Depart to Michigan

July 7, 2012 -- We dropped Luniquan at George's house, and -- after a baggage load up at home, headed straight for the airport. A little behind time because it took some doing and thinking to get three sets of golf clubs into the airplane.  Weight was not a problem, but length of drivers was.

We got off -- after a long 20-minute wait for Potomac to clear us into the traffic -- about 10:30 a.m. from Leesburg. Soon we were out of the heat and up in the cooler climes of 8000 feet.  The co-pilot's ventilator wasn't working, but I redirected the pilot side and that seemed to help.  Headwinds, but we made good progress and ATC did not give us any changes to the flight plan.

We crossed into and out of Canadian airspace over Lake Erie.  The water does not change color and we never changed to a Canadian controller.  You would not have known we left the U.S. except for the message on my cell phone announcing that AT&T charged me for roaming in Canada. I didn't even use the phone.

Up in Michigan, we changed from our original destination (Oscoda-Wurtsmith (KOSC)) to land at Saginaw County (KHYX). I thought it might be a better place with better facilities.  As it turned out, the air field was deserted, not a soul in sight.  There was a self serve fuel set up, so that worked well.  We looked around for a restroom, but the terminal (a weathered shack, at best) was locked.  There was a flight school, and the proprieter, Mel Johnson, said we could use his restroom.  "If I'm here, it's open!," he repeated several times.  Mel couldn't hear too well, probably from too many years of airplane engine noise.  He said he was selling his airplane (a sign on the wall confirmed that) and getting out of the flight instruction business.

He was a really nice guy in a Midwest kind of way.

We sat and ate the sandwiches that Marcia had packed under the shade of a big tree by the ramp.  There was a flag pole with two large rocks.  People honor the things they don't have much of -- like rocks.  We drank water that we'd brought along.  No money left in Saginaw, except for the gas purchase. I called Flight Service for a briefing and to file a flight plan, and we took off.

It was about an hour to Mackinac Island (pronounced, we learned, "MACK-in-aw"), a small spit of land in the water between Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.  There's no tower, and not even an FBO, but the KMCD field is in great shape -- nice clear markings and fresh asphalt.  No one directs you to a parking place, but there is a U.S. Park Ranger in the terminal who collects $10.50 for landing fees and $10.50 for overnight parking.  She advised that we could probably walk to the Inn at Stonecliffe sooner than  the horse drawn carriage would get to the airport terminal, if we called it.

So, we locked the plane and walked, carrying a few overnight things.

The Inn at Stonecliffe was a former manor house, converted to a lodge, with additional rooms in a more modern building.  We were just as happy to be in the annex because it had air conditioning.

The weather was wonderfully cool, and the sun shone over the water beyond the Inn's back yard.  The long Mackinac Bridge stood proudly in the distance, and little boats motored around it.  Sitting on the veranda with a white wine, there was no reason to complain. A wedding was underway in a tent on the lawn, but it really did not interfere with our enjoyment of the surroundings.

We had dinner in the dining room by the window with a great view. Now I understand why people rave about Mackinac Island, and we still had not seen the town or the rest of the island.