Heading to the island

After crossing the bridge, we took a drive through Mackinaw City, where we would be staying for the evening.  We parked at one of the ferry companies and booked a ride to Mackinac Island.

A little windblown and wet, we arrived safely back in Mackinaw City.  There, we met up with my Uncle and his wife and checked into our hotel.  It turns out there is a lovely stretch of shops and restaurants along the water that we wandered through while thinking about what to eat.  We asked for some recommendations, and the name "Darrow's" kept coming up.  So, we walked over to this restaurant (known for the some 40 different homemade pies they have) and had a great meal.  Now, the main reason for heading up to the Mackinaw area was for the annual Labor Day bridge walk.  2007 marks the 50th year of the completion of the bridge, and each year since completion, there has been a bridge walk on Labor Day.  This walk starts at 7:00 AM and buses start taking people to the bridge at 5:30 AM, so we knew we had to get up early.  We stopped in a few shops on the way back to the hotel and I picked up a t shirt commemorating the bridge walk before we went to bed.