Up to Hessel (on the UP) with a stop on Mackinac Island

Thursday, June 1 -- Cheboygan to Hessel with a stopover on Mackinac Island (33 miles)

Another beautiful day on the water -- sunny, clear, nice breeze, mid-70s ashore. We left just before ten headed for Mackinac Island, which is only 16 miles away. This is a special place for John, going back to his days boating with his family as a kid (first time was probably close to sixty years ago) and then multiple times since on extended boating trips with his dad. Called by many the jewel of the Great Lakes (including our Looper's Companion Guide), it is a bit of a tourist trap, but the inherent beauty of the island and its location win out. 

We saw an upbound freighter clearing the Mackinac Bridge as we entered the harbor.

There were two big cruise ships anchored out just south of Mackinac Island, which I don't think I've ever seen before. But then the Great Lakes have been becoming a cruise ship destination. That's the Grand Hotel in front of the one cruise ship. Unfortunately, we couldn't get into the Grand Hotel at all because it was 100% percent dedicated to a big Michigan economic policy conference with special security for the governor and other bigwigs in attendance.  

We managed to have fun even if we were locked out of the Grand Hotel. We started with a round of miniature golf on what is surely the most scenic course in the mid-west, if not the whole world! John couldn't stop taking pictures.

After a light lunch next to the golf course we rented bikes and took an hour to ride the eight miles around the island. Janet led the way so that she couldn't complain about the pace. John was kind enough not to grumble behind her.

After our bike ride we cooled off with a beer and then decided we had seen enough of the island. Janet objects to the fact that the downtown area smells like a mix of horse manure and fudge, while John claims that is part of the island's charm. (There are no motorized vehicles on the island, so everything moves by horse-drawn carts and carriages.) 

Our next stop was the municipal marina in the little village of Hessel at the western entrance to Les Chenaux Islands. We left Mackinac at four and were docking in Hessel an hour later. There was no one there to greet us or check us in, but the dock master told us to just go ahead and find a slip and settle up the next morning. John has been here before on trips with his Dad. 

We had dinner at the local bar & grill and then ice cream over at the former showroom of the local boat works, which is now a doodad shop. The bar & grill food was marginal, but the ambience was nice and we got to watch a tractor pulling contest on the big screen TV over the bar during dinner. We hardly ever watch TV when we are on these trips, so pretty much anything will entertain us. 

P.S. from John -- From my old boating notes it looks like the first time I was in Hessel was in August 1993 with my Dad on his 1972 30' Pacemaker cabin cruiser (Content II) along with my son Zach and his friend Michael Smith. We made a brief overnight stop on our way back to Mackinac Island from the North Channel after having spent a week together cruising those waters. We met "the girls" (Janet and my Mom and my daughter Ashley) on Mackinac the next day and then drove back to Indianapolis after spending a full day on Mackinac doing the tourist thing. My next and only other previous trip to Hessel was with Dad again on the same boat in August 2006 when we were on our way up to the Soo to meet Zach and my son-in-law Damon to take them for a North Channel cruise. It was definitely out-of-the-way to pass through Hessel on the way to the Soo (a good 40 miles each way) but we both remembered the Les Chenaux Islands fondly and wanted to see them again.