Aloha…as
in Aloha State Park.
the boat...
the bikes...
yeah, we even had the kitchen sink...
and headed to Aloha State Park near Cheboygan, MI on the shores of Mullet Lake.
We settled into lakefront site #21 in the northern loop of the campground.
I took the boat down to the boat basin and beached it there until I could get organized enough to put it in the lake.
Kathy found a shady spot to read a book and we settled in to our home for the next week.
We
commented that a “vacation” is an entirely different experience after
retirement. Instead of the relaxing get
away from it all event, it’s normal life somewhere else.
Day two, we moved the boat
from the basin at the other end of the campground and anchored it off shore in
front of out campsite. What I didn’t
realize was there is about 10 feet of rocks in the water before you get to the
sandy bottom where we’re located. We
just have to be a little careful walking over the rocks.
I brought the plow anchor
I used on the Sea Ray so it shouldn’t have an issue holding my aluminum boat.
We had a decent lake and
went out to find a fish. I had read
about the rainbow trout fishery that exists here and wanted to see if I could
make that happen. After an hour search,
we found “the” spot and hooked up with a double header!!
It was getting choppy so
we pulled lines after we boated these.
We had a smaller one on a lead core line that we threw back.
I
came prepared this week with the vacuum sealer and packaged the fillets.
The
park has a real nice cleaning facility.
That’s kind of rare in Michigan state parks.
The rest of the day was just
the sights and sounds of the campground…
until
enjoying the sunset at the end of the day.
Day
three started off with a return trip to the “honey hole”.
Success! Another beautiful rainbow trout. It was getting choppy so we headed to shore
after just one pass up the lake. Within
30 minutes there was a stiff wind which lasted all day long…
…until
sunset when it calmed down.
The guys in
the site near us motored out.
I envisioned a nice calm
lake to fish in the morning.
Nope. After getting up in the middle of the night
to roll up the awning so it didn’t blow off the house, we woke up to a choppy
lake. No fishing this morning.
Kathy found a spot out of
the sun and wind to do some reading.
Then I just happened to
notice in the background…
That’s why we’re not
fishing. There’s a large element of the
fishing crowd that aren’t playing with a full deck. Something about catching a fish that trumps
any concern for comfort and safety.
So, since lake activity
was off the menu, we buddied up with Kathy’s folks and headed to Mackinaw City for
a little entertainment.
We walked the main street
then through Mackinaw Crossing and the shops there.
Across the street is the
Mackinaw City Marina where we docked for a couple seasons.
We walked the dock and
noticed a few boats that we recognized from our years there.
After that, we had lunch
at the Keyhole Bar (best burger in Mackinaw City) then loaded up on Mackinaw
City goodies. Fudge and caramel corn
were the main buys.
With our bellies and
shopping bags filled, we visited the Bridgeview Park and snapped a couple of
the obligatory bridge photos.
With that, we returned to
camp for a little rest.
Tuesday began a string of bluebird days where we could enjoy the water. We headed out early and set lines for trout.
It was a perfect day and we found success...AGAIN with three nice fish.
That fishery is really pretty good. Hopefully, it is maintained. There's not a lot of people that fish those fish. Most are looking for walleye or perch.
We did all the normal campground things all day including a couple swims and enjoyed the nightly sunset.
Wednesday brought us another glassy lake.
It was probably too nice and we struggled to find any fish, but did catch another nice rainbow and a bonus herring.
The following day's forecast was for possible storms so I moved the boat back into the basin and covered it up for the day.
Son Brian arrived Thursday with his trailer.
He brought his Walker Bay sailboat for those breezy days...
like today.
Brian sailed until it got too windy for his "small craft".
Shanna arrived Friday night (she's a weekend warrior). We all piled into the Crestliner for the Saturday morning fishing.
The lens was a little fogged up on that shot from the camera sitting in the cooler. Once I got the camera warmed up, it looked like this.
Fishing was tough again, but we boated a couple small rainbows and Brian reeled in this nice one.
Sunday was a repeat performance and Brian manned the rod again on another rainbow.
We haven't done that since I sold the Sea Ray a couple years ago. It was GREAT to have that kind of fishing again. We landed another nice fish to wind up the week.
The kids left about noon and we watched our final sunset Sunday night.
And so it goes...at ALOHA.
The countdown begins for the lap of America beginning 8/14/18.
