Pastor Doug Sharrard of Huntington, Indiana, celebrated his 55th birthday Monday, September 16, by driving across the Mackinac Bridge 55 times in a row over the course of a single day. A big fan of the bridge, Mr. Sharrard set off from Mackinaw City at 10:48 a.m. and completed his crossings just before 8 p.m. He paused for this picture at the St. Ignace Michigan Welcome Center just north of the bridge; the #31 in the front window of his car indicates the number of crossings he had already completed. Doug Sharrard celebrated his 55th birthday Monday, September 16, unlike any he ever had before. Mr. Sharrard has always had a passion for the Mackinac Bridge and commemorated the day of his birth by driving across the bridge 55 times. Mr. Sharrard is pastor at Lancaster Wesleyan Church in Huntington, Indiana. During the crossings, he drove his wife’s red 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier, taking only brief pauses to refuel and stop at the St. Ignace Welcome Center just north of the bridge. On each trip he placed a paper card with his number of crossings behind the car’s windshield. “You can’t beat this view,” Mr. Sharrard said. “I love the Mackinac Bridge. I don’t feel like I’m on vacation unless I cross it into the U.P.” When Mr. Sharrard was a child growing up in Port Huron, his family would often take their vacations in the Upper Peninsula. Since his father passed away 18 years ago and his mother seven years ago, he noted his birthday crossings were also a way of remembering both of them on his special day. He pointed out that he and the bridge are currently the same age, since the bridge opened November 1, 1957. It won’t turn 56 for another month He set off on his first crossing at 10:48 a.m. and continued driving all day with the eventual goal of ending his 55th crossing by staying in St. Ignace for the night. It was fun over the course of day to watch lake freighters pass under the bridge and Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) crews change lights on the span. He paid the $4 toll on each crossing and took care to learn the names of the MBA’s tollbooth operators as he went. On some of his later crossings, the MBA kicked in and paid his toll for him. This is not Mr. Sharrard’s first time making a notable Mackinac Bridge crossing. After participating in the Labor Day Bridge Walk for the first time in 2010, he came back in 2011 and walked the bridge twice during the course of the event. He said he travels to the bridge about once a year and checks the Mackinac Bridge webcam every now and again.
Posted on: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 12:15:46 +0000
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