Sunday, August 18: Of Bridges, Islands, Bikes, Fudge, and Horses

Date:                           August 18, 2013

Day on the Cruise:     125

From:                          Straits State Harbor Marina, Mackinaw City, MI
                                       
To:                               Straits State Harbor Marina, Mackinaw City, MI

Statute Miles:              0.0 SM

Time:                           0.0 Hrs

Cumulative Miles:       2,924.1 SM

On Board:                   Susan, Chuck, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut

Still in Mackinaw City tonight, enjoying the cool and Fallish weather.

Ding, Ding, Ding, and We have a "Winna' " in our fire hydrant antennae contest question  posed the other day in the Blog on Rogers City. Remember the picture?

Well, my good friend Jack W. from Baltimore sent in the correct answer. The device on the fire hydrant is a flexible rod that is used to mark the hydrant when snow is plowed on the streets and piles up around the hydrant. Living in the South, we thankfully don't have to mark our hydrants for huge piles of snow, so to see these devices on the hydrants is somewhat foreign to us.

Thanks Jack, and the very next time that Susan and I have "Blue Moon" on the inimitable body of water called "Lake Erie", we will help you claim your prize. But, don't hold your breath, because there is a saying that deals with snow (snowballs) that we know in the South, and the chances that WE will have "Blue Moon" on that body of water again are probably the same as that poor snowball's chances in you know where!!!

We had a great day today! This is why you do the Loop! We heard from Jack, yes, but we also heard from our Looper Friends on "Sunset Gypsy" that they were headed to the same marina where we are staying and would be in tomorrow! They took the Canadian route and we left them on the Erie Canal at Brewerton, NY last month.

We also went over to Mackinac Island today. This is another reason why you do the Loop. We were looking forward very much to the trip to Mackinac since we decided to do the Loop. We hopped a ferry from the terminal near our marina at 10:30 this morning. We chose the jet ferry because we thought it would get there faster. The trip that we took at 10:30 went out to and under the Mackinac Straits Bridge as an extra added attraction.

Jet Ferry to Mackinac Island

Water "Jets" Propelling the Ferry to Mackinac Island

The Bridge is 5 miles long. The twin towers that support the cables are 750' high. In high winds the bridge can sway as much as 35 feet. You won't get me on the bridge in that kind of weather! We will go under this Bridge again on our way to Lake Michigan, but it was fun to see it with someone else piloting the boat!

Mackinac Straits Bridge

5 Mile Long Bridge over Mackinac Straits

We did the Bridge thing then went on to Mackinac Island. Mackinac (remember the spelling lesson from yesterday's Blog?) is an Island that changed hands several times between the British and Americans during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. The Island is about 2500 acres and was a huge fur trading site. The Astor family as in John Jacob Astor had rights to the fur trade and there were millions of dollars in furs traded on this Island in the 1800's.

Today the Island is known for its Victorian buildings and preservation of a way of life that was the norm in the late 1800's. There are huge Summer homes on the Island for the affluent and perhaps the cornerstone of the Island is the 125 year old Grand Hotel that is open from May through October each year. This Hotel has over 300 rooms and is a venue for conventions and Summer retreats. The Hotel features the longest covered front porch in the world, and it is a thing of beauty as will be seen in pictures elsewhere in today's Blog.

Light House on approach to Mackinac Island

Homes on Mackinac Island

Part of the town along the Waterfront

Approaching the Ferry Wharves

The old Fort above the village

Mackinac Island is mostly a Sumner Island. In the winter, the Lake freezes over and getting to the Island by boat is not possible. Access to the Island in the Winter time is by "ice bridge" from St. Ignace, MI on the UP of Michigan. By January, the ice is thick enough to support snow mobiles over the 4 mile distance out from St. Ignace, and this is how supplies and people are ferried to and from the Island. Ah, Solitude! There is also an airport for small planes that allows transport to and from Mackinac Island.

We arrived at the Island at the ferry terminal wharf and exited the wharf onto the main street of the town. There are only several motorized vehicles on the Island and they are kept out of sight, so all we saw upon coming out of the wharf were horse drawn wagons, carriages, bicycles, hordes of people (tourists like ourselves), and horse manure. The buildings on the street were mostly low rise Victorian multi-story, and it gave the impression of going back in time. The streets wound up the hill behind the downtown area.

Ferry Wharf

Welcome to Mackinac Island

First glimpse of town as we excited the Ferry Wharf

The other thing that we saw on the main street was the proliferation of fudge shops that adorn the town. They are everywhere, and each one announces that they have the best fudge on Mackinaw Island. How much fudge can a person consume?

Fudge anyone?

Horse drawn conveyances were very plentiful. I especially liked the ornate carriages that the Grand Hotel uses to take their guests from the ferry wharves to the Hotel. The other neat horse drawn vehicles were the wagons that haul the freight much like pickup trucks or light utility trucks. We saw flat bed wooden wagons and wooden wagons that looked like vans, all decked out in colors of green with colorful signage. Tour carriages were also very prominent on the streets, and we walked up the main street to find a tour.

Carriage from the Grand Hotel

Horse Drawn "Pickup Truck"

Horse Drawn "Van"

Headed to The Grand Hotel

Our tour carriage was more of a wagon that seated maybe 16-20 people. We chose the 2 hour tour that covered the town and the entire Island. The wagon was covered with a top and was pulled by two Belgian horses. Clip Clop, Clip Clop. Our driver was a college student who has been doing the tour thing for 4 summers.

Tour Carriage or Wagon

We rode around the town or village, then the carriage took us up a steep hill, past the Grand Hotel, to a former stable area that had some shops and places to eat, and where we transferred to a larger carriage wagon for a ride through the State Park.

Street Scene in the Village

Looking toward a residential area in the village

Bed and Breakfast

Another Bed and Breakfast

Church on the Island

Michigan Governor's Summer Residence, Owned by the State

"Flag Alley" looking at the Old Fort

The majority of Mackinac Island is owned by The State of Michigan and is a State Park. We enjoyed the wagon ride through mostly wooded areas. The tour stopped at Arch Rock that features great vistas through a rock formation where the center has been eaten away over thousands of year's by dripping water to form an hole in the rock.

Driver and Team on the Carriage Tour

Arch Rock looking at the water beyond

Susan at Arch Rock

The end of the carriage tour took us within a short walk of the Grand Hotel. We walked down to the Hotel and checked out the places to eat lunch. After passing on the $50 per person buffet, we settled on the outdoor garden restaurant at the golf course. It was elegant, albeit pricey, but very enjoyable. I consumed a very good Bloody Mary for my friend Ed! Highly recommended!

Lunch at the Jockey Club at the Grand Hotel

After lunch, we toured the Grand Hotel. What an experience! The highlights were the 600' long front porch and it's beautiful vistas, as well as the four story high cupola bar with its vistas of the surrounding scenery. Wow! We loved being in this beautiful old historic hotel. It was a place that I have always heard about, and it was a treat to get to finally see it.

Add captionThis says it all!

Vista of the Bridge from the Grand Hotel

The front of the Hotel and the 600' long porch

Susan enjoying the sun on the porch

The huge front porch! The Red Carpet is the Main Entrance.

Geraniums are the Hotel's Logo Flower

More Front Porch

A sitting area inside the hotel

Custom carpet with the signature Geranium

Looking at the Pool from the Cupola Room

Beautiful Light Fixture in the Cupola Room

Vista to the South from the Cupola Room

After the Grand, we made our way back to town, walking along the well landscaped side walks. We stopped at the State of Michigan Marina that is downtown and near the ferry wharves. No horse - drawn boats in this harbor! We scoped the marina out and decided that we probably would not bring "Blue Moon" over to Mackinac as we had discussed earlier.

Street scene going back into the village

Street scene in the village

Susan on the sidewalk

Modest home on Mackinac

Looking at the water from a residential street

Another Bed and Breakfast

Street Scene in Mackinac 

Bed and Breakfast

Old fur trading building

Center of town

State Marina

We saw all that we wanted to see on Mackinac, and we caught a late afternoon ferry back to the main land. When we got to our marina, two more Looper boats that we know had come in and docked.

Leaving the Ferry Wharf at Mackinac Island

Goodbye Grand Hotel and Mackinac Island! A Great Day!

Tomorrow we will stay in Mackinaw City again. We have a Fed Ex package coming to the marina that we need to get. The weather for Tuesday and Wednesday in Lake Michigan looks bad, with a good cruising day indicated for Thursday, so we will probably be in Mackinaw City through Wednesday. Our next stop looks like Petoskey, MI.

Thanks for Reading!