Mackinac Island!
At last, the highlight of the trip! Mackinac Island, a combination tourist trap and throwback to an earlier era – no cars allowed, only feet, bicycles, and horses!
It was about a 20-minute ferry ride from Mackinaw City to the Island, and gave us great views of the Mackinac Bridge which joins the Lower Peninsula of Michigan to the Upper Peninsula, as well as marking the dividing point between Lakes Michigan and Huron:
The Star Line runs “Hydro-Jet” ferries which produce a signature Rooster Tail (you’ll see more of these in pictures from the island). It’s impressive how fast those double-decker ships go with a full load of passengers!
As we approached the island, there was a stunning view of the Grand Hotel (and yes, you’ll see more of it later as well!).
Being that we had our priorities firmly in hand, our first order of business was to locate an information booth and inquire the location of Cindy’s Stables, where we rented horses. We spent almost two hours on horseback, traversing everything from main streets to the barest of wilderness trails, winding up and down and around all manner of hills and fallen trees! Would you believe that it’s actually pretty much impossible to take a decent picture from atop a moving horse?!? Here’s a not-too-blurry photo of his head just to prove that I was there:
As if spending a couple of hours on horseback didn’t introduce enough newly sore muscles, we then walked for an estimated 8 miles through the town, back into the woods, and around to town again. First, some shots of the bay (notice the lighthouses and the ferries) and a row of interesting houses:
Arch Rock is a popular destination on the island, and is a natural formation dating back thousands of years.
Remember the Grand Hotel? It’s reported to be the largest summer-residency hotel in the US, and is virtually impossible to get into a single picture from on land. Here are some pictures of the building itself and the front lawn. Oh, we had thought it would be nice to check out the inside of the hotel, but it turns out there’s an enforced dress code which we most definitely did not meet! You can’t even ride a bicycle on the street right in front of the hotel – bike parking is across a side street!
(This next photo is looking down the side of the hotel which faces the bay, the side we first saw from the ferry. The covered entrance sticking out is only halfway down the hotel!)
With such a steady wind coming in off the bay, there was a kite store which had their wares permanently on display, visible from quite a distance. The length of the tails on those kites (about 20 feet, I estimate) gives you an idea of the wind strength! And if you squint, you can make out horses pulling a tourist “bus.”
Finally, a look down one end of the main shopping district. There’s no shortage of bikes in this town, and seemingly thousands more for rent at various places!
The Grand Hotel has its very own taxi service, which by itself gives you an idea of just how seriously they take their name!
And finally, what town would be complete without a garbage truck? 🙂
In retrospect, I wish I had taken many more pictures. There were horses, horses, and more horses, freight wagons (even one loaded with UPS packages – how funny to see an Amazon box being delivered by horse-drawn wagon!), drive-yourself horse-and-buggy rentals, amazing and peaceful woods, fabulous vistas, beautiful flowers, stunning Victorian architecture, and even a group of Boy Scouts performing very awkward-looking, close-order-drill, marching maneuvers. My only excuse is that I hit sensory overload and forgot to capture everything! But that just gives me an excuse to go back again, right? 🙂