Mackinaw to St Ignace

7.8.11  Mackinaw Island 

We had a great day on the Island.  After a brief morning rain and we were off for our bike adventure.  Temps were perfect and the island was relativly quite.  We rented a tandum bike and set off to peddle the perimitor of the Island.  8 miles around then a few miles on the interior trails.  Great fun.  Lunch on the boat and got some reading in.  Met up with Kathy (Beaver Buddy) and Jon and made plans for dinner together.  

Up untill not, we have felt relatively comfortable leaving the boat unlocked when heading to the showers or marina office etc.  Unfortunatly, we have had a change of heart.  Still not sure what to make of the "incident" but... we met the couple docked next to us.  They admired our boat and asked if they could come over for a tour.  No problem... we shared a glass of wine, small talk and said our good byes since we needed to meet our friends for dinner.  Kathy and Jon just happen to have gotten a slip directly across from our boat so we went over and chatted for a bit.  Stepping back onto the dock I noticed someone getting on to out boat and disapearing down below, then reappearing with my Turkish Olive Oil !  It's the woman for the boat next door.  She jumps down on her boat ... a minute later re-apears, goes back to our boat with oil in hand.  We are all just standing there gape jawed and blinking.  Our boat was closed up, oil in a closed cabinet.  Jim quickly crosses the dock and before she can make her escape he says... "so, everything alright here?"  (meaning what the h*$$ ya doing?)... she says... "oh, I just needed some olive oil."  and off she goes to her boat........ wow.  I would like to add, while she was on our boat as an invited guest, never did we discuss olive oil or where it might be kept... Jim promptly locked the boat!  We didn't see them surface for the rest of our stay.   Now, I'm not stingy but if any of you want to borrow my olive oil... just ask first.

Any who.... we had a lovely dinner catching up with our friends.  Strolled down the main boulevard, ate more fudge and had a night cap at the Mustang Lounge.  It was a memorable visit and a very happy anniversary.     

  7.9.11 Saint Ignace

We left the Island and headed to Saint Ignace to meet up with family.  Motored over. Took on fuel, 22 gallons.  Tied up at our slip and welcomed the family aboard:  Mom, Nancy, Barb, Brenda, Scott, Tate, and David.  Nancy, mom and Brenda cooked and baked loads of wonderful beards, pies and salads... It was a delightful feast.  We had a wonderful afternoon.  Sunny skies, full tummies and  great conversation.  Brenda gave me a ride to the store for provisions.  No fresh herbs or organic lettuce needed.  She brought an amazing array of greens from her organic garden, I think her web site is "Windy Hill Farm" (or Garden).  Brenda is an amazing gardener following in the footsteps of her mother, Nancy.  Mom of course brought me my "fix" of chocolate no bake cookies.... just might eat some for breakfast, after all they do have oatmeal in them.  One lament, I wish we would have had a fishing pole for Tate.  I'm sure he would have been able to catch us dinner with all the fish here in the harbor. With everyone off for home, we topped off the water tanks and put away supplies, making ready for a long day tomorrow.  Plan is to head to Harbor Island to anchor for the night then to Blind River, Canada to check in with customs.  Eyes are tired, morning will come top fast I think.  Till next time.