Southbound in Michigan v. 32

 More on Haunted Mackinac, fudge, that lovely smell of horses, bike rental, bats in the belfry, and a short stop in Detroit...

We went to buy tickets for the "Haunted Mackinac" tour at the Island Book Store, and were greeted by none other than....  A BAT!  This little guy terrorized and surprised the tourists all around us.  After about 15 minutes, it settled on the sign right above the store entrance.  OOOOOooo- foreshadowing....

The tour was fun, but people watching the tour goers was even more interesting!

We found a great little breakfast/lunch place on the main street called the Chuckwagon.  It may have been the only place on the island that didn't sell fudge.  Great breakfast and awesome burgers.  I got a black bean burger that was excellent!  

It says, "Coffee!  You can sleep when you're dead!"

Fudge...  Signs everywhere to "BUY 3lb. get 2 FREE!"  Who needs 5 pounds of fudge?!!  Certainly not most Americans!!  We got free samples at some places, and picked up a few chocolate covered strawberries.  We escaped the island and only purchased a half pound.  I call that a victory!

The butterfly house was listed as a "must see".  I think I would feel better about it if the "greeter" was not so harsh...  The butterflies were very cool though.  One little girl had a hard time with so many things flitting around her.  Reminded me of the bat experience!  The entomologist was great with adults and kids.

There are bikes to rent all over the harbor area, and many hotels have their own that are a little less expensive.  Becca is at an awkward size where adult bikes are a little too big, and kid bikes can be too small.  We tried to remedy that by renting a 3 wheeler (big basket in the back).  What a disaster!!  I thought she was just being clutzy, then I switched with her and was almost as bad!  That experience lasted about 15 minutes- no photo evidence of our ineptitude!!

One more ride around the island capped off our visit.  As much as I loved the beauty and the movie "Somewhere in Time" atmosphere, I will not miss that "eau d' county fair" horse perfume.

Almost none of this 2 week trip went as planned.  It was great anyway!  We decided to alter the end as well.  Instead of backtracking to Chicago to see a White Sox game, we stopped in Detroit to see old friends from Bob's class.  It was great catching up with Ed and Mary!  

We went to a Tiger's game Friday night.  In every stadium we've visited, we've been sitting in different sections- just to get a feel for the games all over.  We sat in the sky box in Kansas City, the bleachers at Wrigley, and the scout section at Great American Ball Park.  Comerica Park was no exception.  We sat in the very top row behind home plate. Becca made friends with our seatmates and started cheers with them.

A "foul" ball at 332 ft behind home plate!

A fun time wherever we sit!

I'm writing this from home as we get ready to start the next leg of our trip- DC, Gettysburg, NYC, West Point, New England.  Most of the blogs are about a week behind.  We have had the RV serviced, picked up the pace in "Road School", packed some warmer clothes, went to the neighborhood social (thanks Katy!) and we celebrate Maria's birthday tonight.  We are having a blast, and learning so much.  This is a great country!  Can't wait to see more of it :).