Day 2 of the weekend began a bit on the gloomy, dreary, drizzly side.

The flag standing out from the pole told me I didn't need to consider boating this morning.

I can see the weather instruments on the sailboat mast from the berth and the spinning wind indicator tells me when it's OK to fish or just roll over for some more nap time.

So it was mostly a lazy day with a couple strolls around the village.

Then about dinner time things cleared out and we cranked up the dinghy for a little ride down the coast.

I drove.

She complained about the bumpy ride.

There's always wake action on the lake from the ferry boats so the ride in the bow of the dinghy can get a little rough.

We decided these guys have significant stock holdings in Andersen Window Co.  They're by far a couple of the largest places along the beach.

Kind of looks like a "keeping up with the Jones" kind of thing since they're the only two and right next to each other.

So we made our way back to the marina for the sunset.

Yeah, I know.  It doesn't compare to all those Ludington sunsets of years past, but the day started out all dark and damp like this...

...so I'll take it.

Tomorrow is the bridge walk.  Buses begin running at 5:30 am.  The coast guard blocks the area around the bridge to boat traffic so my fishing spot will be off limits tomorrow.

Might as well take a five mile hike, I guess.

Should be interesting.

Labor Day weekend.  The unofficial official end of summer.  Not that summer ever started here this year.

We arrived last night to a calm marina scene between the rain storms.

There's a few weekend warriors in the marina, but for the most part just the seasonal crew is here and even a few of those have pulled their boats for the winter already.

I woke up storms in the area and lightning off the stern.  After hemming and hawing for an hour, I finally decided Mother Nature was going to let us experience boating this morning.

So off we went, set some lines and trolled across the Straits.  We did have a nice lake.

Mackinac Island off to starboard.

St Ignace to port.

This was the first try over in that water and discovered it stays quite deep all the way to shore over there.  We were in a little over 100' of water only 3/8 of a mile off the beach.  Bad news was the fishing wasn't any better.  Only one lake trout came to the net this morning which we released.  It started to pour rain so we quit after a couple hours.  The on/off rain continued all day.  One minute, sun.  Next a downpour.

The consensus seems to be the fishery in all the lakes is off this year for multiple reasons.  I'm sure the brutal winter and cool summer haven't helped any.  Obviously, the fishery here hasn't been much beyond the available lake trout but all along the Lake Michigan coast the fishing has been poor.

I guess there's always tomorrow.

As far as boating and fishing is concerned, this weekend was a bust.

We had friends Jerry and Marge Bekes up for the weekend and attempted to do a little fishing.  It all started out well Saturday morning with lines set and approaching the bridge for a couple photos.

Conditions deteriorated rapidly as heavy fog set in.  I ceased my photography and concentrated on piloting the boat around the freighters, tugs and ferry boats.  It just became too much to deal with so we made our way back to the marina at a breakneck speed of about 6 knots.

I'm not sure I've ever been in fog so think.  We were directly under the Mackinac Bridge and could only see the bridge deck directly above us.  So we opted for alternate activities and wandered first over to the local arts show.

Then browsed the Corvettes at the Corvette rendezvous.

Lots of Corvettes from this 1957...

to the new 2014.

We grabbed a lite lunch and relaxed down at the park.

Watching the fog in the Straits.

The fog continued to come and go all day and well into the evening.  Not only that, but Sunday was a repeat of the same conditions so the boat remained tied to the dock while we all enjoyed a trip to town for pancakes and french toast.

Next week is the Labor Day Bridge Walk.  I'm expecting wind, rain, sleet, and anything else that might make a five mile hike miserable.

The US Air Force jazz band is playing over in the park this evening so we're able to enjoy that for the next hour from the back of the boat.

Ripples in the marina fairway mean a bumpy lake.

The ferry boat captains have been warning passengers riding on the upper deck that they are in a splash zone for the past couple days.  It calmed down for a few hours after dawn this morning, but by about 10:00 AM it was blowing again.  Several boats that left the marina this morning returned and reported 5' seas west of the bridge.

I never get tired of that view.  This must be one of the best views exiting a harbor on the planet.

Kathy in one of her more active moments.

That's been her perch on the back deck for the last couple weeks.  Must be nice to not have to report to work at 6:00 in the morning.

I was up grilling dinner yesterday and noticed a couple monarch butterflies in the flowers by the patio.  They always show up around here about the time the salmon fishing gets good.  If the lake would lay flat, I'd check out that theory but the forecast is for wind and more wind so I'm not holding out much hope for fishing.

I'm thinking this is probably the end of the boating for the week.

But you never know.

Today was a celebration of my 30th anniversary at Chrysler.  To say that is an achievement with everything that company has been through in 30 years is an understatement.  I have no idea how I survived four mergers, one bankruptcy and numerous employee "actions".  But I did, so all is well.

On to the important stuff.

After two days at the office, I arrived tonight at Mackinaw City to...

gale force winds.  I'm surprised the flag pole remains upright.

Remember a few days ago?

It's not quite so glassy calm this evening.

Shepler's is even tacking to the island today, heading westerly for a couple miles before turning downwind and east toward the island once near the shipping channel.  The top deck is also void of passengers.  Anyone up there would get damp.

It's about as rough as the Straits has been at any time we've been here this year...and chilly too.  There's certainly a hint of autumn in the air tonight.

Tomorrow was to be a day of visitors, but that plan hit a snag so it's just me and the queen and a day full of whatever suits the mood.

Sleep sounds real good at the moment.

Until then...

Mackinac Island - Day #4

We have to vacate tomorrow.  Timing looks to be about perfect with stormy weather moving in.  Four days is the maximum stay allowed here at the island marina.

I got back on the bike this morning to join Kathy on the "Lap de Mackinac".

The tour carriages were lined up in anticipation of the onslaught of fudgies.

On the east side of the island the early morning sea gull roost.  A rock for every gull and a gull for every rock.

I noticed this dinghy on a mooring over at British Landing on the west side of the island.  I think I remember this scene.

Today.

From my 2005 photo file.

Things just don't change much here.

With the bike ride complete and breakfast finished, it was time for a hike. Up the fort hill we climbed.

Behind the Governor's Mansion and the Grand and out to the West Bluff.

We found a little trail in front of the West Bluff cottages and walked that to the end of the bluff.

The landscaping is very nice on all these cottages.  I imagine there's a very good business here tending these yards.  This is the Hamady cottage. Is or was owned by the Hamady Brothers grocery chain family from the Flint area some years ago.

From there we strolled onto the porch of the Grand Hotel.  That's the route to get into the Grand free of charge.

Looking out over the Straits.

Even taking a moment to strike a rocking chair pose. (she keeps reminding how she's retired and I'm not).

We had dinner out today (Horn's Bar) and made another lap around the island before heading to the ice cream counter.

So the day is done.  Tomorrow it's back to Mackinaw City and I have to go home for a couple days and put in a cameo appearance at the office.

Island Day #3.

I decided to forego the physical trauma this morning in favor of a little run up the Arch Rock coast in the dinghy.

I left the harbor shortly after sunrise.

Past the harbor boats on moorings.

A freighter passes through the channel between Mackinac and Round Island as I venture out of the harbor.

The east shore is very rocky.  I thought I'd be sure to find a smallmouth bass along there somewhere.  No such luck.  It was just a pleasant morning boat ride.

Passing early morning kayakers.

Arch Rock.

One of only two cottages on this side of the island.

It was an interesting excursion.  No way I'd take the Sea Ray anywhere near that shore. The water is gin clear and the boulders come to within a few feet of the surface from nearly 30' of water.  It would be a phenomenal place to snorkel if the water was a touch warmer than the 60° it is now.

Back to the boat for breakfast and the next activity of the day which was...

A hike!  Oh boy!  At least it doesn't involve a bicycle seat.  Not sure I could handle that today.

We walked up to the East Bluff for the view of the harbor.

Looks like downtown was already getting busy.

Then took the trails out to Arch Rock.  I'd already covered the water side view.  Might as well look from the top down.

One of the "fudgie buses" rolls into the Arch Rock plaza.

That's part of the Carriage Tour system.  These three horse carriages are used on the inner island part of the tour.

On to the Arch Rock view.

Someone was quite industrious in the water below the arch.

Don't know who Max is, but he's been a busy little boy.  That message is made of rocks.  It's all under water.

The view looking NE is nice.  The lake has looked like this for several days now.  That's a bit unusual.

Back down at sea level, you can see just how flat the lake is as a lone boat trolls off the island.

By this time the shoreline road is LOADED with fudgies.

It's why we bike at 7:00 am and 8:00 pm when we do venture out.  Can't stand to drive during rush hour.

At this point it was back to the boat for lunch and a few chores. Then off to Round Island on a little adventure...

that turned kind of sour when a half dozen ferry boats all cruised through the channel throwing 3' wakes onto shore where my dinghy was beached.

The dinghy was getting swamped so we snapped a couple quick photos and got out of there.

We'll have to go back another time with a little better plan.  The shore is all softball sized stones that are impossible to walk on.  That particular area isn't people friendly.  I'm sure there's somewhere better suited to make a landing on that island.

After a burger on the grill, I loaded up the dinghy for an evening trolling event.

Salmon fishing, dinghy style.

I put out two lines.  One 100 yd. leadcore line and one 50 yd. leadcore line on in-line planer boards.  I put out the shorter line looking for steelhead.

Wonder of wonders, I found one!

I'm guessing it was all of 10 lbs.  That's a nice fish.

So, with the mission accomplished, I headed back in with the sun setting and slabbed the fish on the swim platform.

There's a mink or two running around on the rocks behind the boat that are quite curious where all the fish scent came from.  Hopefully, I have the mess cleaned up well enough that they'll not bother me.  I suspect there's a trash can that will get some attention before the night is over.

So much for island day #3.