Follow the Lights ... Day 5

Starting Tripometer Reading: 873.0
Ending Tripometer Reading: 1137.8
Lighthouses Viewed: 14

Although Day 5 was a VERY LONG DAY, it was one of the best days we've had so far. As you can see from above, we saw plenty of lighthouses today (although some were distant views). We started out heading up towards Mackinac Point lighthouse (pictured below) with every intention of crossing the bridge, and heading up into the Upper Peninsula ... the U.P. Along the way, we stopped off to see the Charlevoix lighthouse, and the Petosky light.

After touring, and climbing, the Mackinac Point light, we made a sudden decision to take a lighthouse ferry tour, instead of heading north into the U.P. It was the very last trip of the season for the ferry company, and it was leaving in just two hours. We thought it was fate that we were there on a Wednesday, since it only ran one day a week during the off-season. In order to kill those two hours, we headed down to Cheboygan to catch four more lights. Before we left, we grabbed some delicious sandwiches to go from a local pizza place, and ended up talking to the owners for almost 20 minutes!!! Man, I love small-town America. On the way to Cheybogan, we surpassed the 1,000 mile mark on our trip. The rental car company must love people like us!! We returned in plenty of time to catch the ferry, and were able to take some great pictures of off-shore lights, the Mackinac Bridge, and even a passing freighter.

After returning to shore, we did a little more shopping, had dinner, and the started the return trip to the condo. Along the way, we were luckily enough to catch up with some family friends that have known my parents for many, many years. They live up in Michigan for 4.5 months, and then return to FLA for the rest of the year.

The lighthouse of the Day would have to be the White Shoal Light. This light is located 20 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge in the middle of the Mackinac Straights. The 121-foot light marks a hazardous area in this part of Lake Michigan. The light was built in 1910 to replace Lightship No. 56 that had marked the shoal since 1891. Lightship No. 56 was one of the first three lightship stations in Great Lakes. The nearby Waugoshance Shoal Light (which we also saw) was abandoned in 1912 after White Shoal Light became operational.

Tomorrow is our last day of lighthouse viewing since we decided we needed Friday to just relax, pack, and tour around Traverse City a little more. We have another long day ahead of us, but hopefully it won't be as long as today. We'll be heading east to visit approximately 7 more lights on the west coast of Lake Huron. Good night.