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Late May, 2009 - We took a loop tour around Lake St. Clair, the Detroit area lake that borders the US
and Canada and sits between Lake Huron to the north and Lake Erie to the south. A quirky 10-
minute ferry ride -- with our car -- to Harsen's Island, a brief trip abroad to Canada for a day and a
night, and a stop at an amazing farm stand bakery made this a special outing.
Early June, 2009 - We drove up along the southwestern coast of Michigan and stopped in the town of
South Haven. This cute village surrounds a tiny harbor with a boardwalk running along the harbor
channel to the lighthouse at the end. Evening sunsets provide cheap entertainment for the whole
town. A car show brought everyone out again, and gave Mark a nostalgic few hours with the muscle
cars of his teen years.
Early-Mid June, 2009 - We continued north along Lake Michigan to Saugatuck and Grand Haven.
Returning to Detroit for a few days, we set out again in search of Mark's youthful memories at Higgins
Lake. Then we found new sights and pleasures, sailing in Traverse City, driving along the Mission
Peninsula and hiking to Pyramid Point in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park.
Mid-June, 2009 - Further north along Lake Michigan, at the tip of the ring finger in Michigan's mitten,
we discovered Charlevoix and Harbor Springs, two charming towns built on small harbors. The
Tunnel of Trees, a unique road that winds under a thick canopy of leafy limbs, took us to Macinaw
City, the northernmost point of Michigan's lower peninsula.
Mid-June, 2009 - Continuing north, we crossed the Macinaw Bridge into the chilly and remote land of the
mysterious "Yoopers" in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Basing ourselves in the snug and comforting town
of St. Ignace, we made a brief foray to the tiny village of Hessel, visited the Great Lakes Boat Building
School in Cedarville and dipped our hands in the icy waters of Lake Superior.
Late-June, 2009 - One of the marvels of human engineering is the various lock systems around the world
that make it possible for ships to move between waterways that are at different levels. Lake Superior sits
21 feet higher than Lake Huron, and the Soo Locks raise and lower ships between these two lakes so
they no longer have to "jump" the St. Mary River rapids as did the fur trappers of old. We watched two
huge freighters simultaneiously transit the locks in opposite directions, one going up and the other going
down.
Late-June, 2009 - We dropped south along Michigan's eastern coastal road running along Lake Huron.
Stopping at 40 Mile Point Lighthouse, we heard the strange story of the wreck of the freighter Joseph S.
Fay in October, 1905. Passing through some more small towns along the coast, we arrived at Bay City
on the day of their annual hydroplane boat races. After watching their dizzying runs round the buoys,
we made a final stop in Frankenmuth, a town settled by Germans in 1845.