Today we are anchored out from Alpena Michigan.  You might ask yourself, why Alpena Michigan.  Well according to the internet Alpena has a lot to offer. Alpena offers a welcoming atmosphere with its small-town charm. We  can enjoy local shops, restaurants, and community events, providing an authentic experience of northern Michigan hospitality.  We will have to see if it lives up to its name.

Since we are not docked, we have to take a tender from the ship to shore.  It is about a 25 minute ride on the tender to get ashore.  I am not a fan of tenders as it lengthens the excursions and it just another factor for timing that you have to manage.This is 1 of 5 ports that we will have to use the tender.  Other ports are Algoma, WI, Mackinanc Island, MI, Killarney, ON, and our final destination Duluth, MN.

Our tour today is a walking tour of Alpena.  I call this tour…… how can you talk for 1 1/2 hours about a one stop light city with nothing really exciting going on. Oh well, it is a nice day and the walking is enjoyable.  We found the Maritime museum very nice. There are 116 shipwrecks around the waters here and it interesting to read about how they happened. We got a book about shipwrecks that our grandchildren will like. 

We met some great new friends on the ship, John (who graduated from Notre Dame in 1976) and his wife Diane. Here is us sharing a raspberry desert (Nana’s favorite)