North Star on the Great Loop Journey: Sault Ste Marie Bondar Marina

We rode our bikes over the International Bridge to the USA. It is at least 2 miles there and back most of it uphill with heavy traffic. There is a narrow walkway not wide enough to ride on, not a pleasant ride but the view is spectacular. The first thing they asked us was weather or not we took a picture from the bridge since Jerry had his camera around his neck. They told us pictures were forbidden and luckily we had not taken any.
If a Canadian is going back and forth across the border around the Great Lakes and the thousand islands area then a Nexus Pass would be the best since it allows you to call the US Customs every time you cross without having to be physically boarded and having to wait at smaller stations for an Agent to arrive. This is not for us since we plan to cross once and stay a long time and cover a large area of the US. We have to apply for a US decal which costs $27.50. We also need a cruising permit which is valid for one year and that takes at least 48 hours to be issued because of all the various levels of signature required on it. We were given the paperwork to complete and a number to call half an hour before we leave Bondar Marina. Once we arrive at George Kemp Marina across the St Mary's River, we will call the same number to advise that we have arrived and we would like to be cleared by customs. An agent will come and inspect our boat, take our applications and fees and return with the decal and cruising permit. We will most likely stay overnight at the Kemp Marina until we are legal. We can then cruise throughout the US for 6 months without having to call in at every state or port. We can only stay 6 months because that is the maximum stay in the US for Canadian citizens. We must report that we are leaving and go home or to the Bahamas. We do not have to turn in our cruising permit but just carry on with the same one once we cross back in since it is good for one year.
This is how it is done in Sault Ste Marie, it varies from port to port depending on the number of available Agents. In Drummond it would have taken up to a week because of the lack of personnel.
We have decided to cross on Monday and start exploring the Mackinaw Island and Lake Michigan area.
There was a good folk concert by Green Cafe here last night, at the Bondar Pavilion. This is a nice little city with lots to do.