Michigan Shoreline 2014 Tour: Day Seven

Spent a leisurely morning at Whitefish Point enjoying breakfast in the Crew Quarters, wandering around the lighthouse grounds and at the shoreline collecting rounded stones in an Easter egg palette of color patterns.

Common kitchen at Whitefish Point Crew Quarters

Whitefish Point Crew Quarters

Varied palette of rounded stones on the beach at Whitefish

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point

Lighthouse at Whitefish Point

Late morning we headed south and east towards Sault Ste. Marie to visit the home of my great-grandparents, John and Annie White. I have distinct childhood memories of awakening in my great-grandmother's house to the low soulful horns of ships signaling their passing through the Soo locks. We arrived at the house just after noon on a Sunday and, after taking a few photos, were met at the door by the daughter of the new owners. She called for her parents, two University of Michigan grads who had purchased the house in January, 2014 and were very curious about the history of the house.

My great-grandparent's house in Sault Ste. Marie

Cornerstone of my great-grandparent's house

Foyer of my great-grandparent's house

The new owners and family

Since my Great-grandmother White passed away in 1972, the house has had a couple interim owners. However, it was interesting to learn that framed pictures (see below) of my grandparents had "conveyed" to the current owners with the house.

Conveyed photos of my great-grandparents, Annie and John White

After leaving the house, we headed east on Riverside Drive to the Sault St. Marie Cemetary to visit my great-grandparent's grave sites. We located their well-tended graves together with several other members of the White family in a peaceful setting. After paying our respects, we stopped for a picnic lunch at Ann Osbourn Park adjacent to the main shipping channel...the opposite side of which was the shoreline of Canada.

Picnic by the shipping channel......

After lunch, we drove around Sault Ste. Marie a bit before heading south on I-75 towards St. Ignace and the ferry to Mackinac (pronounced "Mackinaw") Island. There are no cars permitted on Mackinac Island, so all island transport is either by horse, bike or foot.

Sheplers St. Ignace Ferry Terminal

For the rookie visitor to Mackinac Island, the first decision is "which ferry option is best" for the 20-odd minute ferry ride? Apparently, during peak season, the Mackinac City ferry terminal is significantly more hectic than St. Ignace since this option avoids having to cross the Mackinac toll bridge to reach St. Ignace--which incurs an unnecessary r/t expense plus added travel time. The St. Ignace ferry ride is a few minutes shorter than the ferry from Mackinac City. Since we were already north of the Mackinac (toll) Bridge, we chose the quieter St. Ignace ferry terminal.

Sheplers ferry boat to Mackinac Island

Part 2 of the ferry decision is "which of the three ferry services is best"...Sheplers, Star Line or Arnold? After consultation with online reviews, it was apparent that Sheplers and Star Line are the "A-level" options and Arnold is the slower, less expensive option with significantly fewer departures per day. Arnold is $18. for the round trip, while Sheplers and Star Line charge $23. if you make your reservation online. We chose Sheplers because they have the most frequent departures (every hour), which makes it easier to gauge your arrival time...plus you don't have as long to wait if you arrive a few minutes late for your primary ferry choice.

Mackinac Bridge

Part 3 of your ferry decision (certainly this is getting lame, but still choices one must deal with!) is whether to park your vehicle in the "un-fenced/unsecured" lot (free), the "fenced/monitored" lot ($8/night), or the super-secure indoor lot ($16/night). Our SUV contained 14 travel days of "not-too-valuable" stuff, but I also didn't want the chance of a broken window if someone decided to investigate our unworthy treasure...so I went for the middle ground option.

Mackinac Island harbor

The Grand Hotel

Sheplers is a very well-run, well-organized operation and they have "people moving" down to a science. After making our reservation online, we checked in and received digital tags with our ID#, parking lot choice, vehicle location within the parking lot, vehicle description+license#, name and date. Luggage was similarly tagged and brought onboard. A few minutes after departure, the graceful 5 mile long Mackinac Bridge came into view--and before long we were passing by the neoclassical architecture of the Grand Hotel.

Main Street on Mackinac Island

Fort Mackinac

Upon arrival at the Sheplers Mackinac Island ferry terminal, we took a right onto Main Street and made the five minute walk to the Chippewa Hotel. We had reserved one of the top(4th) floor rooms with a balcony overlooking the harbor. We were very pleased with the spacious living area, well-appointed bath and separate bedroom. But the "to die for" amenity was the view from our walk-out balcony!

Killer view from our Chippewa Hotel balcony

Since we had a late lunch, we decided to enjoy the balcony, drink wine and nibble on goodies we had brought in our cooler until it got dark. We had a very interesting conversation with our balcony neighbor, an economics professor and his wife from Indiana, who is currently writing a textbook while on sabbatical. Before we knew it, the sun had set and the moon then made a sensational appearance over the harbor.

 

 

Posted by TBW Travel Today!