July 6, 2019 in Marquette

We had an easy travel day on July 4th departing from Munising early in the morning and arriving in Marquette around noon.  We stopped for fuel before heading to our slip - Fred had two beautiful dockings (one at the fuel dock and one in our slip) in-spite of the wind that tried to make them difficult.  Fred also did a great job securing this slip.  We are at Cinder Pond Marina which is at the base of downtown.  Our slip is at the end of a T-dock.  This is a small boat marina and we are definitely the biggest boat here, but our slip is perfect.  Not only that, but the locals tell us we have the best spot for viewing the fireworks.

Due to a very strong thunderstorm (with lots of lightning and torrential rain) that blew through the area right as the fireworks were supposed to go off, the fireworks were postponed until July 5th.  

We enjoyed a walk along the lake shore in the morning of the 5th and then spent the afternoon with a friend of Fred’s who has a cabin here in Marquette.  Part of our afternoon was spent climbing Sugarloaf Mountain.  It was a beautiful hike and the view from the top was spectacular.

Following dinner at a downtown restaurant with Fred’s friend, we returned to Boreas to wait for the fireworks display.  We definitely had the best viewing platform - we sat on the bench seat in front of the helm station and could see everything perfectly.  And Marquette sure knows how to put on a show.  It was over thirty minutes long and absolutely fabulous.  The hills around the harbor are quite high so we had echoing booms from every firework launched - it made for amazing sounds to accompany the beautiful fireworks. 

Boreas at the very end of the dock

Our walk along the lake shore (in the fog) looking at the old,
no longer used, iron ore loading dock

Old dock pilings

The view from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain

The view from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain

On the hike down Sugarloaf Mountain

Fireworks in Marquette

Fireworks in Marquette

Fireworks in Marquette