Mackinac Island

We finally got a good weather day and had a lovely trip from DeTour to Mackinac Island. Mackinac Island has a State of Michigan marina which is reputed to always be full. The cruising guides warn that you may have to anchor out in the bay to wait for a slip. That was not our experience. We made an online reservation before we left DeTour and had no trouble getting in. Friends of ours just stopped by in their boat to see if they could get a slip - no problem. The economy is taking its toll on the number of boaters out here.

Mackinac Island marina seen from the fort

We weren't the only ones who had been waiting to move. While we were in Mackinac Island a number of boats we have been traveling with over the summer came through, including Bama Belle, Hallelujah,  and Viking Star. We also ran into Harlen and Sharon on Two for the Road. They were part of the Lock 2 Yacht Club group of boats trapped in the Erie Canal by Hurricane Irene last year. They stored Two for the Road in the same yard where we stored Downtime last year, but they hadn't returned from Wyoming before we left. They took a completely different route to reach Mackinac than we did, traveling to the western end of the Erie Canal, through the Welland Canal to Lake Erie, through Detroit, and up Lake Huron. Like us, they are leaving their boat in Michigan this winter, although they are storing in Muskegon which is much further south than we are going.

Lock 2 Yacht Club reunion

As you probably know, Mackinac Island is a vacation destination where the automobile was banned in 1898 because it scared the horses. This lends a certain pungent odor to the town, although they work very hard to keep the streets clean in the busiest tourist sections of the island. There are 8-10 hotels, including the 319 room Grand Hotel, numerous B&Bs, and vacation rental homes on the island, but most of the tourists here are day trippers known as "Fudgies" who come over for the day on ferry boats from Mackinaw City on the lower peninsula of Michigan, or from St. Ignace on the Upper Peninsula. They are called Fudgies because Mackinac Island is known for its fudge. There must be 25 fudge stores in the one mile stretch that is the main tourist drag on the island.

The lack of automobiles and trucks makes stocking the stores and hotels interesting. Delivery trucks arrive early in the morning on ferries. They are unloaded while still on the ferry and their cargo is transferred to horse drawn wagons. Most of this goes on before the first ferries full of Fudgies arrive.

UPS truck on its ferry

SYSCO wagon delivering food to restaurants

Grocery store deliveries

Basic services depend on horses and wagons as well. This is a Mackinac Island taxi.

Taxi

And this is the Island's version of the Waste Management truck.

Garbage collector

Although it is possible to rent horses to see the island, most tourists rent bicycles if they want to leave the immediate downtown area near the docks. The island is ringed with an 8 1/2 mile road, the only State of Michigan highway where motorized vehicles are banned.

Mackinac Island has been a vacation destination from the end of the Civil War. Many wealthy families built vacation homes here in the 19th century, some of which are still private residences. Many of these lovely Victorians have been turned into B&Bs or small hotels.

Victorians seen from the water

The grandest of the hotels is the Grand Hotel, built in 1872. This place thinks so much of itself, they charge $10 per person just to go in and look around. We went to the buffet luncheon so our entry fee was credited to our lunch bill.

Grand Hotel from the water

Closer view of the Grand Hotel porch

It truly is a beautiful place, but it is very expensive. We saw some advertised "deals" that were only $189 per person per night mid-week. That does include lunch and dinner, but still seems pricey to me. In the "small world" department, we were sitting on the porch enjoying the view after lunch when a former client from the County of Los Angeles Public Library walked up to say hello. Terri had been the Deputy County Librarian until she retired and moved to Hilo, Hawaii two years ago. I asked what someone who lives in Hawaii was doing vacationing in Michigan. She said she grew up in Wisconsin and remembered her father bringing her to see the Grand Hotel when she was only 12. She had always wanted to stay there and this was the year she finally did it.

After 2 1/2 days of enjoying the island, we left for Mackinaw City on the northern most tip of the lower peninsula of Michigan. We've been doing some touring around from here (more about that in the next post) but we are nearing the end of this year's journey. For several weeks now Ron has been claiming he sees the trees beginning to change and now Jim and I can see it also. Fall comes early when you are this far north.