Mackinac Island

Justin and I spent a few days on Mackinac Island last weekend.

Mackinac Island is between the upper and lower Peninsula. The most charming feature of the island is that no motorized vehicles are allowed and you have to arrive by either a 30 min boat ride or a plane.

 



The only way to get around on the island is by foot, horse, horse-drawn carriage or bicycle.  Even the street sweepers are pulled by horse!  As you can imagine, the season for the island is fairly short (May through September) since the nicer weather draws the crowds.  (In the winter months snow mobiles are provided for transportation and the horses are shipped to the mainland).

We left for Mackinac on Thursday after work and got to the ferry (a four hour drive North) just as the sun set.  Which made for a beautiful backdrop to the view of the Mackinac Bridge.
 

All of these pictures were taken with my Iphone so they're not the best quality.  I actually brought my DSLR but didn't take it out once.  Justin and I aren't really picture people, so I tried to do my best to get a few pictures of us.  So...get ready because we definitely took some "selfies." 

Although the island is only about 3.8 square miles, most of the traffic is in the small town.  Once you get outside of the town it's actually pretty secluded. 

We chose to stay at the Inn at Stonecliffe, about 2 miles from the port.  Stonecliffe is a historic mansion set on a large estate up the hill away from the hustle and bustle of the town - which was the perfect place for us.

 
The back porch of the Mansion became our favorite spot to enjoy breakfast and watch the sun set each evening. (That's the Mackinac Bridge past the trees). 

We spent Friday on a bike and venturing around the more "touristy" parts of the island. The weather was a perfect 75 and sunny the entire weekend, so we expected to see loads of visitors on Saturday and Sunday and was hoping to avoid the rush.   

Below is a view of the harbor and town from Fort Mackinac. 
 

We stopped to enjoy the view and watch the kiddos fly kites at Mission Pointe.  I loved the adirondak chairs randomly placed among the grassy area.

Then we rode the 8 miles around the island on Lake Shore Rd.  The road goes all along the coast and is fairly flat so it was an easy ride.  There's many stops along the road where we were able to walk down to the water. 

Michigan always amazes me with it's beauty.  Look at how clear the water is!

Apparently, rock sculptures are a "thing" here. 

These are all from our bike ride around the island.  The water really is that blue! 

Yet another selfie shot.  We couldn't resist.

After spending 12 full hours on our bikes, we learned the downside to staying at the top of the island.  The trip back to our hotel was 2 miles.  Uphill. 

We got back just in time to watch the sunset - just the two of us and adirondak chairs.

Two glasses of wine and a cigar.

 

Okay, maybe I just held it as a prop. 

 

Saturday morning we rented bikes once again (this time for only two hours) and stayed at the top of the island.  We rode the secluded trails through the trees and roads.  

 

We would ride for a mile or two and not pass one person. This is my kind of vacation!

 

Below is at Arch Rock.



 

People left messages between the arch below in the water.  We found a horse, bicycle, hearts and a sailboat.

 We did some hiking on the rockier trails (our single-speed bikes weren't built for going over rocks and roots...)

 

 

 

We even had some pool time.

 



We walked through the garden at the Grand Hotel.

 

For dinner we ate at the Grand Hotel's Jockey Club.  I had to share the Caesar Salad - they served it in a Parmesan Bowl.  This was the highlight of the food on this vacation. 

 

Sunday morning we headed back to the mainland - but made one last stop at Sunset Rock.  Look at the view from the rock!



 

The beach below Sunset Rock was decorated with more rocks of initials and hearts.  



 

Justin and I agree that this is our favorite vacation yet!  It's definitely one where you'll drop a few pounds rather than gain...

And here's some extra pics of the bridge taken during our boat ride to the island:
 

 

We can't wait to go back!

Mary