When Simple Isn't

Living on Mackinac is so rewarding, but at times frustrating - and no more so then when what would be very simple in the "real world", is so very complicated to accomplish here on Island.

For example, we really wanted to see the movie "Warhorse" in the theatre:

It just seemed to be one of those films that would not be quite the same viewed at home on the TV (and that turned out to be true). I'd highly recommend the film, while there are some scenes that are bit cliche and heavy handed, we really enjoyed it immensely - just be sure to bring your hanky, you'll need it.

So step one: Find out if it's playing anywhere in the area. Petoskey, not quite an hour away, was the closest showing AND they had a matinee - so no need to stay overnight.

Step two: Find a couple people to cover my on-call time at the Med Center - I'm on-call 24/7 in the winter, for both lab and radiology - it took a little arm twisting, but managed.

Step three: Consider the ferry schedule - the movie is at 11:45 am, that means leaving on the 8:15 am ferry, which means getting up at 6:30 am on my day off - YUCK! We walked down the hill, while there was a little snow on the roads, based on the forecast there might not be when we returned.

But I must admit, being up for sunrise wasn't all bad:

And we discovered that a bit of scim ice is starting to form on the St. Ignace side:

So we arrive in St. Ignace around 9:00 am; we scrape off the car and head for Petoskey. Fog had started to move in and the towers of the Mackinac Bridge were hidden as we crossed - very eerie looking!

We arrive in Petoskey just before 10:00 am (remember the movie isn't until 11:45am), so we went out to brunch at the Twisted Olive - great food and an incredible view of the harbor. Picked up a few minor things not available on Island and them off to the show!

The movie ended about 2:15 pm and last ferry home is at 4:15pm, so we took the "scenic route" home - just wandering the back roads, heading north.

Arrived back in St. Ignace, noticed most of the ice had disappeared, boarded for our 40 minute trip back to the Island and hiked back up the hill, arriving back home about 5:15 pm.

All this just to see a movie!