Mackinac Island

Our ferry

June 14 - It was a beautiful day today!  The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky!  I baked scones to go with our fruit and sausage this morning.  We managed to leave at 8:45 for the short drive to the ferry dock for Shepler’s Ferry to Mackinac Island.  Our ferry time was 9:30.  Starting this week there are 4 morning ferries that for “no extra charge” they take you under the bridge and then on to the island.  As usual, Bill chatted up some folks in line and then on the ferry.

Cold ride.....

The ride over was COLD!  The closer to the bridge the windier it got but it was interesting to be able to photo the entire bridge and then from underneath it.  Since it was Flag Day there is a huge American flag flying at the bridge.  The

Happy Flag DAy!

ferry pilot provided a lot in bridge info, like it can sway as much as 15 feet either way in wind.  It was designed that way or the high winds across the straits would cause the bridge to fail.

Once we turned and headed to the island it wasn’t as bad but it was still on the cold and definitely windy side.  Of course I chose to

Ferry or Turkey??

sit up top which didn’t help.  We passed a competitor ferry that was a jet we think and it was spewing water light a turkey tail.  We could also start to see the 2 lighthouses between Mackinac and Round Island.  I got photos of both, one is Round Island and Round Island Passage. 

Disembarking was fast and you’re literally dumped on the

Grand Hotel from the ferry

main street.  It’s tons of shops, eateries, candy shops, bike rentals, carriage rentals; you can even rent a horse to ride by the hour!  We just did what we wanted to do on foot.  We always need the exercise!  My friend Karen had steered us to a shop that she said had the best prices, and we found it and she was right!  What few souvenirs we wanted we got there.  They give you a yellow shopping bag and it says “The Big Store with little prices” on it. 

Typical transportation

So we just strolled up to the visitor center then up the hill along the road to the fort, but we took the first left.  It’s a quaint street with older homes and the “government” buildings.  It was also the road to the Grand Hotel.  We eventually made it up to the hotel and begrudgingly paid our $10 each to go into the hotel and look it all over in addition to the grounds.  It is

Ballroom

beautiful inside.  So bright and fresh and everything looks brand new.  We sat out on the veranda in the rockers and chatted with the beverage waitress who is from the Philippines.  We gathered from the clerks in the shops that they do like Yellowstone and recruit staff for summer jobs from less fortunate countries. 

Dining hall

Smaller private dining area

We got in the line for the Grand Luncheon Buffet and turned in our $10 each card and paid another $37 each for the buffet.  That included the tax, gratuity and beverage (tea, coffee, lemonade).  I will say the selection was excellent.  There was a good mix of foods for the non- adventurous diner to the “I’ll try anything once” diner.  I think there were 5 long buffet tables on each side of the middle walkway.  One set is on each side for each side of the massive dining room.  Although it was explained to us as we were seated, to start at the first table and work our way back, there were those who missed the lecture and were coming the

I started with this

wrong way down a one way street.  We were seated along the

And ended with this

window looking out over the veranda and gardens.  The staff was attentive except for refilling the water.  The variety was excellent and I ate every offering of seafood except for the oysters on the half shell, not my cup of tea.  I did try the raw salmon with pineapple and it was delicious.  I passed on a lot of bread, potatoes, pastas and focused on the meatier side of the buffet until it was time for dessert.  Wow!  Most were small items like tarts, truffles, etc and mini cannoli.  For the most part it was all good that I had but the cannoli was rather flavorless.  I tried to tame my stomach with a cup of tea!

After lunch we walked down to see the pool where Ester Williams swam and Bill chatted with an employee who lives year around on the island and used to winter in Florida.  She said she and her husband used to go back and forth until they had a child and that changed the routine.  The islanders have cars on the mainland but no cars are allowed on the island expect for utility trucks.  We even saw horse drawn garbage transport.  The horses are all taken to the mainland in November.  There are a lot of employees who do nothing but scoop poop all day!  Not my ideal summer job!

From the ferry as we left

We only waited about 10 minutes for the ferry back.  We left at 9:30 and returned back at 2:30.  I’m sure that was quick for most people but we had no desire to look in shops at the same items over and over we were not interested in the hoards of candy and fudge shops.  The fort might have been nice but since we’d just done the one in Mackinaw City, we passed.  We talked to a couple who brought their bikes on the ferry and biked around the perimeter of the island, and if we were in better shape, that might have been fun!  We enjoyed our time there and saw what we wanted to see and were very glad we were prior to the real tourist season.  It was crowded today and I can’t imagine being in that tiny town with 2-3 times more people!

Back on the mainland we went back to Mackinaw City to the Lighthouse Association office and got a couple more stamps and asked some questions.  She was missing one stamp but sent us to the lighthouse place to get that one and we were able to get a couple of other photos I was missing of the straits lighthouses.  Then we stopped at the hardware store for a new bolt for our hitch.  Once we got back I was wiped and made us each an iced coffee and I passed out on my recliner!  Guess I needed it!  I’m not a napper but today I was!

I was still full at dinner time but had promised Bill we’d go to one of the Pasties places so I had to keep my promise.  The one that has 2 locations wasn’t open so we went to the smaller one.  They’ve been in business over 40 years and its nothing fancy but it was good.  I ate less than half of mine so will have it for lunch or dinner tomorrow!  Pasties were brought here by workers from the Cornish area of the UK.  They came to do steel work and mining and that’s what they take to lunch each day.  It’s a calzone shaped meal made with thick pie dough filled with meat and vegetables.  Mine was chicken and Bill’s was beef with carrots, corn and potatoes.  It reminds you of a pot pie but the gravy gets poured on the outside.  They are designed to be picked up and held like a sandwich.  These were made with fresh ingredients and were very tasty.

I helped Bill unload all his photos from his phone to his laptop and I worked on all the photos I took.  I wrote my journal but my laptop is running a fix and I don’t want to go on the internet until it’s done so I won’t post tonight.