PAUL’S OLD FISHING GROUNDS

Saturday, July 11 – We had a short trip this morning of less than 30 miles from St.Ignace, MI to Hessel, MI. One of Paul's fishing buddies had a cabin a few miles down the road in Cedarville, MI. We are spending a few days in the area to share old memories of Paul's fishing days with the gang.

We are again at a Kewadin Casino campground. This is a much smaller casino. The campground is located in the woods across the street from the casino. Paul recalls that is was once privately owned but evidently the casino took it over. The sites are gravel and the roads are gravel. Most of the sites are for small RV's or tents, but they do have about a half dozen pull thrus. We are the only RV in the campground. There is a group of tenters way back in the woods at the other end of the campground here for some four wheeling on the snowmobile trails.

Our site is very long (about 100') and has full hookups, 50 amp electric and sewer but no water. I mentioned to the fellow working at the casino check-in desk that we probably would only stay one night since there was no water. He offered to run a hose (about 200') from a rental cabin for no extra charge. WOW! He even had one of the workers bring us a load of free fire wood. How's that for being accommodating and treating the customer right! All this for $10 per night.

This is how far they ran a hose for our water.

We are way out in the country (Can't figure how a casino out here can stay in business but it was busy this afternoon) so it should be a great night for star gazing. We were lucky to get the satellite dish to find the satellite. Being this far north the elevation is only 32 degrees, nearly on the horizon.

All the years that Paul fished up in this area, he never had the famous Michigan Pastie. Bob, How To Love Where You Are And Eat Where The Locals Eat, suggested we have our first one at the famous Hessel Bakery. They advertise they sell the best Pasties in the North. A Pastie is much like a pot pie. It's filling is some sort of meat with potatoes, and vegetables. It is then baked in a pie crust shaped like a calzone. Thanks for the great recommendation Bob. The Pasties were delicious.

We don’t normally take pictures of our food, but this one is for Bob. Marsha had chicken; Paul beef.

We toured downtown Cedarville in about five minutes this afternoon. Bought a couple gallons of spring water at the only grocery store, bought a hose repair coupling at the only hardware, and had a couple beverages at two of the FOUR bars.

The very busy main street in Cedarville.

Tons of marinas here in Cedarville.

Main attraction at the hardware store. Yes, that is a real moose.

One of  Paul’s favorite bars, Bumpas’.

The bar is in the shape of a boat.

Internet service is marginal at best up here. We stopped outside the library hoping to get WIFI – nope! We headed over to the school searching there – nope! Maybe at the Chamber of Commerce or the Visitor's Center – nope! At the last bar we stopped at, what did we find.....WIFI, and it's only a couple hundred yards down the street from the campground. Gotta love small towns UP North.....LOL.

Stop back as we continue searching for Paul's youth. This is turning out to be a “bar crawl”, but we are having a good time and loving the beautiful weather.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

MACKINAW CITY, MI

Friday, July 10 – We returned south of the Bridge today to visit Mackinaw City. This is “tourist central” for this area. But first a correction in a previous blog is need. We reported incorrectly that tolls were only collected on the Northbound side of the Mackinac Bridge. We found out this morning that toll booth are on both directions. We paid $4 for the truck going BOTH directions.

There is another confusing issue here in Mackinaw City for many visitors. That is the correct spelling of the city and how to pronounce it. First it is pronounced Mack-in-naw regardless of how it is spelled. The spelling is another issue. When the British arrived and took over in 1761, they decided to change the spelling to “aw.” The French district (north of the Straits) kept their “ac.” So everything north of Mackinaw City uses the spelling … MACKINAC. Mackinaw City is the only reference that uses the “aw” ending but regardless they are pronounced the same. The straits are called Mackinac Straits and the island is Mackinac Island. Clear as mud!

After stopping at a local Mackinaw City bakery for coffee and a doughnut, we leisurely strolled along the main shopping district. Again, this area is all about the tourists and what they can take home to remember their visit.

We did enjoy seeing the “Northern style” interior of the Dixie Saloon and the 1000's of keys hanging around the Keyhole Bar, a former stopping off point for Paul and his fishing buddies.

Top of the Bar.

We were surprised that most of the wineries charge for wine tasting. Hey, do they want to sell this stuff or not? We eventually found a winery that has free tasting and ended up purchasing 4 bottles of tasty vino. Maybe those places should re-evaluate charging for tasting!

Last night after dark (It doesn't really get dark this far north until after 10 pm.), we drove down to get a view of the Mackinac Bridge all lit up in all it's glory. Nice way to spend the evening and definitely something you don't see every night.

We were treated to a fabulous setting sun.

Tomorrow, we pull up the jacks and head further north to continue exploring the North Country. We're going to zero in on the town Paul and his fishing buddies terrorized in their youth. Check back to get Marsha's take on some of Paul's old memories.....ha ha!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

GREAT DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND

Thursday, July 9 –  We jumped on the Arnold Mackinac Island Ferry first thing this morning to sail to Mackinac Island. Arnold Ferry is $18 per person compared to the others costing $23 per person. Still a pretty hefty ride for the thirty minute trip – but then again, it's a round trip fare.

Bye St. Ignace.

Hello Mackinac Island.

Round Island Lighthouse.

The Island was bustling at our 9:30 arrival with people lined up for carriage rides ($28 per person) and tours of Fort Mackinac ($23 per person). I guess we're cheap because we refused both. Nice that families could get a family pass for $75 though.

Awaiting the hoards of people.

We walked over 5.33 miles and 12,457 steps according to Paul's iPhone health app. We strolled down main street checking out all the fudge shops and salt water taffy stores. Of course there are hundreds of touristy souvenir places selling every t-shirt imaginable and other things for folks to take home to remember their day at Mackinac Island.

Not your run-of-the mill weathervane.

No visit to the Island would be complete without a visit to the 1887 Grand Hotel….but wait….taken from the website:  To enter the hotel and explore our grounds, there is a $10 admission fee. Nope, we will pass on that one. But here is a photo taken from the ferry. It is an amazing place.

We enjoyed several of the old churches, especially Trinity Episcopal Church and Sainte Anne Catholic Church. There is also the Missionary Bark Chapel made from tree bark, being the first church on the Island.

For those of you unfamiliar with Mackinac Island, there are no motorized vehicles permitted on the island. Bikes and horse drawn vehicles are the only mode of transportation, other than walking. There is a circular road around the entire island that tons of families enjoy biking with the kids. You must be cautious when crossing the street, there's bikes flying everywhere and horses too!

Paul's fishing buddies made rest stops on the Island for some beverages and lunches. We stopped some of the familiar taverns like the Pink Pony and the Old Town Tavern. We even sampled a couple brews in memory of the old gang.

Paul really doesn’t drink his beer with a straw, but it was pink. Go figure.

Marsha especially enjoyed the flowers and landscaping. Hundreds of hanging baskets and every historical house and bed and breakfast were surrounded with amazing flower beds all in full bloom. Paul believes Marsha would have made the trip just for the flowers.

By 1:30, we were ready to jump aboard the return ferry to St. Ignace, MI, and return to the Kewadin Casino for a little rest and relaxation. Don’t mess this gem of an island. We had a fantastic day. There is tons and tons to see. The weather is absolutely marvelous with highs in the mid 70’s and lows in the 50’s and best of all no humidity. Makes for good sightseeing and even better sleeping!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!