Killin' Time in Mackinaw City

Well, the stories you hear about the “unpredictable” Great Lakes is true.  We arrived in Mackinaw City on Saturday, planning a two day stay.  We are still here (Wednesday night) due to weather.  Tuesday morning we thought we had a weather window to leave; in fact, we had slipped the lines and were headed out at about 9 AM.  A boat pulled into the harbor at just that time.  The captain looked a little beat up, and said we were “crazy” if we left.  He swore the seas were 5-8 feet, even though that was much higher than predicted.  We all quickly returned to our slips, and hunkered down to wait out the storms.  Good call.  Every boat that entered the harbor that day had a similarly, “wild eyed” captain and crew.  Today (Wed.) was even worse.

So, we have spent a couple of extra days here.  What to do…what to do…

Last night we had planned to have a poker night, but learned of a local “Music in the Park” show right next to the marina.  Anybody who knows my first mate well knows that she was a “band geek” in high school.  So when she heard it was a combination of marching songs and show tunes to be played…well, I knew we were going.  It was really well done.  I had no idea John Phillip Sousa wrote all those songs.  But, the Admiral did.  And she loved it, as did the rest of us Loopers.

 

The Straits Harbor Orchestra in the Park

The Rainbow was a bonus!

And the Loooper's loved it...

Today seemed to be “honey-do” day on the Looper boats.  Everyone was busy cleaning, working on their computers (bills still need paying, even for Loopers), and doing maintenance.  We took the opportunity to oil some teak on Once Around that badly needed the attention. 

 

The Admiral trusted me to do the floor of the shower...

But, when it came to the stuff that showed...she took control.

We captains got together later and think we have a weather window to travel early tomorrow (Thursday) morning.  Captain Ron says we will only get the crap beat out of us more as the day goes on, so the earlier we depart the better.  Negotiations ensued with the Admirals to see if they were amenable to a 6 AM departure.  We plied them with wine and an Italian dinner, and that’s the plan…for now.  Any luck and we’ll be in Bay Harbor Lakes Marina on Little Traverse Bay tomorrow by 1 or 2 PM.  I have it on my buddy Tom’s authority that it is 5 star marina, and awesome…I only had to tell Jan that it had a pump-out at every slip to seal the deal…

The Pump-Out Queen

People are funny.  Yes, all of us.  And, we all have those little idiosyncrasies that both make us the individual person we are, and that drive our spouses nuts!  You’ve heard about my first mate’s obsession with drying up every tiny corner of the bilge.  And you’ve learned of my “arocknephobia” (and other odd habits).  We’ve watched as others have been obsessive about cleaning their boats, or ridding them of bugs, or washing fenders, or whatever. 

But, our good friend Jan on Jolly Tolly has one of the funniest quirks we’ve come across on the Loop.  The woman just can’t stand to pass a pump-out station at a marina without getting Jolly Tolly pumped out.  We have lovingly dubbed her, “The Pump-Out Queen”.

Captain Ron and his "Pump-Out Queen"

When we first met Jan back along the Hudson, this odd behavior was not immediately apparent to us.  She was a “closet” pumper.  I think the first time we heard about it was from Ron, her captain (and husband).  Several of us were having dinner in Bobcaygen, Canada, and somehow the subject just came up.  Loopers rarely talk about their real jobs, or politics or other “normal” things we used to talk about when we were back in the world.  We talk about boats, problems on boats, where our boat has come from, where our boat is going, the marine weather forecast, and sometimes our families.  So while the topic of “pumping out” the septic system on your boat might seem to some of you like unusual dinner conversation, to Loopers…well, yes, it’s weird to us too. 

But Captain Ron was really frustrated.  It seems he has a gauge on the system that has five lights, indicating from low (one light) to full (five lights).  He managed to keep it a secret from Jan for some time, keeping “a lid on it”, so to speak.  Once she discovered the indicator lights, she became, according to Ron, a little nuts.  When she finds one light on, she begins to remind him they are about ready for another pump-out.  Two lights make her completely focused on finding the next marina with a station.  Three, well, Ron says he doesn’t ever get to three…and isn’t sure he ever wants to, even though I have heard him ask Jan patiently, “What do you suppose lights three, four and five are for, anyway?”  When Jan heard we had no level gauge on Once Around, she looked incredulously at the Admiral and said, “How do you sleep at night?



The bane of Captain Ron's day...Jan checking the status lights!

Perhaps the funniest illustration of Jan’s quirk was at the end of that dinner where Ron had bared his soul to us about his wife’s little “eccentricity”.  After dinner, a few of the Admirals rose to use the restroom (all together, naturally, they’re women aren’t they) at the restaurant before the fairly long walk back to the boat.  Jan jumped up with a smile from ear to ear and blurts out, “I know what you guys are up to!  You’re going for your FREE FLUSH!”  Evidently, getting her “free flush” is part of Jan’s normal routine…and poor Ron could only lower his eyes and shake his head slowly as the rest of us completely broke up!

Doug on Moonstruck has an evil idea…and I really like it.  He wants to sneak aboard Jolly Tolly and wire the indicator lights so we can control them with a remote control from our boat.  We could randomly keep changing them up or down, or set it so the next time she’s sitting on the head and checks it, all five lights are suddenly lit up without warning!  But, I’m afraid Jan might have a heart attack right there on the Vacu-Flush.  If not, poor Ron would probably be thrown overboard before he knew what hit him.  And, I shudder to think what could happen to Doug and me when she found us out.  After all, she's still an Admiral you know!

The whole thing reminds me of the lines in a Billy Currington country song,

God is great…

 beer is good…

…and people are crazy”.

Mackinac Island Visit

This morning the Admiral had me up and moving pretty early.  She was on a mission.  It did not quite reach the level of a “Securite-Securite-Securite”, but it was getting close.

One thing the North Channel and Georgian Bay could not provide was someone to take care of Mrs. Howell’s (or was it Ginger’s) finger nails.  There was not even a Walmart for the poor woman to resort to, so things were getting pretty bleak.  Evidently, this is highly technical stuff that I am not qualified to really get into, so I won’t even try.  She finally found someone qualified at a hotel spa out on Mackinac Island, which we were planning on visiting anyway, so this morning off we go, on the 8:30 (yes, AM) ferry to the island.

Me at the ferry...

The Mackinaw Bridge from the ferry.  Almost five miles long and built in 1957 it finally retired the car ferries that operated here prior.

Arriving at the island, we hoofed it about a half mile to the hotel spa, where she proceeded to disappear for OVER TWO HOURS.  I took myself out to a breakfast of eggs benedict (didn’t bother to tell the Admiral about that), which filled about the first half hour.  From that point on, I wandered the hotel gift shop, bike rental area, lobby (fell asleep once) and generally did some great people watching.  About the time the hotel staff was going to have me removed as a transient, Ginger finally came out.  The staff looked relieved when she claimed me.

As we were strolling back to the main town area, Doug and Judy called.  They had just arrived and wanted to know if we would meet them and have lunch.  I stalled lunch by suggesting we take a horse drawn carriage tour around the island.  I was just trying to kill an hour or so before having to eat again, but it turned out to be a very interesting ride.

Our driver, Justin, had just graduated with a degree in criminal justice and was returning in the fall for his masters;  he intended to become a US Marshall.  He was a great guy, and it turns out, sixth generation Yooper (a Michiganer from the upper peninsula portion of the state).  His family had deep roots on Mackinac Island, and he knew their story well.  He did solve one riddle for me.  I had been wondering why the city on the mainland was spelled “Mackinaw” and the island “Mackinac”, although both were pronounced with the “w” sound at the end.  Turns out Mackinac is the French spelling…nuff said.  Justin explained the history of the Indian/French/British/American back and forth that eventually resulted in the area becoming a permanent part of the US.

The island was, and is, the summer home to some very wealthy folks.  These homes are a small sample of some of the old mansions that were built here many years ago, and which are still owned by some of the same families.

 

I don't know...Carla, Mom says this one's for you...

...and apparently this one's for her!

This is the Catholic Church, which was drug across the frozen lake and placed here...according to Justin, they never quite got it level, and he knew from personal experience that you could set a marble down and it would roll to your buddy on the other side.  I'm Catholic, was once an alter boy, so immediately knew this was a true story!

Mackinac harbor from the island above

Our driver and Yooper extroardinaire, Justin.

"Dexter and Annie".  I am not sure which is which, as I mostly knew them from the opposite end!

After the tour, the four of us had lunch (I ate very lightly, ordering a salad, earning a gold star from the Admiral) and then we headed back to catch the ferry and return to Once Around in Mackinaw City.  We did a little business with the US Post Office (always fun) and strolled through the town picking up a few items.  Mackinaw is supposedly famous for their fudge, so we felt obliged to buy TWO POUNDS of it!!!  If my doctor is reading this, don’t worry, I’m not going to eat (much) of it!

Tonight we are dining alone (probably tofu and wheat germ after the Admiral reads this post) and kicking back.  If the weather is OK tomorrow we are off to Beaver Island, about 40 miles out into Lake Michigan.  If not…we’re eating fudge, uh, I mean fish… and hanging out here.