Today was our last full day on the road for this trip. We celebrated by sleeping in, waking up slowly, and having pancakes for breakfast. Yum.
Main Street, St. Ignace, MI.
The WiFi at the Tiki RV park was surprisingly good, and I worked on various computer chores, including updating the roster for our FMCA Freethinkers chapter. Whenever a new member joins, I update the roster and send it out with a request for any corrections. I typically get corrections from a dozen folks, plus or minus, and end up having to re-issue the roster. And that’s OK; we are a small chapter and I understand that keeping me informed of these kinds of changes is not a high priority for anyone. What I hope to do someday is make the roster/directory online and interactive, i.e., allow members to log in and add, change, delete their own information, access the directory, and print a copy to take with them if needed.
Part of the waterfront boardwalk in St. Ignace.
Late morning we drove into the main part of St. Ignace, parked, and walked the town. Street parking is metered, but just behind the buildings on the west side of the street is free public parking. There is a wonderful boardwalk that runs along most of the waterfront from one end of town to the other and it is lovely place for a stroll on a 66 degree day with partly cloudy skies and very light winds, which is just what we had!
The St. Ignace public marina.
Even though this is the height of the tourist season in Michigan, Monday in St. Ignace was fairly quiet. We stopped at The Garden, one of the two additional restaurants opened by Java Joe’s. We wanted to try It as they offer various vegetarian and vegan dishes, but they were not open. Perhaps they only get enough of “us” on weekends to justify being open.
The boardwalk to the marina entrance and light.
No problem, Linda fixed some of the Farro dish that was left over from the other night. She cut up some Swiss chard, lightly steamed it in mushroom broth, added it to the leftovers with a little garlic powder, and heated it up. Dishes made with Farro seem to hold up well as left overs, and may even improve by being allowed to sit and meld the flavors. Was it good? Would I being writing about it if it wasn’t? It was great!
Linda in front of the Colonial House.
Java Joe’s 3rd restaurant in town is Jose’s Cantina. We went there for dinner and had taco salads with “soy grillers”, hold the cheese. It was good enough for the price. We had a table with a view of Lake Huron and Mackinac Island, which was nice. The place had a steady flow of customers. Our server, Shantel, was from Manchester, Jamaica, and most of the other wait staff was also Jamaican. We remembered that on our last trip to St. Ignace we chatted with one of the workers at Java Joe’s (a cook, we think) who was from Jamaica. What we didn’t know then, but we do know now, is that when the last cruise ships stop visiting Jamaica sometime in April, the tourist dollars dry up as well. Still, it is a bit surprising, and at the same time delightful, to encounter Jamaicans in St. Ignace, Michigan in August.
A unique RV. (My picture is crooked, the trailer was fairly level.)
We have seen some unusual RVs along the way, but this was a first. It’s a pop-up pickup truck camper mounted on a flatbed trailer. It has front and rear porches, with the front one serving as storage. I chatted with the owners briefly, and they said they had reached the age where getting it on and off the pickup truck was just too difficult. I gave them a copy of The Gypsy Journal and dropped off eight more copies in the campground office.