Days 34 – 35: Mackinac Island

 

What a bicycler’s paradise!  And what a lovely “step back in time” to see the well-preserved homes and hotels, horse-drawn carriages, and thriving gardens that adorn Mackinac Island.  On Tuesday morning – after the Labor Day crowds had left – George and  Irene boarded the 9:00 ferry to the island with their bicycles and immediately set out on  the 8 mile circumference road on a bright, clear, sunny day.  We passed a hotel lawn with Adirondack chairs facing the lake and soon came to Arch Rock.  We climbed a long flight of stairs to reach the top, and what a view when we arrived – the clear blue of Lake Huron seen through the arch.  As we bicycled we had constant views of the lake on our right and views of homes, woods, and Devil’s Kitchen (a rock formation) on our left. 

Our next destination was The Grand Hotel – and it really lived up to its name!   It sits on a hill and our first view of it was looking up the street to see the hotel’s columns, American flags, and flowers – lots of flowers.  And on the street were horse-drawn carriages – the island tours, taxis, and Grand Hotel carriages that resemble Cinderella’s carriage (but they’re not glass).   From here we went to Mary’s Bistro where we had a delicious lunch overlooking the harbor.  We then browsed in shops and bought ice cream, and of course, Mackinac Island fudge.

When we returned to the campground, we were delighted to see our friends George and Jan from Birmingham who had arrived.  They had suggested showing us their favorite places in Michigan, their home state, which is what brought us to Michigan this summer.  We spent another great day on Mackinac Island with them on Wednesday taking a bicycle tour of the island and eating lunch at the Carriage House Restaurant, part of the Iroquois Hotel.  We ate outside   in a lovely garden overlooking the lake and dock with the sun shining and cool breezes blowing. 

After lunch  we bicycled to The Grand Hotel and toured it and then relaxed in rocking chairs on the porch overlooking the gardens (what lovely, huge dahlias!)  While we think traveling in our motor home is great, The Grand Hotel is altogether a different world!  Leaving the Grand, we coasted down the hill on our bikes to Main Street and boarded the ferry back to reality.  It was another good day in Michigan.