caracolina

We got up early to catch the sunrise on the east side of the Soo Locks, then watched two ships pass through the Soo Locks. After breakfast at the Lockview Restaurant, where we’d had our dinner the night before (you get a discount if you’re staying at the Long Ships Motel and the food is decent) we headed south. We started out on the freeway but since the weather was so nice, decided to try smaller roads so that John could take photos. The landscape became more and more agricultural as we approached St. Ignace but we did find some forest roads with amazing fall colors here and there.

In St. Ignace, just before approaching the Mackinac Bridge, we stopped for pastries and decided to take a look at the Father Marquette memorial. The memorial was mostly closed, but there was a short nature walk with nice views of the bridge. Construction slowed down traffic on the bridge which was nice because it allowed us to take in the view from above. We were amazed by the blue sky and waters of the lake, although the height was a tad unnerving for us two vertigo-sufferers. Back on terra firma we stayed on the eastern side of the peninsula (the “sunrise side”) until Rogers City, then picked up a fast food lunch before heading west to the “sunset side”. We emerged from the woods near Petoskey, almost in shock because of the amount of traffic. Staying out in the middle of nowhere has that effect on people! Driving through Traverse City we decided we were going to try to find a quiet place to view the sunset at the lake and headed towards the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. To our surprise, there really aren’t that many lake overviews at those dunes! We almost gave up on looking but found “our spot” just at sunset, not a minute too soon. It was a beautiful moment and we couldn’t believe our luck.

Our luck even continued when later on we passed a very nice place to eat, the Manitou Restaurant. We found lodging in Frankfort, at the R & R Motel, which is the first motel we’ve been to where the rooms are not locked and the room furnishings include books. I managed to read the foreword and first chapter of Ken Follet’s “The Pillars of the Earth” which I have been meaning to get from the library.