Mackinac Island
This trip was a “Bucket List” destination!
We took three days away from Wonder Woods and drove up to Mackinaw Island / City. The first day and last day were mostly spent driving, stopping, driving, stopping, etc! Of course we stopped at some unique places and also did some geocaching over the three days.
Did we stay at the GRAND HOTEL? No…not on a retirement income, we didn’t! We stayed at a lovely 1960s-era Days Inn in Mackinaw City!
We RVery Blessed!!
On the drive up to Mackinaw we stopped at “Cops & Donuts” in Clare City, Michigan.
Guilty of having too many donuts!
Our next stop was at Hartwick Pines State Park near Grayling, Michigan. Here we hiked 12.5 miles on the “Old Growth Trail”. We may have the decimal point in the wrong spot there!
There was this very cool chapel inside the state park. Chris found a bench to sit on while chatting with her mom.
Here we are on the hike. Ken was sporting a new raincoat, that failed the test, so he returned it to his favorite store…Amazon.
Our next stop on the northbound journey was at the Elk View Park in Gaylord, Michigan. There was a 10′ high chain-link fence between us. They are definitely unfazed by people.
Having passed through Mackinaw City, we ventured over the Mackinaw Bridge into St. Ignace, Michigan.
The St. Ignace Mission was founded by Fr. Pierre Marquette.
No Bushmills White Label, so Jamison’s it was for Ken and a local brew for Chris.
The Grand Hotel, taken from on-deck the ferryboat from Mackinaw City to the island.
St. Anne’s Catholic Church on Mackinac Island was established in 1670 by Jesuit Missionaries for the island.
Arnold Transit is the ferry boat operator that we used. The cost per round-trip ticket was $79pp.
Of course, motorized vehicles are prohibited on the island, so you can either walk, rent one of thousands of bicycles, or rent a horse and carriage!
Horses are used for everything on the island. Here, goods are being delivered from the ferry dock to various places around the island.
We were “twinning” in our “We RVery Blessed” t-shirts!
The Walter J McCarthy is a 1000′ self-unloader. It entered service in 1977. She mostly transports iron ore and coal across the Great Lakes.
The Grand Hotel with its massive front porch. We paid $14 each so we could access the hotel’s public spaces, since we were too cheap to actually stay the night ($850)!!
Arch Rock is a stop to see along the carriage tour.
The flowers and grounds of the Grand Hotel were nothing short of spectacular! One of us would be most content sitting here all day long people watching (knitting) and relaxing!!! Such a fantastic view from the front porch of the Grand Hotel.
Point Betsie in Lake Township, Michigan.
