St. Ignace to Charlevoix
The annual Bridge Walk in St. Ignace is tomorrow. 
The Mackinac City Bridge is 5 miles long 
Boat and car traffic are blocked for the Bridge Walk, so we got out of town before it happened
Fifty five degrees this morning, and this is becoming the norm. When it’s barely September, and the 50’s are common, I know it’s time for this goose to fly South.
We left St. Ignace around 8 am. Eight hours and 52 nautical miles later, arrived in Charlevoix.
Not sure what the population of this town is, but it feels bigger than it really is. Many very nice shops, a movie theater, a well stocked grocery, and a marina that gets 5 stars, in our book, make up this little town. Charlevoix became our home for Sunday until Thursday morning, because the winds made Lake Michigan only suitable for the brave and the stupid. We decided there were much worse places to be stuck.
So we shopped, went to the movies, bought groceries, shopped again, ate out, and then went shopping, all while in Charlevoix. The marina cuts their rates in half, beginning Labor Day. I guess they figure anybody still crazy enough to hang around after that deserves a break. And as we watch the good weather days get fewer and farther between, it is easy to understand why people bail. Our goal is to get below Chicago before we go back home for a month, beginning around September 20th.
We had a nice visit with the former owners of our boat. They live about an hour away and had requested that we contact them when we got to their area. It was fun to catch up with them. The boat acquisition was such a nice experience and Larry and Deb, we felt, became friends through the process. I especially enjoyed exchanging stories with Larry about the boat and experiences, now that I am officially an old salt, instead of a wannebe boat owner. Larry has logged way more hours than I probably ever will, so it was good to still pick up some pointers on places to stay and places to be extra careful.
