We left Cheboygan at 5:30 AM for a planned 14.5 hour trip to Frankfort Michigan today.  As we left the harbor at Cheboygan, it was obvious we were faced with another rainy, overcast day. 

After a couple of hours, we approached the Mackinaw Bridge connecting southern Michigan to Northern Michigan and marking the transition from Lake Huron into Lake Michigan.  At one time, the Mackinaw Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world; bridging a span of 5 miles of very deep water.  Normally you can see the bridge form about 15 miles away, but today the clouds were almost down on the water, so it didn’t become visible until we were almost up to it.  

So far, the only bright side to this whole day was that the weather chart looked like we might be getting some clearing of the weather shortly.

About an hour west of the Macinaw Bridge, there is a string of islands running southwest parallel to the western shore of Michigan.  A mariner going to the southern end of Lake Michigan has to decide whether to go down the eastern or the western side of these islands.  Since it is much shorter to go between the Michigan shore and these islands (called the Manitou Passage)……..it’s a no-brainer.  The bad news is that all the freighters heading for Chicago also take the inside route, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on what’s coming up behind you.  These guys are 300 feet long and probably eat recreational boats for lunch! 

At 7:30 PM, as we exited the southern end of the Manitou Passage and entered the main body of Lake Michigan, we were only about an hour north of Frankfort.  But the skies had cleared, the wind was very light, with just a ripple on almost glassy water………these are the conditions that make trawlers go fast.  We decided we might as well go all the way to Waukegan at the south western corner of the lake…….so we plotted a course to Waukegan, turned on the autopilot, made some coffee, and sat back to watch a beautiful sunset.

A near-full moon was to rise about 11 PM that night, but wouldn’t provide enough light to see by until at least 2AM, so one of us was glued to the radar screen for most of the night.  We had two north-bound freighters pass about 3 miles to the east of us, and one small boat passed directly in front of us.  We first spotted it on radar, and then were able to see running lights.  We have no idea what it was doing in the middle of Lake Michigan in the middle of the night……….but he was probably saying the same thing about us.  About 3:30 AM the moon was high enough to light up the water enough to make the lake look beautiful.  I hope the picture looks as good on the website as it does full screen.

By morning, we had a beautiful sunrise in the east and a beautiful moonset in the west. I realized this would be the last day of our trip, and I wished that I could lock the beauty of this morning in my memory forever.  Would that Helen were here to enjoy it with us, as I know how much she enjoys sunrises.  Most mornings when we were in Florida, she would get up before sunrise, make a cup of coffee, and sit in the cockpit to watch the sunrise and to give thanks for our many blessings.

For all you boaters who enjoy your electronic toys, I have included a picture of our radar screen as we passed Milwaukee, WI.  This was the first time on the Great Lakes where we were actually in a crossing pattern with large ships.  The radar shows two ships crossing from our right-to-left (they actually cross behind us), and with each ships position shown every 5 minutes.  If you look closely, you will see that the car ferry (ship #2) which runs between Milwaukee and Ludington, MI, was doing slightly over 40 knots (46 mph).  You don’t want to cross in front of him if you don’t know what you’re doing!

By 6 PM we had Waukegan in sight, and by 7 PM we were tied up at our permanent slip, and finally home!  It was great to have old friends there to meet us at the dock when we arrived. Elisabeth’s husband, Jeff, had traveled with us on the Erie Canal, but it was nice to see Elisabeth meet us with a bottle of wine in hand.  The next morning, Jeff had pressed Joe into helping him install a new water heater in his boat…….and so it goes in this boating community…….friends of friends become friends!   And thanks to Joe for all the great pictures of the last leg of the trip.