Drummond Island MI to Mackinac Island MI

We left Drummond Yacht Haven early this morning to cruise before the weather came in..


And a beautiful cruise it was.   Swells from the back quarter kept my autopilot from functioning as I would like.... (Steering was also complicated because we would surf down one only to climb another and tilt as we went over them).   Not possible to see them in photos because they were spaced apart substantially.


Lots of not-so-bad water.  


We had plans to go to Mackinaw City today for the night but the path there includes a cut through the Mackinac Island Harbor...   And it was so gorgeous when we came in...

I knew the people we were traveling with really wanted to go to the Island.   I am deathly allergic to horses so main street is not my friend.  

Still - I noticed the marina was nearly empty (usually full) so I called to see if we could get a day dock for a few hours for each of our boats.   No problem!  

Once on the docks the girls immediately said 'we know we have reservations in the city but we really want to stay here '. So we asked.  The marina operator said they were full tomorrow night but today had plenty of room and even called the other harbor master to tell him we were staying here.   They can't cancel our reservation in the city so the island just left it be and gave us slips here in trade even up.  Deal!


This place is truly awesome (despite my allergies) and this morning was as beautiful as any day I've ever been on the island.  70, sunny.  Beautiful.  

The girls did some shopping.  I bought fudge.  And ate enough to get sick.  It's what I do.  I was already sick (allergies). Food makes me forget some of that suffering ... Until it doesn't.  

The water here is really not able to be captured with a camera - but so clear.  This is not Grand Haven River mud...

We had lunch at the Chuck Wagon today. (Burgers, fries).  Simply had to since we never ate there before.  They really move the people through as they don't have much space.  The food is almost ready when you order.  Lol

If it weren't for the beautiful but dander filled horses I'd really love it here.  

Soon the weather turned and it rained.  I went back to the boat to breathe and wash off all of the may flies that descended on us overnight.  They are everywhere and clog drains and make a general mess.

The one down side to this harbor is it is wavy.  The ferries make big wakes and don't care.  The harbor is also exposed to the wind from the south (which is where it is coming from now) so we are rocking and rolling. 

47 miles today.   Decent seas.  They are rolling now though. We are glad we traveled this morning.  

Tomorrow we will attempt to get into Charlevoix (my happy place).   Marathon is also my happy place (in February) but in the summer there is no place on earth nicer than Charlevoix.  (Well, maybe Traverse City.  I like Traverse City in all seasons...)

Today it is 72 and sunny here (with clouds and brief showers occasionally).   In Marathon it's like 100.   I'll take Michigan in June.  

PS.  At Drummond Island the cell connectivity was still suspect (coming from Canada and roaming).  Tonight we are back with 5G/4G connectivity and have high speed Internet.  Far better than wifi.   I just tested and got 250Mb/sec down and 60Mb/sec up.  That's almost as fast as my wired internet at home...





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