Another Week gone, Mackinac Island

If blogging were my job, I would probably be fired! Good thing this blog is only a personal record of our RV travels. I am committed to keeping it up, but I can do it at my own pace.

On August 23rd we drove all of 40 miles from Cedarville to St. Ignace, which is the small community on the north side of the Mackinac Straits. We could see Lake Huron from our front window.

St. Ignace sunrise from the Alfa door

I am sometimes awake at sunrise, but I rarely actually get up until later. On this morning, I woke to a room that seemed to glow with golden light. I peeked between the blinds and saw a glorious sunrise. Needless to say, I got up and went out to get some pictures. I confess, I did go back to bed for a while when I came in.

On our second day there, we took the 9:30 Shepler's Ferry over to Mackinac Island. It was very convenient because they sent a shuttle to our RV park to pick us up, and we didn't have to fuss with parking. Also that particular run goes out under the Mackinac Bridge before going to the island. It was a gloriously clear and sunny day.

No cars are allowed on the Island so we decided to purchase the Ferry and Carriage Tour package. We boarded our carriage a short distance from the Ferry dock and we off for a tour of the island.

We drove up several streets with historic homes and buildings. No one actually "lives" in this part of town, since they are all either businesses, Hotels, or B&Bs. This little building is the Post Office, but there has never been a letter delivered on the island. If you get mail, you have to pick it up. With no cars, people either walk, bicycle, or take horse-drawn taxies and carriages. You can also rent a horse and buggy, or just a riding horse.

After traveling through town, our tour went past the Grand Hotel, through some state forest and dropped us off at Surrey Hill, where there was a gift shope, a blacksmith demonstration, a Butterfly House,

and the Grand Hotel barn which houses the Surrey Hills Carriage Museum. 

We enjoyed looking at all the beautifully restored carriages and reading about the famous families that had owned them for use on the island. Many very rich people had, and still have, summer homes here.

The next leg of our tour was in a carriage pulled by a team of three large horses. Our driver said we could pet them if we wanted to. I think this one looks like he enjoyed the attention.

I have to post this, our mandatory picture of Arch Rock. It was one of the stops.              

The color of the Lake Huron water was dramatic. Almost turquoise in the shallows and a deep royal blue in the distance.











The tour also stops at the fort overlooking the village and harbor.

If you want to go into the fort, which we did, there is an extra small fee. I had packed a small picnic lunch and we enjoyed the above view while we ate lunch on a veranda. There is also a restaurant.

I loved these buckets so perfectly lined up outside one of the guardhouses. When the fort was active, these were kept full of water to fight fires. I doubt they were  all as new and shiny then.

After our History lesson, we boarded another carriage and were let off a few blocks away from the Grand Hotel.

This picture was taken from our inbound Ferry. The Grand Hotel is so big it is hard to get it in one image from land!

By the time we had walked there from where the Carriage Tour had let us off, we were ready for an Ice Cream break. We had been told that everything was quite expensive on the island, but we found the ice cream about the same as in any tourist town.

The Hotel on the other hand was no Motel Six. A room can cost as much as $1000 per night for a single, or as little as $400 per person for double occupancy in a shared room.  

There is a $10 per person charge to just walk around the Lobby, porch and gardens if you do not hae a room.

The drinks we had up in the 5th-floor Cupola Bar were pricey at $32 for one glass of Chardonnay and one Irish Coffee. But then, no tipping is allowed at the hotel. 

We walked through the Hotel Gardens and back to town past many other beautifully maintained Victorian homes. We spotted a number of huge mansions overlooking the water from our outbound ferry. There is a separate little village, which we did not see, away from the tourist town area, where a few hundred people live year round, but most only stay in the summer months and the island pretty much shuts down for the winter.

The next day we took the Jeep over the bridge to Mackinaw City. The bridge reminded us of the Golden Gate in San Francisco. We have been there before, so did not go to Ft. Michilimacinac.

Instead we went on a Fudge Sampling walk.

There were about eight fudge shops on a three block strip, and they each gave samples. It was hard, but we did choose just one and bought several flavors.

For us, sometimes it is all about the food! We like to try local specialities if we can. 

We had some delicious smoked whitefish, beef pasties, and in keeping with what is trending now, tried the Impossible Wopper at Burger King.

Earlier on this part of our travels I had changed some of our plans, which is why we ended up returning to Sault Ste. Marie for a few days. Being Labor Day weekend, I could not easily find a different reservation, or change our reservation without penalty. 

So, we had a couple more days of relaxing and watching the big lake ships glide by in Sault Ste. Marie.  Life is so hard!

Saturday evening there was a really nice sunset.

Campers gather at the river's edge and either stand or lounge in their lawn chairs, waiting for the ships to go by. 

These two look as if they were going to crash into each other as they moved in opposite directions.

But of course that was just an illusion, and they each went their own way.

I am writing this on Sunday. We might find something to do tomorrow, or we might just hang out at home in the Alfa, at the Aune Osborn Campground, on the St. Marys river in Sault Ste. Marie Michigan.


Full Time RV Life is good!

Swedish Pancakes and a Fort

We do have some specific destinations in mind, but our day to day travel plans are often very loose.  Before making reservations I always ask Craig if there is any particular place he wants to go.

Our next major destination is Niagara Falls, but we have no set time to get there yet. But we decided we would go north across Upper Michigan, and south to the Detroit area. 

Craig had read that Swedish Pantry in Escanaba had the best Pancake Breakfast, and noted it was on our route. 

Because we wanted to be there for breakfast, I located a Casino RV park that was just shy of Escanaba for us to stop at.




The pancakes were pretty good, but the Swedish meatballs were even better.

After breakfast, our drive was not long, and we were over the Mackinac Bridge in no time. I hadn't been sure if we wanted to go over to Mackinac Island or not, so I reserved two nights at a park there. I had been over to the Island many years ago, and was a bit unsure of the weather for the next few days. When we arrived it was just starting to rain, and Craig hurried to get us set up and the Jeep unhooked. Just as he finished the sky really opened up, but we were snuggly tucked into our site. It was a bit chilly, and I used my little Dyson heater to warm up the Alfa a bit. 

Wednesday morning dawned with clear skies, but instead of going to the island, we went to see Fort Michilimackinac, which is in Mackinaw City, not on the island.  Since I had been to the Island, I did not feel a draw to go back again.

The fort was built, abandoned, rebuilt, and finally abandoned and burned down over the course of history. 

The stockade and buildings that are there now are re-creations based on the archeological finds and records.  They have been built since the last time I was there.  It is a State Historical Site and Park.

For a modest admission we were able to roam the grounds. There were many areas that provided information and displays of artifacts from the site.

In addition to staged dioramas there were volunteers dressed in period costume doing the same tasks as their counterparts must have done. The pretty gal above was shaping bread to bake, while telling us about how much bread was consumed in the 19th century and how it was made.

These two fine fellows had just demonstrated cannon fire and musket shooting.

[From Craig] Homeowners, aren't you glad you don't have to take care of this roof?

We were able to walk along the top of the wall and look out the watch towers like sentries. On this side Lake Michigan was in sight.

From the tower on the land side we were able to see fenced in areas that might have been for keeping livestock in peaceful times.

As the day drew to a close the wind got stronger and dark clouds began to roll in. I was glad we were not on the lake. As we drove back to the Alfa I saw an eagle fly over the tree tops.  Cool!

Thursday promises to be a long day. We will be driving a little over 300 miles to Dearborn Michigan which is near Detroit. We have tickets for the Ford Rouge Factory Tour on Friday, and we want to visit the Ford Museum on Saturday. 

Being full time tourists is hard work, but I love it.