Day 3 - P.M. On to Mackinaw City via Sault Ste. Marie and Ontario

Day Three has two parts....we had the morning in Traverse City and then the afternoon/evening in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and Mackinaw City.  It was so exciting to see the Big Mac (Mackinaw bridge) from a good distance away.  It is a five mile suspension bridge and one of the largest in our country.  The bridge connects the lower part of Michigan with the Upper Peninsula (U.P.).  It also connects Mackinaw City with St. Ignace.  We passed right over the bridge and continued on to Ontario.  The day was gorgeous and we still had several hours of daylight left.  The one thing I really wanted to see in Sault (pronounced Soo) Saint Marie was the lock system.  I was so excited.  They have a lock tour by boat where you actually go through the locks, but alas our time was limited.  Personally...it did not bother me...it just gives me another reason to come back to Michigan.

We actually did get to see a boat go through the process.  It was at one point when we started over to Ontario and finishing the locks when we headed back over the bridge.  I must admit it was pretty impressive.

This was the bridge that lead us to Canada.  Get this...the speed limit was 25 mph and the people were actually doing that!  I found that amazing.

This was the toll road (and one of the only ones we were ever on that lead us to the Upper Peninsula.  They are serious about keeping the Trolls (nickname for someone from the Lower Peninsula) out I believe. 

Waiting to get our passports stamped.  Mandy had just gotten hers and was so excited because this would be her first stamp.   The rest of us have quite a few from our trips to Europe.  When we got to the window the little guard said he would not be a'stampin' our passports because they don't do that anymore.  Mandy was so disappointed....but while he was asking us if we had guns, knives, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, et al....he stamped all our passports.  So we now have a Canadian seal on our books.  We asked him if he would recommend a good place to eat and he gave us some directions...but when we got there...the restaurant did not look very appetizing....and there was a huge cloud forming between us and Mackinaw City.  We drove around a bit, stopped at the Ontario Welcome Center, made pictures to document our presence and headed back to America.  The American Customs people thought it was a little weird that we had driven all that way from Alabama just to hang out in Canada for less than 30 minutes.  Go figure...we are GRITS...and you can never tell what we will do on a whim.

Mandy and Mary found a cute little Mounty and talked him into having his picture made with them.  Mandy also exchanged some currency so that she could have some Canadian money for her scrapbook.  By the time we got ready to leave the sky was very angry.  A tornado had touched down somewhere around Cadillac, MI....we passed through there at some time on this day.

That is NOT a night sky...that is an afternoon sky that is very angry. 

My favorite stop in Mackinaw City was the old Mackinaw lighthouse.  By the time we got back the angry sky had broken up into fluffy gray skys so we drove by the Mackinaw fort and stopped at the lighthouse for a photo op.  It was also a good place to put our feet into Lake Huron.

We got Kat's sweet husband, Brian to go online for us and give us some motel numbers to call so enroute back to Mackinaw City from Canada we made reservations at the Clarion.  It was great to have a plan so we could enjoy the last few minutes of daylight.

What a serene scene.  Can you believe that it is after 8 p.m.  The sun never seemed to go down until after 9.  We checked in at the Clarion and they gave us a recommendation for supper...we were starving and it was almost 9:15.

We ate dinner at the green topped building and it was really good.  Our waitress was quite taken with the drawls and really had a good time with us.  We walked around town a bit....BTW...it is 9:45 in this picture....and that is at night.  Day 4 we are taking the ferry across to Mackinac Island to spend the day.  We will officially become a "fudgie" tomorrow.  Come back and visit me tomorrow because Mackinac Island is something else.  If you are looking for a wonderful get away...for a special anniversary....or just to rekindle that old flame....this is the place.