Organized by Bob Matejek
Friday, June 22 - Twenty-four of us hit the road for the Upper Peninsula. We met in Mackinaw City at our hotel. A dinner location was not scheduled ahead of time, so we made reservations on the fly at a local brewery for dinner.
Saturday, June 23 - This was our busy day. We left Mackinaw city headed to the UP. We had a 3 1/2 hour drive to Munising and then to the Pictured Rocks Boat Tour. We boarded a very nice, large and comfortable three-level catamaran for our 2 1/4 hour boat tour. We could not have asked for better weather. We had a very nice lunch of pizza and salad on board. The views of the shoreline were spectacular. The narrations along the way explained a lot of what the boat passes. After the boat tour, we hit the road for Tahquamenon Falls. On the way, I saw an old Bently parked at an ice cream shop. We just had to stop and compare oil leaks and get some ice cream too. The owner of the Bently invited us to his house the following day, which we accepted. We then drove on to the Lower Falls. There we walked around and had our "Kodak" moments. Then it was off to the Upper Falls, and then to the Brewery located there for dinner. The food, service, and drinks were excellent. After dinner, we drove to the cottage of Jason and Carol Mattison, long-time JAGM members. They have a very nice place in Paradise, MI, overlooking Lake Superior. Boys have to have toys, so we had to take a look at Jason's Jaguar Mark VII, which needs lots of work, and his 20 motorcycles. He actually rides a different motorcycle every day!
Sunday, June 24 - We started the day with a brief stop at the Whitefish Point Lighthouse and Shipwreck Museum. However, they open later than expected, and the bugs proved to be troublesome. So we moved on to the Soo Locks a bit earlier than planned. We had a wonderful luncheon on the enclosed lower level of the tour boat. After lunch, we moved to the open upper level for an improved view. The informative narration kept us aware of what we were seeing. The locks are just one stage, with an elevation change of 29 feet. We saw the very long, 100-year-old powerhouse that generates electricity from that 29-foot drop. From there, we went to visit our Bently friend, Brian, that we met the day before. He has two Jaguar XJS's, almost twins, two Bentley's, a Rolls and even a Corvette. He lives in a very nice apartment above a boathouse, yet he does not have a boat. On the way back to Mackinaw City we drove through Saint Ignace, then around Mackinaw City by way of the fort, lighthouse, and old Mackinaw icebreaker. We had a great dinner at Audie's and a little time together back in our hotel's lobby.
Monday, June 25 - Some of us went through the Mackinaw Bridge Museum before heading for home, while others headed for home early