Fun days in Mackinac Island

We have visitors from Tallahassee!  Mary Jean and David!

8/20-8/23

     We are now in Mackinac Island, a short boat/ferry ride from Mackinaw City.  The difference in the spelling is deliberate, in that the French settlers named it Mackinac Island, but both are pronounced Mackinaw.  We are excited to meet our Tallahassee friends, David and Mary Jean here!  One of the best things about this small vacation island, is that no cars have been allowed since 1898!  It adds to the charm of the island!  People get around by walking, bicycling, and horse-drawn carriages! The first thing we noticed was the absence of automobile and truck noises and their exhaust!  The next thing, was the wonderful aroma of homemade fudge (there are 16 fudge shops) blending in with the unpleasant odor of horse manure!  It was a little disarming at first, but the fudge won the battle and we enjoyed tasting it!  By the way, there are Pooper Scoopers who do a good job of cleaning the streets, but I would hate that job!

Fudge

Bicycles and horses are the main transportation!

      You do have to be careful crossing the street due to all the tourists and horse poop,  but once you get out around the island on foot or bicycle, you appreciate the quietness and beauty of the island.  It is famous for it's lilacs and well tended gardens.  Karl and I immediately got out our bikes and rode around the 8.2 mile perimeter of the island enjoying the spectacular views!

Our guide named his horse team "Waffles" because they are Belgium horses!

Quaint Post Office, dubbed the laziest Post Office because they don not deliver mail, you have to come get it!
I think it should be dubbed the prettiest Post Office!

Victorian Home

Garden at the Grand Hotel

The Grand Hotel

       Another great thing about the Island, is that you won"t see any chain restaurants or hotels.  The charming Victorian Inns, B & B's, and hotels were built around the turn of the century and each one is unique in it's own way, independently owned.  There are plenty of restaurants to choose from, plus we found the oldest family owned grocery store in the country, still providing fresh food for the islanders and vacationers.

Great local market

     Mary Jean and David arrived by ferry in the late afternoon.  After they got settled into their charming Chippewa Hotel, we had a drink at the Pink Pony Bar on the waterfront.  We enjoyed catching up on all the news from Tallahassee.  We had a very nice dinner and planned our busy schedule for the next day!

View from the run!

      After running in the morning (and me walking), we enjoyed a nice breakfast.  We joined the many tourists for a delightful 2 hour horse-drawn tour around the island.  Our guides were fun and witty, full of information about the island! The horses were strong and steady! We actually enjoyed the tour a lot more than we anticipated.  Mary Jean,  the Keep America Beautiful and Clean Advocate, asked the obvious question that no one was brave enough to ask, "What happens to all the horse manure?"   Our guide answered with a funny joke, something about scooping it up and depositing at at the back door of the fudge stores!  After a laugh, he did admit that it was used as a compost, probably  the largest in the world!

                           * A few fun facts about the island that we learned from our guide *
 - The year round population is about 500 people and there are at least 600 horses!
 -There is one physician and four veterinarians on the island! Priorities!
  -There is a bicycle speed limit of 25 miles per hour!
  -The 4-Star Grand Hotel is a main attraction, having close to 360 rooms, each one decorated differently so you could stay there for a year and be in a "new" room every night!
   -The island has one of the four US cemeteries with a flag at half mast 365 days of the year to honor the unmarked graves of the unknown soldiers.  The other three are in Arlington, Pearl Harbor and Gettysburg.
   -Most of the island is a national park!
    -The romantic classic movie "Somewhere in Time" starring Christopher Reeves and Jayne Seymour was filmed on the island at the Grand Hotel in 1979 and has become a cult favorite and a huge source of tourism to the island.  Karl and I bought the DVD and watched it, fun to recognize all the locations of where it was filmed!
   -The amount of deer population varies from year to year because during the winter they cross over the ice to different islands!
    -Most of the horses are taken off the island for  the winter months.

View from the Fort

View from the fort

     Our last stop was a visit to Fort Mackinaw, a British and then American outpost.  All the buildings were built by soldiers around 100 years ago.  We watched a riffle demonstration and toured the officer's quarters.

     We returned back to the hotel and to the boat to rest up and get ready for our big dinner at the Grand Hotel!  The Grand Hotel has hosted Kings, Queens, Presidents and Celebrities since 1887 and now will host Mackie, Karl, David and Mary Jean!  There is a dress code for dinner, jacket and tie for gentlemen and dresses for the ladies!  We boarded our horse-drawn taxi to take us to the hotel.  We enjoyed our delicious meal and listening to an orchestra play during dinner.  It was quite the experience!

Butterflies loved Karl, a stop at the Butterfly House

Mary Jean and David's view from their hotel

Karl is talking to  the horse at the Grand Hotel

The horse responding to Karl

We  eventually made friends! And the carriage returned us safely to the boat!
Mary Jean and David opted to walk back to their hotel!
It was a night to remember!