Stats for August 13, 2018

Origin:  Blind River Marina

Destination:  Lime Island State Recreation Area, USA

Distance:  53.9 miles

Speed:  8.8 mph

Time on the Move:  6 hours and 8 minutes

 

After cutting yesterday’s trip short to get potato chips, we knew had to get a move on today.  We were up and at ’em early and on the water around 8am.

We were on the water for quite a while today but it seemed to go by quickly.  Reading, dressing up, eating, looking for boats, Kelly running up and down the stairs a million times….these are the things that keep us busy underway…

To see our Canadian potato chip taste testing video click here!!  YAY potato chips!!

Finally we reached Lime Island, and lucky for us, we had a lime on board for our “we made it” cocktails.  We used a new app to essentially video chat with a border patrol agent to get cleared back in to the US.  She said we could not bring any limes in from Canada, so we were forced to eat it up anyway.  🙂

After hearing that we were cleared back in to the US and that we were back in Michigan, Tobin wanted to know if our boat trip was over since we were back home.  I tried to explain that we still have a year to go, but how in the world does that make any sense when you’re 4?!

Lime Island used to be a coal refueling dock for ships coming up and down the river, but it also has a very interesting and varied history involving limestone kilns, families working and living on the island, a former schoolhouse, a 30 room hotel, bunker tanks holding oil to refuel ships, and a ship catching on fire and running aground which has now turned in to part of the breakwall that we tied up to.  We went through the Lime Island Historical Museum which is in a Victorian house that was pushed across the ice in 1911 and still remains standing there today.  Hayley was in history-buff heaven!!

After exploring the museum and learning about the history of the island, we went on a hike where we acquired 6 teeny tiny toads.  They provided good entertainment for the kids and distraction from hiking through the woods.  Thank you, toads!!

 

After dinner we chatted with another boat that was using the dock at Lime Island as an overnight stopping spot as well.  It is so great to meet different people on this journey and hear their stories.  Quite often they have something in common with the INNTW theme, and this family was no different.

We enjoyed watching these two freighters cross paths right in front of us with the sun setting behind them.

We were just settling down after taking those pictures when Mike noticed something in the water that he thought looked like a German Shepard.  I assured him it had to be a bird, but after watching it a bit longer we realized a deer was just about to our side of the island after crossing the 3 mile wide river.  Of course we all ran out there to see it and we may have scared it away.  It wouldn’t have been able to climb up the seawall where we were, anyway, so we hope he was just moving up river to an easier landing spot.

After the highs and lows of seeing a deer swimming across the river and then fearing we may have scared it away to a horrible fate, we were greeted with another surprise.  This cruise ship, The Pearl Mist, was cruising up the river.  Thanks to Google we are able to search all the boat names we see and learn more about them.  The Pearl Mist was on an 11 day cruise from Toronto to Chicago and ended up docking with us in Mackinac Island, as well.  I was amazed the sides and decks weren’t higher to account for wind and waves.

 

 

With all this excitement, it’s no wonder we couldn’t get the kids in bed!!  😉  After the Pearl Mist passed us by, things settled down for the night.

Thanks for reading along!!