Day 6 – Traverse City to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Bay Harbor

Mackinac Bridge in background

Pride of stuffed lions at Antlers

Antlers everywhere!

On the lookout for the smoking police.

Into Canada.

We made it about half the distance we planned today. We are in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, which is just across the border from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

We started out from Traverse City, taking Rt 31 up the shore of Lake Michigan. The weather was clear, but starting to warm, as it had done the day before. Along the route, we passed through Charlevoix where the main street was lined on both sides with colorful annuals from one end of town to the other. Very pretty.

We continued North and stopped in Bay Harbor, which appears to be a newer planned community right on the bay. We had coffee and a cigar before heading out again.

We made it to the Mackinac Bridge in due time and crossed over to the U.P. The bridge is very impressive and at the time it was built in the 1950’s, it was the world’s longest suspension bridge between anchorages. Fantastic views from the middle of the span.

From there, we headed north to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, where the North Channel separates the US from Canada. The famous series of locks there allow ships to pass from Lake Superior to Lake Huron, and vice-versa.

Sault Ste. Marie is, among other things, the home of the infamous “Antlers” restaurant and bar. The place is absolutely filled with deer, elk, moose and every other kind of antler as well as more taxidermy than you have ever seen in one place. They literally fill every available space. After burgers with the critters, we left for Canada, less than 2 miles away.

Once through customs, our mission changed. The goal of reaching Wawa, Ontario faded and was replaced by the overwhelming urge to find the one pleasure that you can’t get legally in the US: Cuban cigars. The trusty iPhone told us that there was a cigar shop just blocks away! What luck! When we arrived at the address, we found a deserted store front. Another shop owner told us that they were further down the street. No luck there either. Yet another store keeper told us to go to the local mall where we would find the holy grail of cigar lovers everywhere.

We arrived at the mall and quickly found the store. When we approached the humidor, we were greeted by a sign stating that Canadian law prohibited customers from entering. The law was adopted two years ago. A clerk must retrieve your selection. Now we know why the other shops had closed. Regulated out of business.

Alan bought a few Cubans anyway and we left for the hotel & dinner. After a light dinner, we dragged a couple of chairs from our rooms to the parking lot, no closer than 30’ to the building, as per Provincial law, and smoked a couple of the precious Cubans before retiring for the evening.

Tomorrow, Wawa for sure.