We had gone to bed with three plans: A- drive all the way home, B- continue playing tourist & stop in Grayling, lower Michigan, or C - break the back of the journey & sleep in Lansing. Since we all slept late, or later, Plan A was out of the window before we ever left the hotel. Although cold at first, the day was lovely & sunny so we didn't rush. We cruised through Norway and Escanaba and just aimed east, listening to our second book on tape (er, disc) as we went.
Zoe was unusually subdued so we didn't stop for a long time, and then only at a (properly plumbed) rest area. We sailed through Manistique & on into more no man's land & realized that we were going to need to eat, so we tried a local restaurant in a village & obtained carry-out pasties & cider. A little further on we found one of the lake shore rest areas, and shared the delicious & piping hot pasties between the three of us! We took a path down to the sand, but all too soon had reached firm sand, nice for walking upon, but providing Zoe with her opportunity to try the difference between Lake Superior's water & Lake Michigan's. Luckily, breakers were pretty small & she didn't get too soaked. She enjoyed herself & was now more sprightly.
With Portia telling us off about our U-turn we went into a building promoting itself as the largest gift shop in the UP, a claim we wouldn't dispute. A fleece jacket, some decorations, some fudge, and a pair of moccasins each later, we rejoined Zoe in the van! Pretty much from there on the road was truly lakeside & pretty all the way to the bridge. We filled up the empty 7/8ths of the gas tank, headed down to the bridge & took in the Bridge View rest area for a little while, before looping back around and paying our toll & then heading over the bridge in nice light traffic so we didn't need to hurry ourselves.
First stop on the other side was the Mackinaw Pastie Company where we both bought some frozen pasties to haul home. Then we took a little cruise around the town before parking in the middle of the wide avenue given over to separating tourists from their hard earned cash! We looked a lot, but only bought once. After passing along the waterfront (ferry boats & big hotels) we found I-75 again & headed south. It was after 6:30 as Grayling approached and we elected to find the pet-friendly Days Inn, go and find some fast food, and settle in for the rest of the evening, knowing we are now within decent striking distance of home.
Our leisurely cruise, with stops, totaled 297 miles today, for a trip total of 1920.8.
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