A Stroll over the Bridge ... Episode 2

When last we left our cruising couple, they'd just walked over the 5 mile long Mackinac Bridge, had cinnamon rolls and coffee, and went in search of the buses that would take them back to St. Ignace.

We got directions to the bus loading area and, at 9:30am, happily walked off to the buses. That's when we saw it.

THE LINE.

Just to be sure, we asked one of the line-standers if this was the line for the buses. "Yes", we were told, "THE LINE goes back there." There was a vague pointing in the other direction. So we walked toward the back of THE LINE. And walked. And walked. And walked. We thought we had found the end of THE LINE and that there was another line further over for something else. Only to discover that the "other line further over" was just THE LINE, snaking around a cul de sac.

So we started standing in THE LINE at 10:00.


More people kept coming. Expressing dismayed faces and asking "Are you absolutely, positively sure that they won't let us walk back over the bridge?" Every time a car or truck went by, someone in the crowd would offer to pay the driver to take them back over the bridge. We considered the ferry but the ferries weren't running from Mackinaw City to St. Ignace. We'd have to go to Mackinac Island and then catch another ferry to St. Ignace.

Here is THE LINE at 11:00.


The people in THE LINE were all in jovial moods and it was a beautiful day so it wasn't bad for us. Some of the people in THE LINE were waiting to catch the bus to St. Ignace to start the walk. Initially, no one was going to be able to start the Bridge Walk after 11:30. An announcement was then made that the Bridge Authority would keep the Walk going until everyone who wanted to walk had done so. That was really nice of them and another indication of how much the Bridge means to Michiganders. Although the cynical among us may think that decision had something to do with the Governor being there and an upcoming election year.

Here is THE LINE at 12:00. Our section of THE LINE was now able to see the buses in the distance ahead. A cheer went up!


This wonderful woman sold us our bus tickets at 1:00.


No wonder it took so long, there were over 6 million people crossing the Bridge and using the buses.

People are still walking over the Bridge at 2:00. They don't know, yet, that their adventure is just beginning.


We finally saw Meridian in the distance at 3:00.


WHEW! When we finally got back, we immediately went to the Marina Pub/St. Ignace Yacht Club and had a delicious Perch Basket lunch. And a Bell's Oberon Summer Ale. Later we had ice cream from Bentley's (We'd earned it!)

Some people at the Pub, who's experience was pretty similar to ours, said they heard that next year people will be able to walk both ways. We'd heard some people were grumbling about the wait because it had never been so lonnnnngggggg before. We had a fun time talking with our fellow line-standers -- it was all part of the adventure.

Happy 50th Birthday Big Mac!

They are saying on the news this morning that over 57,000 people participated in the Bridge Walk. I think they've skipped a "0" in there somewhere.

A Stroll Over The Bridge ... Episode 1

Somewhere along the way, we picked up a newspaper that mentioned the 50th Annual Mackinaw Bridge Labor Day Walk was scheduled for 7:00am on Monday, September 3. We hadn't really expected to be in this area on Labor Day so hadn't paid much attention to that. But, as things go, here it is Labor Day and here we are just steps from the starting point of the Bridge Walk - the Golden Anniversary Bridge Walk, no less.


The Marina was offering a shuttle to the starting point. So we got up early. (This might be a good time to mention that St. Ignace Marina is unlike any marina we've experienced so far. There is a lot of early morning activity. People are puttering around on their boats, reading, having coffee, chatting, walking, stretching after working out -- all before 7:00am. They are quiet about it but this is the most active marina we've been at. We feel like lazy bums when we get up at 6:30.) This particular morning, we saw an otter scampering around the dock, were asked if we were part of the media boat, and were asked by a frantic man what type of oil he should get for a boat he's on, in addition to greeting the regular morning marina putterers, walkers, and chatters.

The shuttle to the Bridge was uneventful. We met a group of fellow walkers who were from other parts of Michigan, one of whom has wanted to walk the bridge since he was a child and was doing it for the first time. The Bridge is beautiful at night. It is all lit up and twinkly but in a majestic way.




We had thought the Bridge Walk would be something similar to Chicago's "Bike the Drive" except free. You know, something that's neat to do since you can only do it once a year. It's really not. Michiganders really love this Bridge. They wear shirts and jackets that proudly display all the patches from every year they've walked. People come from all over just to do this: all ages, all races, in wheelchairs, in strollers. We saw a family that was all wearing shirts that proclaimed "My uncle/dad/husband/granddad built the bridge" hanging around the guy with the shirt that said "I built the bridge".

So we started the walk at about 7:20. We probably actually started at 7:10 but the first few minutes it is walk a few steps, stop, walk a few steps, stop. But we soon started moving along. They close two lanes for walkers and use the other two for cars and buses that are bringing people to the starting point (on St. Ignace) from Mackinaw City.

A lot of people walk the bridge. But a small group of people, selected by lottery, run at the front with the Governor. Another group - this year about 50 - swim the straits to raise money for charity.

For part of the walk, you can walk along the grated portion of the bridge. Here is an exciting action shot of our feet. The water is so clear that you can even see the underwater portion of the pylons that the bridge is built on. Other times, it's a cool design.

By about 8:30, we could see Mackinaw City in the distance. At about 9:00, we were crossing the finish line. We got our "I walked the Bridge" certificates and went over to the park next to the Bridge to watch the swimmers come in.

We went back to the Finish Line area, got our certificates stamped by the post office, had cinnamon rolls and coffee and went off in search of the buses to take us back to St. Ignace.

Tune in later for the next episode of "A Stroll Over the Bridge" where Bernie and Phil and, oh, about 100,000 other people, try to return to St. Ignace.

Heading off to Charlevoix

On Friday morning (August 24), we gassed up at Traverse City ($3.53 / gallon) then headed for Charlevoix. The trip up Grand Traverse Bay was uneventful, with the weather sunny and calm. Some Chicago boaters may recognize the large blue boat also in the picture -- it's from DuSable Harbor. It had some crewmembers from Pendragon (also DuSable) that were in town for a regatta.

When leaving Grand Traverse Bay headed to the northeast, you pass Fisherman’s Island. There are some shoals there to avoid, so you shouldn’t get too close. Past Fisherman’s Island, there’s a buoy marking the dangerous areas and you should stay outside of it. At this point, there were a number of sailboats heading out, as well as into, Charlevoix, and we kept close to the buoy to avoid them.

Upon rounding the point and approaching the river channel of Charlevoix, it got pretty choppy. This area of Lake Michigan around the Charlevoix was much rougher than the surrounding areas on the way out as well. It may be because of the interaction with the river current and the breakwaters. But it wasn’t too terribly bad and we made it into the channel with ease.

Once in the river, we could really feel the current affecting our forward motion. But it slowed down considerably by the time we neared the bridge, and it was easy to hold Meridian stable as we waited for the bridge to open. This time of year, it opens every half hour and you don’t have to signal.







After getting through the bridge, we hailed Charlevoix Municipal Marina, got our slip assignment, and pulled safely in to the harbor. Charlevoix Municipal Marina is currently undergoing an extensive reconstruction. They have nice floating docks (the rickety ladder gets another workout) and electricity, but there is no water. And there are no facilities at the harbor. The harbor master’s office is temporarily located over by the Beaver Island Ferry offices, and those restrooms are open 24 hours for boaters. However, they don’t have showers. They give a $5 per night discount for the lack of water or showers. That is supposed to make up for having to pay for showers at the health club. But when we went to the health club on Saturday afternoon, it was closed. Luckily, we had filled up the water tanks in Traverse City. We took very short showers on Meridian.

One thing that surprised us about the slips was that there were no poles between slips. Not even for the largest boats. That means there is no way to keep the boat off the dock when the wind blows from a certain directions. The fenders – and/or fender boards - can get a decent workout here. However, the wind wasn’t much of a problem because Round Lake is a small lake surrounded by high hills. And the entire lake is a no wake zone.

While the harbor and park are not much to look at now, we’re told they’ll be extremely nice once completed. And if they’re to be anything like the rest of Charlevoix that we experienced, they will be first-rate.


While we were staying in Charlevoix, we saw a large sailboat (The “Lady Carol”) arrive and sail on through Round Lake into Lake Charlevoix. That was a coincidence, because we stayed in their slip when in Northport. We know the boat because, when in Northport, they arrived and had to tie up on the wall while we were there. It was so windy at the time, the harbor master didn’t ask us to move for them (did we mention that the harbor staff at these marinas are great?).