Friday, July 19, 2024: Moments before the first ferry of the day arrived, we walked over to Watercolor Cafe for breakfast. I love how colorful and cheery this place is and it's right at the edge of the water! I would've loved to relax here for hours but there was a long line of people waiting to get in. By noon, we were at the Grand Hotel. The grounds are stunning, especially the fountain and pool! We walked up to the porch and for the first time, we decided to go inside!

Thursday, July 18, 2024: Good Morning Mackinac Island! It feels like we never left as we listen to the bugler play Reveille while they raise the flag; a ceremony that is conducted every morning. The number of horses clopping along the streets is increasing as the island wakes up. I'm mesmerized by the crystal clear water. In 2021, when we were here last, there were sea otters swimming in the harbor. They were so adorable!

We were excited to tour Fort Mackinac again. Larry loves the history and I love the views. Soon after entering through the gates, I noticed a couple walking by and it turned out to be my cousin! We've never met each other's spouse so after introductions and laughs, we went our separate ways. Huh. Two years ago, we had two surprise encounters here. One was with my brother-in-law and the second was with a family friend, and now here's my cousin! I love synchronicities!

​You know how people talk about getting their best ideas while taking a shower or doing something completely unrelated to the random thought that popped into their mind? That's what happened to me! I was going about my morning routine when suddenly, "Harbor Hopping" popped into my head. It was at the time when I was just starting to design print-on-demand products. I was trying to think of what I would be comfortable displaying on the things I wear so I guess it's not completely random but it was definitely surprising! And then "Great Lakes" came to me. "Hmmmm....I wonder if Larry would be willing to wear something with this phrase on it." I wondered. He said, "YES!" I quickly proceeded to design a printed sweater and an embroidered hat.

I'm swimming in the vivid images in my mind; shopping at street markets in France in search of fresh, delicious, ingredients to prepare and eat each day. Ina Garten describes these inspiring details about her adventure as a nomad, traveling across Europe, and I'm especially mesmerized by her explanations of the foods they ate. I feel so transported by her memoir that I'm attempting to cook one of her recipes today, Coq au Vin. The chicken, bacon, and fresh vegetables came from Nino Salvaggio, rather than a European street market and the wine came from Woods Wholesale Wine. Not exactly the same as Ina writes about but I'm working with what I have while imagining her experiences. :-) ​

Wednesday, July 17, 2024: Did I mention that I love this place?! In this particular slip, with nobody behind us, we can sit and watch the world go by. At 8:30 a.m., Larry is well into his morning obligations of tending to work things in his remote office while I just sit and watch the ferry go by, the fisherman heading out into the lake, and other boaters tending to their routines and fueling up at the gas dock. There's so much to see!

Our next destination is Mackinac Island. Similar to checking in at a hotel, we can't check in to our boat slip until after 11:00 a.m. It's going to take us about 30 minutes to get there and we can hear rumblings of thunder in the distance so we're going to wait for a window of clear weather before heading out.