Mackinac Bridge, Lake Huron & the Wrong Hotel

After a morning exploring Lake Superior and riding H-58 through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, we still had quite a bit of ground to cover before reaching Mackinaw City.

First, though, we had some unfinished business with the U.P.’s famous pasties. We stopped for a second one so we could compare it to our first. This one came with gravy, which definitely improved things, but we couldn’t quite agree on which pasty was better.

Then came the Mackinac Bridge.

We’d talked about crossing the bridge before the trip and had a simple plan. Stay in the paved lane and avoid the metal grating. Unfortunately, the traffic pattern had other ideas! We ended up riding on the grating anyway, and even moving into the paved lane once it opened was an uncomfortable experience. The views were incredible, but we were more than happy to reach the other side.

Our next adventure was entirely Chris’s doing. Somehow, she’d managed to book a room at the wrong Super 8 on Huron Avenue. Yes, there were two! Fortunately, once we found the right hotel, we discovered a beach just behind it with a beautiful view of Lake Huron.

You’d think we’d have been ready to call it a day after all those miles, but we couldn’t resist getting back on the motorcycles for an evening ride toward Cheboygan. Even the ordinary roads up here were impressing us. We found ourselves comparing Michigan’s relaxed, scenic riding to the twistier roads we’d experienced in the Smoky Mountains.

The evening wasn’t entirely trouble-free. Chris’s motorcycle boot broke, but Kennie managed to get it repaired with a little roadside ingenuity.

We also stopped at Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, enjoyed another view of the bridge (and more string cheese), and finally returned to the beach behind our hotel. After a long day of riding, sightseeing, and a few unexpected challenges, sitting beside Lake Huron and watching the moon rise was a pretty great way to finish.