This morning we got up at 5:00 am and made our preparations to leave St. Ignace at 7:00. A rain storm came through about then, so we waited an hour. We stood up to take off our lines and realized we were fogged in. So we waited another couple of hours for the fog to lift. By then it was getting late for us to drive 60 miles to Charlevoix. Should we stay at St. Ignace another night? Should we go on to Charlevoix? Should we change our route and go to Beaver Island instead? So many decisions!
We had already debated the weather forecast: Winds from the NW at 10 mph, showers and thunderstorms, and waves 2 - 3 feet high. This is not my favorite traveling weather, but I fear this is life on Lake Michigan. The dock master told me we would not get a better wave height than that.
He looked at me incredulously and asked, "Are you bothered by the rocking?" Well, hell yeah.
The Tennessee-Tombigbee River now looks like nirvana. All we worried about there was being run over by barges and getting stuck on the river bottom.
Do you remember your literature studies? Good stories have a conflict. There are three main types:
man against himself; man against man; man against nature. Today we have worked through all three.
Man against himself: I am afraid of venturing out onto Lake Michigan for 60 miles. I have heard so many scary stories of storms coming up and forecasts that change and high wave situations. Once
we reach the Charlevoix area, we can travel just 30 - 40 miles each day. This first jump is a big one though. I am tired of being worried and scared; it wears me out. I did not sleep well last night, and I was emotional today as I tried to sort through facts and hypotheses.
Man against man: George and I discuss and research in these situations until we are both sick of each other and the problem.
Man against nature: I will have to live with some discomfort on Lake Michigan in order to reach Chicago. However, it is hard for me to set out in the morning with fog or rain.
So this was a hard morning. I walked down to talk to the dock master, Kevin, and after he shook his head and seemed surprised by my limitations, he followed me back on the dock and made a suggestion. He said we should go over to Mackinaw City. It's just an hour. It would get us started, and we would be across the strait, which is full of ferries and swirling water.
It turned out to be a good idea, and I appreciate his help. We waited for the fog and took off about 10:00 am. We were waked by four ferries on our way over to Mac City, and everything fell. But we got into a new spot a bit closer to our goal for tomorrow.
I took a long nap after lunch, did laundry and took a walk. This is an upscale tourist village with lots of fudge and popcorn shops and restaurants. Tomorrow we will try again.
Here is the bridge that connects upper and lower Michigan at St. Ignace.
That commercial freighter came under toward us as we crossed.
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