Our 2018 summer family road trip began on Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Island, MI. Reachable only by ferry, and no motorized vehicles allowed, it was a truly historic and unique adventure. Some highlights:
The Mackinac Bridge: Iconic for the length of this suspension bridge, it spans almost five miles! When we were ferrying over to the island, we got to travel under the bridge. Then we got to go over it when we were traveling between the upper and lower peninsulas.
FUDGE: This amazing smell wafts through the air as you walk the main strip of shops. Mackinac is known for their fudge and there are several shops to choose from. It was fun to watch through the windows as they made the fudge. We tested our self control with only getting one block of fudge, and savored it for a few days. I may have had to hide it on a shelf in our room out of reach from someone.
Lilacs: Luck would have it that lilacs were in full bloom for our visit! They were also celebrating their Lilac Festival over the time we were there, although it appeared that most events related to that were over the weekends before and after our stay. Like the fudge, the sweet smell would be found on our walks around. From the view at Fort Mackinac we could see a beautiful open grassy area spotted with lilacs where we later stopped to rest and have a snack.
Horses: Without a doubt, horses won all of our hearts as one of our favorite parts of the island. The sweet, gentle creatures work so hard on the island, not only pulling carriages of tourists like us, but also wagons of everything ranging from concrete, manure, furniture, and kegs of beer. Each has a name which was always fun to learn what it was. They also have a common odor, much less popular than the fudge and lilacs!
We took a carriage tour of the island. It started with a tour of the main developed area, where the driver narrated about the island. We stopped to check out a butterfly conservatory there, as well as Fort Mackinac. Then we boarded another carriage for a tour of the forested part of the island. It also stopped at Arch Rock. We happened to have a driver that wants to be a comedian, so it was an entertaining ride.
The Grand Hotel: Another iconic part of the island, the Grand Hotel is just that- GRAND! While it would have been fun to wander around, they charge money for doing just that. We got plenty of views of it from our carriage rides. They pay meticulous attention to their flowers, which are in various garden areas around the hotel. We learned the ceilings of the porches are painted blue to keep the birds away- they think it's the sky.
Fort Mackinac: A fort is on the island back from the time that the island was first used for fur trading. It later got caught in a battle during the American Revolution, although they weren't prepared for the number that was attacking, so they surrendered.
Art Museum: We may have zipped through the art that was on display in the main part of this building, but we came for the kids' activities in the basement. The kids had a blast here. Painting on "Buda Boards" and creating popsicle stick people, our kids were loving it.
The Inn at Stonecliff: Our lodging for our stay. This charming "mansion" houses some rooms, but we stayed in a building to the side called the "summer house". Walking into the room we were surprised at the space and elegance. The meals we ate there were very fancy and delicious too. They also had a nice little wooden trail to "Sunset Rock". We went there as a family to enjoy the view of the lake and the Mackinac Bridge. I went back later to try to capture the sunset, but it was pretty cloudy.
The kids were ridiculously excited about these smushed penny souvenirs.
The Mackinac Island Public Library is charming, with Adirondack chairs on the back deck.
We made sure to dip our toes in the water of Lake Huron- the first of our three Great Lakes to see!
1 comment:
So fun!! I had no idea you were doing this trip. Where else are you headed? 3 Great Lakes, huh?!
Love your photos. I will have to refer back to your blog (or just you, lol) in 5ish years or so when we will likely want to be doing this type of trip!
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