In in my new single title holiday romance novella, Secret Santa’s Rundown Sleigh, I mention “Mighty Mac” or “Big Mac” referring to the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan. The Mackinac Bridge spans the Straits of Mackinac connecting the Lower and Upper Peninsulas. It was built in 1957. The bridge is shy of five miles long, so “five” miles. Ha-ha. You can walk across it on Labor Day—the only time pedestrian’s are allowed to stroll, run, walk on the bridge. I’ve done it and plan on doing it again.
The Mackinac Bridge Authority says:
- The Mackinac Bridge is currently the fifth longest suspension bridge in the world. In 1998, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan became the longest with a total suspension of 12,826 feet. The Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere.
- The height of the roadway at mid-span is approximately 200 feet above water level.
The center section of the bridge is much higher than it looks in the photo. Freighters go beneath it with lots of room to spare. In the book, Terra, my heroine, mentioned waving down at the ship’s captain when she walked across Big Mac. In deed, I did the same thing. It was “awesome to see the captain standing on deck and waving back,” as Terra says, wink wink. Mind you, I have a fear of heights, but I did this walk and stood at the railing to look down. Oddly, I’ve ventured up to many high places that still give me tummy tumbles to remember. Nope, I don’t regret one of them.
I forgot to mention that the two inner lanes of the bridge are a grid. Spooky!
In addition, the bridge closes during high winds. In fact, there was a high-wind warning on their website yesterday when I wrote this. Today it’s all clear. On June 25, 1998, it had its one millionth crossing. Find more Facts and Figures at this LINK.
Here’s a cool website LINK with pictures and live cam links. Plus, a gorgeous sunset picture of the bridge.
I’ve taken numerous pictures from every angle I could think of, but I don’t know where they reside at the moment. Meaning they’re packed away. LOL
I didn’t name the village where my story takes place, but I do mention other “real” places such as Mackinaw City where Terra’s mother lives. St. Ignace, which is right across the bridge, Mackinac Island, Gaylord, and Cheboygan are briefly mentioned. South Haven is where Terra has resided since she graduated from college.
I’ve had trouble with this blog post not separating paragraphs. Hopefully, it’s finally corrected and will look as good as it did in the preview. If not, I apologize for a bad layout.
Thanks for reading this little tidbit from one of my newest releases.
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel 
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