Sunday, June 28, 2009

Now in the U.P.

It rained last night and was still raining this morning. We waited at the hotel for a bit and the rain let up. I dressed for rain with the full gaiters, pants, and jackets. No one else did. So as we set out, the sun came out and we rode dry. I will take all credit for that. (Putting on the rain gear keeps all the rain away. I don't know how that works but it does.)

We only had about 30 miles of I-75 before we got off at Bay City. Our ride up the west coast of Lake Huron on US-23 was a delight. Traffic wasn't bad and the scenery was great. There were several different places where we could get a clear view of Lake Huron.

We were near Alpena around lunch time but every restaurant David plugged into his GPS was closed. The economy has really hit Michigan bad. About 10 miles north of Alpena, we finally found a restaurant open. It was great with good food and friendly server and owner. If even one of those restaurants in Alpena had been open, we would not have discovered the Parker House.

Wind picked up after we left our lunch stop and was steady and strong all the way to Mackinaw City. Once on the Mackinac Bridge, though, the wind didn't seem so bad. We crossed the bridge with no issues or problems and are settled into our rooms for the night in St. Ignace, Michigan.

One not so great note though is that once we got to our hotel, I took off the rain gear. About a half hour after that the rain started. Tonight we called for pizza delivery as there are no restaurants within walking distance and we don't want to ride in the rain.