It started as a tease towards my son. He doesn’t care for heights. But on our vacation to Gatlinburg earlier this year, he had walked the Skybridge. I joked with him when we saw a sign on the highway that the Mackinaw Bridge would be closed for Labor Day. I asked him if he was ready to walk the Mackinaw Bridge now and I laughed a little. To my surprise, he seriously said Yes. Well, then let’s do it! We came home, told the hubster our intentions, and asked what other family members wanted to come!
Today was the day! We got up with the intention of leaving at 4:30. We left closer to 5. But we did it! We got there! We walked the bridge! All 5 miles of it! Then we waited for a shuttle to take us to the ferry. Um . . yeh . . the shuttles were not nearly enough for all the people. We were a group of able-bodied people and some of the others could use the shuttle more than us. So, we decided to walk to the ferry. It was just another 1.8 miles . . until Google Maps updated and it was actually another 3 miles. Yep, 8 miles.
We had biked around the island for the first time in my life earlier this year! Since we had to use the ferries to get back to Mackinaw City, where we left our car, we decided to go to the island and bike it again! Yep, another 8 miles!
Tonight I am thankful that I can still move . . I won’t vouch for tomorrow! We were speed walking a little on that bridge with all the people! I am also thankful for this experience!! The state police were doing an excellent job with keeping everyone safe and keeping everything moving well!
**And one thing I did not expect was to be inspired by the people there this morning! People in wheel chairs, people with walking aids who had physical handicaps, people who have trained to walk this bridge and met their goal. I didn’t have any real expectations here, and these people surprised and inspired me! I am thankful I got to see them today! ❤️
Momma's Silver Lining 