Its monday, and we've passed the halfway point of our trip. Our plans have us heading north into the "UP" of Michigan, starting with a trip over the Mackinac Bridge. Last time I made this trip, it was raining. This trip, with no rain, and my "tour guide" at my side, we got out the "dash cam", only let the "tour guide" hold it and record the journey across, heading North toward Sault St. Marie.
Once across the bridge we exited and drove thru St. Ignace, the other main departure point for Mackinac Island. At 7:00am, not much activity going on, but none the less, interesting to see the workings of a tourist city at that time of day.
From St. Ignace we headed along the Northern shoreline (Horseshoe and Saint Martin Bays) of Lake Huron toward Cedarville, and then thru the UP back roads to Sault St. Marie, MI. Alot of pastures and wooded areas, but few crops other than hay...
As we approached Sault St. Marie, our route took us along the shoreline of Lake Nicolet, downstream of the Soo Locks. The river and the Locks were quiet - no ships passing when we were there (of course it was ~8:30am!), so we didn't stop to enter the National Park along the Locks.
OK, we are as far north as we can go without crossing into Canada, so its time to start heading back down thru the UP, and towards Green Bay.
The Upper Peninsula has a mixture of very wooded areas, and open pasture land. Not alot of towns, but rather "crossroads", where businesses, homes, and attractions tend to locate. One of the more interesting spots we came upon was "The Stuff Capital of the UP".... Unfortunately, it was either closed for the day, or my guess is it went out of business "a few years ago"... so we'll never know what "stuff" was in this Capitol of the UP.
Our next stop was the Seul Choix Lighthouse, on the southern coastline of the UP, along Lake Michigan. The name of the lighthouse has an interesting background... Native Americans and French explorers were traveling in canoes and later small ‘Mackinac’ boats. It was readily apparent that along the 75 mile stretch, from the Straits of Mackinac to today’s Manistique, there was only one place to seek refuge from the storms that often sweep up Lake Michigan. Realizing that the bay near the present day Port Inland was their only choice, the French named the place Seul Choix, the French name for ‘Only Choice’. The French pronunciation is “Sel-Shwa”, while locally the name is spoken as “Sis-Shwa”.
The grounds provide beautiful views of noit only the lighthouse, but also of Lake Michigan. In the photo to the right, my "tour guide" is shown here on the shoreline, with the Seul Choix lighthouse in the background.
By now, my "tour guide" was ready for another wine tasting event. The UP is pretty slim on wineries and vineyards, but my "tour guide" found one for us to check out - The Garden Bay Winery. This winery is located in the old clubhouse of a golf course, which the owner also owned. He decided to close the course, and move the winery operations into the basement of the clubhouse, and use the rest for wine tasting, receptions, and general gatherings.
As with most places, we always seem to find one or two wines we like, and this place was no different. Another bottle added to the "2011 Michigan Wine Tasting Trip".
By now, we were ready to put the hammer down, and finish the 2 hour drive to Green Bay, and relax a bit. We made a brief stop in Escanaba, MI at the Sand Point Lighthouse, and for gas. Before hitting the hotel, we thought lest try out our luck again at the Oneida Casino in Green Bay. Bad idea... we BOTH lost money!
On to the Clarion Hotel, on the bank of the canal in Downtown Green Bay. This turned out to be a great place. Good rate, next to the CityDeck , and just accros the draw bridge from Titletown Brewing Company.
We decided it was time for "double-bubble hour", and an early dinner, so we took a table outdoors. Perfect day... mid-70's and great breeze... so we enjoyed a couple beers while we watched water traffic on the canal. While eating, another couple sat near us, and asked us if we knew about Green Bay. Of course we said no, but learned the man had worked at Sartori Hospital in Cedar Falls on some sort of rotation years ago! (Small world!). They were in Green Bay to meet their son who was an engineer on a Great Lakes freighter - The Cason J. Calloway. It was supposed to dock in the canal that evening (Bear with me, this will mean something in a little bit!)
We finished dinner and decided to check out the CityDeck and Fox River Trail, just outside our hotel. This next photos shows what a couple beers do to a "tour guide". There were several different "arts" on display, along with a few establishments with outdoor seating to enjoy the view along the canal. We walked the downtown length of the walkway, before returning to our hotel.
(here's where I get beack to the two people who were waiting for their Engineer Son on the Great Lakes Freighter - Calon J. Galloway)
Just as we made it to our hotel, at the entrance to the canal you could see a freighter beginning its journey up the canal. Yes, you guessed it, it was the Calon J. Galloway! So we stopped to watch it pass by. Suddenly, two bicycles came flying down the walkway, and yes, it was the couple we talked to at Titletown Brewing Company. They followed the ship up the canal to its final unloading spot.
It was a pretty impressive site, seeing that huge ship navigate thru the draw bridges and narrow canal. And yes, their son came out of the bridge and waved to us as the ship passed by. The parents were ecstatic!
Our last event before heading back to the hotel was finding some ice cream. Heading back out in our car, we wandered the nice neighborhoods near the Downtown, and found a Hansen's Dairy shop, where we indulged in a couple double dip ice cream cones. A great way to end the day before heading to the hotel.
This last shot shows our room view overlooking the canal.
Day Four - Green Bay, WI to Waterloo, IA
The final day of the trip has arrived. No more lighthouses or wine tasting, but rather a 400+ mile drive back to Waterloo.
To break up the trip, we started with a "drive by" of the Elkhart Lake area. For those of you not familiar with Elkhart Lake, its main attraction is the Road America road racing courses. However the Elkhart Lake area also has a nice downtown shopping and dining area as well as a great lake for water sports as well. If you're looking a nice escape, check out the Elkhart Lake area.
From Elkhart Lake, our next destination was Waterloo... no, not Waterloo, IA, but Waterloo, WI. Not much here, but my "tour guide" found Jim's Cheese Pantry. You can't travel thru Wisconsin without stopping for some cheese! This place was great.. hundreds of different cheeses... and samples of many, with toothpicks next to each sample! Even though it was only about 10am, its always time for cheese!~
OK, time to bear down, and hit the road back to the REAL Waterloo! As we approached Dubuque, the gambling bug was chirping, and we had to make one more attempt to "win the big one", with a stop at the Diamond Jo Casino, on the banks of the Mississippi River. Yep, you guessed it, no such luck..... This really told us "vacation is over".... So back in the car, and onto Hiway 20, and back to Waterloo.
As we pulled into town, we made a quick stop at the kennel to pick up our dog, Chester. Even though vacation was over, Chester's excitement and waggin' tail helped make the return a good one... (That's what you have to look forward to when your kids have all moved out and on to their own lives!)
Over 1600 miles, 6 lighthouses, 3 wineries, 4 casinos.... alot visited durng these 4 days. My "tour guide" did good this trip! I may have to book her for another trip this fall!
I have posted all the photos I took during the trip and posted them in a PicasaWeb album. To see more of the trip, click here.
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