Bear Dunes & Pegtown

Today was primarily devoted to checking out the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore but the first order of business was breakfast along the way at PegTown Station  located in small, unincorporated Maple City, MI.  It has a population of 207 and per Wikipedia – “Maple City had its beginnings in 1866 when William Parks and J. T. Sturtevant built a shoe peg factory on land containing several hundred acres of maple timber, and the community that grew up around it was at first known as "Peg Town."  

The restaurant was pretty full the entire time we were there and when I asked the server what brought people to Maple City she answered “We do, our food is fantastic” meaning the restaurant.  Bev and Pat both ordered the breakfast sandwich and I ordered the corned beef hash plus we shared a very good cinnamon bun to start.

2018 Summer RV Trip – Days 10 & 11 – Checking The Area & Suttons Bay

On Monday, we decided to drive around the upper part of Leelanau Peninsula but before we left, six year old Sophia from next door knocked on the door to ask if Teddy Bear could come out and play – I thought that was so cute.

Today’s trip was to just get a feel for the area and see where we might want to re-visit, especially for the shoppers.  We went up the west side of the peninsula and passed through the towns of Lake Leelaneau, Leland, and North Port before stopping at The Leelenau State Park.  The park is located at the very top of the peninsula and is the site of a light house constructed in 1858.

2018 Summer RV Trip – Days 8 & 9 – Farmers Market and Moving Day

We awoke to a beautiful Saturday morning and after breakfast, we made the 15 minute drive into downtown Muskeegon, where I dropped the girls off at the farmers market, which looked to be really bustling.  I didn’t take any shots but here are some from the web that Bev advises were accurate except she said it was so crowded it was hard to move around.