August 4th, 2012 -
Mackinac Island!
Since we couldn't get cinnamon rolls at Connie's last night, we thought we would stop at the Three Heart Bakery on the way to Mackinac Island. There website said the open at 8am and close at 3pm or when they have sold out. We got there at 8:45am and guess what?? Out of cinnamon rolls! Luckily they had some other delicious items to choose from. I went with the doughnut muffin - it tasted like coffee cake and came on an adorable heart shape plate.
We arrived at the Star Line ferry harbor in Mackinaw City and were on our way to Mackinac Island within in 15 minutes...
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| Ferry to Mackinac Island |
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| Mackinac Bridge |
Mackinac Island is amazing! There are no cars on the island (except an ambulance and a police car),everyone travels via bicycle, or horse drawn carriage. We took a guided tour of the the island that took us thru the "town", the state park and then dropped us off at the fort. The Fort was built in 1780. The first skirmish of the War of 1812 happened at Fort Mackinac.
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| View of Fort |
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| Andy LOVED all the cannons |
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| Andy learning how to make animals with a Jacobs Ladder - his new favorite toy |
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| The horse power for our carriage |
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| Arch Rock |
We had lunch at the Tea Room at the fort. It has outdoor seating overlooking town and the park.
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| View from our table at lunch |
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| View of Mackinac Bridge from lunch |
After lunch we ventured over to Jack's Livery Stable. There you can rent your own horse drawn carriage! We were assigned a mare named Babe and off we went! We quickly discovered Babe had two speeds, slow and slower! Deciding driving your own horse drawn carriage was probably a once in a lifetime experience, we just enjoyed the ride.
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| Mom and Dad renting our carriage |
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| Dad driving our carriage! |
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| Us and Babe |
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| Andy, Dad and Babe |
After our trip around the island with Babe we headed into town to explore the shops. Mackinac Island is home to 17 different fudge shops! Out tour guide told us that if you sampled fudge at each shop you would eat a pound of fudge! The island is also home to the Grand Hotel which was made famous in the movie Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. The hotel boasts the worlds largest porch with over 100 rocking chairs. The hotel also has 385 individually decorated rooms. We didn't go into the hotel, if you aren't a registered guest, they charge a $10 admission fee! We were on the island for the whole day and didn't see everything...it is definitely on my list of repeat vacation spots.
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| Lilac Hotel |
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| The Grand Hotel |
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| Post Office |
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| Round Island Lighthouse |
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| Main street thru town |
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| Fudge!! |
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| Island trash truck |
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| Round Island Lighthouse |
Oh! Can't forget we even found a hidden Mickey on the island!
Loved your tour of Mackinac Island. I truly love that place. We've stayed there 3 times--once in a B&B on a side street, once in an old Victorian B & B on the main drag and once at the Grand Hotel. Yes, it was expensive but soooo worth it!! If you go back, do try to stay there. They pick you up at the ferry dock in one of their own carriages and take you right up to the hotel. You feel sooo important! Oh and did you see the UPS truck/wagon? It is, of course, horsedrawn and is brown. LOL
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