Day 44 - 8/8/24

I actually slept ‘till 8am! Still the first one up though.

We invited our friends over for bloodies since we were so proud of our new recipe we have developed over this trip. With bacon, pearl onions, Germans, pickled green beans and celery it made a lovely brunch, virgin or loaded. The kids went and got shore coffee

We rented bikes and rode around the island with Brett. The waters ofnthis area are still my favorite being crystal clear and Caribbean blue. The Viking cruise ship we had seen in the north channel has anchored off shore and has been being tender after tender of visitors to shore along with the normal ferries.

We hiked up to the Arch, stopped and let the kids rock climb at Devils Kitchen (woah, mammas heart, some of that was a bit scary for me to watch, but proud of the !) and enjoyed the pebble beaches along the way.

We went and bought obligatory fudge and then had a relaxing afternoon. I think what makes Mackinac Fudge more unique then anywhere else in the world is you get to have the lovely aroma of horse poop while eating it.

A Boy Scout learning boat came in. We have been on this boat before. It’s also another Alden design boat and was built in Sturgeon Bay. We chatted with the captain and first mate for awhile.

And I gathered a very large crowd for Taps. The honor of the deed is still not lost on me, nor anyone else.

We finished the evening with Brett and his crew. We all depart tomorrow. Gretchen and Charlie will soon be departing and heading to the east coast to work on tall ships until December. I look forward to watching their journey!