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Published: July 13th 2015
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Mackinaw Island
There were clouds in the sky threatening to storm on my day. Should I stay or should I go was the question. I had a really nice sleep but I was feeling tired and a little disorganized so I was debating whether or not to just stay in the campground and do a little exploring locally. But I got ready quickly and was prepared to leave by 9:07am. So I took Oscar to the kennel that is just down the road and headed to Mackinaw City to catch the ferry to Mackinaw Island. Everything went with such ease and before I knew it I was gliding across the water in search of my newest adventure.
Upon arrival I headed to the carriage ride tour after a short walk through town. It seems strange to not see any cars, only bikes and horse drawn carriages to be found and lots of pedestrians. The island is beautifully maintained and they are experts at moving people and doing it with a smile. Everyone is so nice and pleasant, it's not put on either.
I was assigned a carriage and I just hoped on and away we went. There were
6 rows of 4 people per row plus the driver so the horses (2) are pulling 25 people around town and up hills. The drivers were very kind to the horses giving them time to rest whenever we did a hill and they do no more than a walk. They work 4 or 5 hrs a day and get the whole winter off leaving the island from Oct to May.
The driver was very informative about the houses we were seeing and the history of the island. We went uphill past the Grand Hotel which is truly GRAND. Then up to the carriage museum where we disembarked, given another chance to buy something and headed to the next leg of the tour, the state park. This carriage was just a little bigger and had a 3 horse team of very large Belgium s weighing upwards of 2500 lbs. There were steeper hills in the park and no need to dodge traffic so bigger horses were the best choice. We wound our way through the trees for a while til we had a chance to get out and see arch rock. Picture. Very pretty.
We then headed back and
passed the fort where most people chose to get off and tour the fort and catch another carriage later. I chose to stay on and switched carriages again to go back down to town, or as far as the Grand Hotel. I got off there, bought a ticket to be able to walk inside the hotel and it was worth every penny. Pictures
I caught a taxi back into town, horse drawn, and wondered my way through the now very crowded streets to get some lunch. It was almost 2pm and I was really hungry. Found a great little tavern, sat outside and had a local fish sandwich, fries and a beer, really good. The one major thing I found on this island was the air. There was no auto exhaust but there sure was another kind of exhaust smell, wow. They do have a street cleaner who has a cart, shovel and broom and is kept very busy.
I walked to the dock and got in line for the ferry and sat on the bench enjoying the beautiful sunshine and lake air. The clouds parted about 10 am and the sun was shinning all day. The ride
back was fast and breezy and I got my car drove to get Oscar and headed home. I'm exhausted!
There is a long drive tomorrow so I'm getting to bed early.
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Denise
non-member comment
Great place
Such a nice and unique place to visit. So glad you enjoyed it.