I couldn't drag myself out of my damned hammock until 7 this morning, and then it took until after 8 before I got out of the campground. I ate peanut butter on bagels for breakfast, a staple, as I got ready. I biked the short three miles to Mackinaw City and headed straight for the ferry. Without even planning at all I timed it just right, getting my tickets (that I'd already payed for online but couldn't print, obviously) just before loading. It was a little disconcerting to have the porter take my bike from me, leaving me standing there on the dock without Bree or any of my stuff. I had the wild thought, what happens if somehow I don't get on the ferry with her? I'd only ever taken car ferries where I was able to ride on and stay with my bike the whole time. But of course, it was fine. By chance I happened to hit one of the trips where they detoured to go under the Mackinac Bridge. It definitely made the ride longer, but it was well worth getting to see the impressive suspension bridge up close.
I decided that, despite having been only about twenty miles from here two and a half weeks ago as I left Ontario, that my whole long loop around Lake Michigan was all a pilgrimage to the biking Mecca of Mackinac. The island was amazing (and I'm disappointed it was so cloudy so all my pictures fail to capture its vibrancy) It's extremely beautiful, interesting natural formations, impressive architecture, lots of history, and best of all, there are no cars anywhere to be seen, all transport either by bike, by foot, or by horse drawn carriage. It's like paradise. ...And it's also a huge tourist trap. But then, with the way of the world, if there was a Paradise, I'm sure it would be a big tourist trap too. There are people everywhere this time of year, all shelling out a ton of money to rent cheap bikes, eat fudge, buy trinkets, and get in to see this or that. Everything is exorbitantly expensive. You have to pay to see the fort, pay to see the little art museum, and even pay just to be on the grounds of the famed Grand Hotel. I did none of that. It was all too rich for my bike tourist budget. The only splurge I made was to buy some (not too) overpriced ice cream because I'd been craving some for days. I biked the loop of the island, walked up to the arch rock (and got someone to take my picture there), enjoyed the beaches, had fun watching the non-cyclists swerve on their bikes at 5mph, and made my way back around to the town.
I stopped in at one of the bike shops, Mackinac Wheels, and immediately had the interest of the head mechanic when he saw my bike. I showed him my tire. ...He couldn't offer much help, really. Tubeless is not tech that he deals with, nor do higher end bikes normally pass through his shop either as he told me, since it's primarily for rentals. But according to him, for what it's worth, he thought with my rubber glue I might just have it dealt with.
I checked out a few shops, saw the Grand Hotel (and promptly walked away when told it cost $10 just to be on the grounds), walked for awhile, checked out a (free) church museum, got a free fudge sample, and generally had a good time. Then since I still had 25 or so miles to bike after leaving the island, I decided it was time to go. This time I missed the timing for the ferry entirely, being the first in line after the previous one just departed. But that gave me time to sit and charge my phone from my battery as I'd drained it almost dry from taking so many pictures.
Back on the mainland I took a short trip north through Mackinaw City, seeing the beach park, lighthouse, and another nice view of the bridge. Then it was time to head on to my host for the night. I biked basically straight through, doing the exact same stretch I did from Cheybogan to Mackinaw, just backwards and on the highway this time rather than trail to make it faster. My host met me at the side of the highway to show me the back entrance we could take to her road instead of taking the steep gravel hill down.
I got my bike maintenance done and took a very refreshing shower. I felt bad that my host had made a pasta meal with meat, not knowing I was vegetarian, and then had to come up with something else for me (though I of course insisted it wasn't necessary if it was trouble). She made me grilled cheese, boiled eggs, and had some steamed carrots made, and it was good, real food. Her neighbor came to visit just after dinner, and I was beckoned over to sit and visit with them. I sat on the couch while they sat in the sofa chairs across from me, and had an extensive conversation about a great number of things to which I was not privy or expected to speak on, dialogue that seemed only half formed without context or background, jumping disjointedly from topic to topic with hardly a pause or stammer, inquiring and filling in for one another on various minutia, not a moment of monologue, always back and forth...and I felt weirdly as if I was spectator to a two man play without theme or message, discourse that seemed entirely too showmanly to be real. I'd never seen conversation quite like it, and yet it must be perfectly normal to them. I only talked a little during the good length of time he was here, but it was just a pleasure to watch and listen to them talk. Now she's about to watch basketball, and I think I am going to read and then sleep. We're on a new leg of the journey now, and I'm excited for it.
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