Tues Aug 29: Mackinac Island

We woke to a rainy day - I'm glad we walked around yesterday... We were eased into the day by a cannon shot, a ferry horn, goose honks, and multiple wakes.  I've taken to calling the early hour 'geese o'clock', since they LOVE to start the day at 5am with a loud salvo.  I think I prefer the cannon fire.

One of the first things you notice about Mac Island is the smell of horses manure.  Having spent my tweens as a horsewoman, I quite like that smell.  But I do realize that it might be an acquired taste.  Given that as many as 600 horses live/work on the island during the summer, it's a big job to keep the place clean.  Everything is scrubbed down during the night (like Disney Land) and during the day the shovelers are hard at work.  Here is a street sweeper - I am not making that up.

All the manure gets composted.  No wonder the flowers are amazing!

Today was a walking day - with the goal to get to the Grand Hotel and Arch Rock, while seeing everything we could in-between.  This little island somehow has 70+ miles of trails.... The whole island has been designated a Historic Site.  It used to be a national park, and was the second one in the US - created 3 years after Yellowstone.  Now 80% of the island is a state park, and listen to me run my mouth.... Off we go.

First stop was the library, of course. How cute is it?! Plaid carpet, a view and comfy chairs in front of the fireplace.  I'd spend a day or several here...

 

 

 

 

Random door - I love doors, as most of you know.

 

Random gorgeous houses.

 

Walking up the sweeping road that leads to the Grand Hotel, you come first to the Little Stone Church.

It's very small and cozy inside, with interesting stained glass.

 

 

 

 

The Grand Hotel is a National Historic Landmark, and you can't go into the hotel or onto its famous 660' long porch (world's largest) without being a guest, or paying $10/person.  I am too cheap for that, so I just skulked around until no one was looking and walked up to take this shot.  Rick hid in the bushes and pretended not to know me...

Horse and wagon topiary!

 

Next we hiked over hill and dale to get to Arch Rock.  We cruised by it yesterday so we could get a pic from the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the more well known aspects of the island is that the movie Somewhere in Time was filmed here. There are many landmarks noted for those who are interested.  Oddly, I recently watched this it.  Rick was out of town and I figured I couldn't go wrong with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour!  

Three-in-hand

This is what a traffic jam looks like on the island!

Late afternoon the rain moved in again, so we quickly took some pictures of the harbor and then booked it for the comfy (albiet bouncy) boat.

You can see Blue Horizon right above the 'x' in this sentence, on the outside of the dock.

 

 

Later we zipped over to 'America's Oldest Grocery Store' to get dinner fixings.  I hope the produce is not America's oldest.

Right before bed we found out that there is one type of vehicle allowed on the island - and thank goodness for it.  An ambulance appeared with EMS to carry away an older woman who fell on the boat across from us and looked to have sustained a head wound.  Blood everywhere.  We felt concern for that couple, and a renewed awareness that we must be careful. This marina bounces like crazy, with the constant flow of ferries - it could easily have been us.