Mackinaw Island, Michigan

We made our way into Mackinaw Island, Michigan and anchored in the harbor.  Upon reading Active Captain we knew it wouldn't be the best anchorage, but decided to try anyways.  We had a great spot with good holding and good night sleep.

 The island of course is full of horses and the kids loved everyone of them!

 A great view of the Mackinaw Bridge which connects the lower state of Michigan to the upper peninsula.  To the left a sailboat and next to that the typical ferry boat that runs all day long to the mainland.  This is a great view from the park.  As luck would have it we arrived on a very cold, rainy, windy day and opted not to bike around the island (which we have done many times in years past). 

 The Grand Hotel's name says it all. It's always impressive to see it again.

 The bushes on the lower left are sculpted to look like a horse and carriage.  This beautiful sight is right next to the Grand Hotel.

 Bikes, bikes, bikes...they are everywhere and the best transportation on the island as there are no cars! 

 A street sweeper...but of course it's pulled by horses.

 After a long day at the island, great dinner and fun we headed back to the Negotiator to find our anchorage had turned rather bad.  The wind shifted directions and the boat was taking it hard on the beam. Mix in the ferry wakes and it was quite uncomfortable.  I called the marina and the dockmaster insisted that his marina had no protection from the wind as well and not to bother coming in. 

The moment we crossed our wake was a glorious day!  We purchased the boat in St. Clair Shores, Michigan and brought it back the 500 miles to Grand Haven, MI a few years ago.  This point would be our official 'crossing' but we look forward to having the boat back in Grand Haven some day where we left last Aug. 2010. 

On the island Jaxon found a great toy....Super Looper! I believe he is the youngest "Looper" on record.  Does anyone know different??

 My Super Looper lost his first tooth at four years old!  He was happy and unsure of it all at the same time.  Talk about bad karma....he was biting his big sister Morgan when it happened...yikes!  His mode of self defense that day from some pesky older sibling....

 My grandfather, Wes Myrick, (my mom Yvonne's dad) has been a huge supporter of our adventures/travels and has come to see us three times along our journey.  I really appreciate all of his love and at 87 years old he's a lot of fun to be with and always comes with tons of hugs!

 My Uncle Ron (on right) came with my grandpa as they were heading to the Bay Harbor boat and car show over the weekend and featuring my Dad's old 1948 Woody Station Wagon that we owned for around 25 years!.  It was so nice to see family and we enjoyed a warm evening over cocktail hour in the cockpit!

A little late....but the Big Chute photo's from the digital camera Craig was using. 

 It was a long ways down and kids loved it!

 I have a ton of different photos of our kayaking times on the 'underwater digital camera' that I forgot to include in my blog.  This photo is in the North Channel with the boat anchored in the background.

 My photos are a bit out of order, but our very first visitor was my sister, Michelle Spears!!  The kids swarmed all around her for the entire duration of her visit.  She just happened to be right next to our port at the same time because her husband, Rob, qualified for the Michigan Amateurs in golf and was playing very close to our dock.  The timing was perfect and we loved our time spent with her!! 

 Although we have 'crossed our wake' the adventure still continues for the Parrent family.  I will continue to blog our life as we move forward through life.  It is very bittersweet to be back in Michigan.  We love the state and will enjoy living here again, however, it had proved to be harder to return back to reality then it was leaving last summer.  We have no cars, house or jobs. We are truly starting from scratch.  It's scary and exciting at the same time.  I know I should feel sad that we're back, but I know that there are many new adventures to come.  On June 15th it marked three years that we've been homeless.  With the RV and boat trip our traveling days have been fun, but are now coming to an end.  The kids are expressing a great desire to live in a home again too.  More fun to come with holiday weekend around the corner.  Life is good and changing every day.  More to come next week....have a great 4th of July!!