Thirty-fourth Lighthouse Expedition
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August 24-27, 1999 -- DeTour Reef Light
August 24, 1999, Tuesday
9:25 am
- We left home.
10:35 am
- Stopped at Dunkin' Donuts and DON got donuts.
12:40 pm
- We stopped for lunch at McDonalds in Gaylord. We made a brief stop at Walmart and left town at 1:30.
2:15 pm
- Arrived at Mary Jane and Marvin Jewell's in East Jordan. It has been exciting to see the progress on their beautiful new home on the south arm of Lake Charlevoix. The landscaping has been done since we were here in June. They took us on a boat ride and their daughter, Donna, visiting from Austria, fixed dinner. We left at 6:25.
7:25 pm
- We arrived at the Ramada Inn in Mackinaw City where we will stay for the next three nights. We walked around Mackinaw Crossings, did a little shopping, including fudge, and watched the laser light show. We arrived back at the Ramada at 10:30.
August 25, 1999, Wednesday
9:30 am
- Left the Ramada Inn after a continental breakfast. It was hazy as we crossed the Mackinac Bridge. We drove around St. Ignace and found a lighthouse gift shop. Left town at 10:30.
11:30 am
- Arrived in DeTour Village and had lunch at a little diner.
12:00 pm
- We met Jack Behrens of Island Queen Charters (906) 297-3731 or (800) 206-8079. We had contacted him previously and arranged to charter his boat to go out to DeTour Reef Light. We were put in touch with him through Jeri Baron Feltner, Secretary, and Bob Jones, President, of the Detour Reef Light Preservation Society.
12:20 pm
- We arrived at the DeTour Reef Light after a very smooth ride from the marina. The cormarant birds were plentiful around the light. Jack told us they are devastating the perch population. The light is at the entrance of DeTour Passage which leads to the mouth of the St. Mary's River. He circled the light and Don was able to get many pictures. It's a beautiful day for this trip.
12:30 pm
- It was such a beautiful day and we all had time, so Jack agreed to take us on to see the Martin Reef Light about 12 miles away. It stands about 5 miles off shore.
1:00 pm
- We arrived at the Martin Reef Light. The fog horn was working. Jack wasn't able to completly circle this light because of the shallow waters on the reef. We were still able to get great pictures. We left at 1:15 and headed back to DeTour Village, arriving at the marina at 2:05. We travelled 30.8 miles by boat. Jack was a wonderful guide, very friendly and cooperative and we felt his charter was reasonable. He does fishing charters in the morning and evening and also does St. Mary River Cruises. As we arrived back in DeTour, we noticed the haze getting thicker.
2:10 pm
- We went to the Fog Cutter Restaurant in DeTour Village. We met Tom Snider who is a member of the DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society. We bought note paper, a hat and T-shirt which the society sells to help raise money for the preservation of the light. He gave us a brochure about the society.
2:30 pm
- Left DeTour Village and drove along Lake Superior, stopping at a roadside park to enjoy the beach for awhile. We left at 3:45.
4:45 pm
- Arrived back at the Ramada after our trip back across the bridge. We always enjoy the view from the bridge as we can see Mackinac Island and the Round Island, St. Helena Island and Old Mackinac Point Lighthouses.
6:00 pm
- We went to Mackinaw Pasties for dinner and walked around town for awhile. We got ice cream before returning to the Inn at 9:00.
August 26, 1999, Thursday
Our 32nd Wedding Anniversary
10:10 am
- Left the Ramada after our continental breakfast.
10:30 am
- We took the Star Line Ferry to Mackinac Island, arriving at 10:50 am. It was very foggy. In fact, we couldn't see the bridge and the island only came into view just before we got there. We were just about on top of the little Round Island Lighthouse before we could see it. We walked around the town, up to the Grand Hotel (we didn't enter the property as it now costs $10 to walk on the porch!) We had lunch in town. Then we rented bikes and took the path around the 8.2 mile perimeter of the island. We got ice cream before leaving the island at 3:00. The fog had lifted just slightly.
3:30 pm
- Arrived back at the Ramada and went for a dip in the pool. We enjoyed the beach area in front of the Inn.
6:00 pm
- We had our anniversary dinner at the Lighthouse Restaurant. Then we walked back to Mackinaw Crossing for fudge and taffy to take home and had ice cream before returning to the Inn at 9:00 pm. There was a beautiful full moon.
August 27, 1999, Friday
10:35 am
- After breakfast, we drove out to the end of the old State Ferry Dock where the Great Lakes Lighthouse Museum will be built.
10:50 am
- We arrived at McGulpin's Point Lighthouse which is a private residence. The trees have grown up a lot around the house since the last time were were here about 12 years ago.
11:00 am
- We left the Mackinaw City area and headed south.
12:00 pm
- We arrived at Dick & Linda Myers in Gaylord. Linda had already left for down state so we missed seeing her and Andrew was in school. However, we had a wonderful lunch with Dick at Diana's Delight Restaurant in town. We left at 3:00 pm.
6:30 pm
- Arrived home.
Trip Totals: 2 new lighthouses (up close), 719 miles, 4 days.
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Lighthouses: A Photographic Journey
- Conceived and Developed by David S. Carter
- Photographs by Donald W. Carter
- Text by Diana K. Carter, Donald W. Carter & David S. Carter
Copyright © 1995-2011 David S. Carter, Donald W. Carter, & Diana K. Carter. All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means, physical or electronic, in part or in full, without the express permission of the authors, is strictly prohibited.
This article was last modified on 5/27/2009.
