Mackinac Island Sept 19, 2022 Day One

The cross country trip we had to abandon last year due to our heart attacks, included a trip to northern Michigan and Mackinac Island, which we had always heard about. So when our D.L. Evans Bank Travel Club offered this 7 day trip to Michigan we signed up.

There are 28 DLE customers on the trip...all "seniors", mostly women. We left Boise mid afternoon and flew direct to Chicago, uneventfully. After a LONG walk through the airport, we found our motor coach and drove about a half hour away from the city to our hotel, a nice Hilton. Nice dinner in the hotel bar.

Our itinerary will take us on a tour of the Windy City, then up along the east side of Lake Michigan, though Holland, up to the "U.P." and Mackinac Island. Then down though the middle of the state, stopping in Frankenmuth, then the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. We fly home from Detroit next Sunday.

Tuesday Sept 20 - Chicago to Holland

After a very good breakfast at the hotel, we drove about half an hour back to downtown Chicago, where we met our "step on guide" Mike McMains. He was excellent! For the next two hours he took us on driving tour of downtown, starting in Chinatown, along Grant Park, past the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium for a great view of the skyline. There are some fantastical high rises, with interesting histories and famous architects. A favorite stop was "The Bean" and theater at Millenium Park. Can you believe they polish the Bean every day?

Our tour guide, Allen, is a hoot! Poor guy, he broke his leg a few days ago, so he's on crutches. He has guided the DL Evans groups no less than five times over the years, so he knows many of the old ladies really well. They love him! He is well prepared and always in control of our schedule. He is very funny but, so far, we haven't gotten sick of his silly jokes!

For lunch today, in downtown Chicago, we went to the famous Portello's - an interesting fast food place that features a famous hot dog.

After lunch we continued north, along the east side of Lake Michigan on to Saugatuck and the "Saugatuck Dune Rides". What a treat! It felt like a Disney ride - speeding around trails on the Dunes. Interesting reclamation story here. The Dunes has once been hardwood forest but the lumbermen had clear cut it in the mid 1800s and the sand took over. After experimenting with different grasses, folks from the University of Michigan embarked on a project to plant grasses (which were shipped in from Florida) all over the dunes to stabilize them. It worked! The dunes are now covered with these grasses and no longer "move", threatening some structures.

The weather today was great - in the lower 80's, with a slight thunderstorm shower late in the afternoon. Its supposed to get markedly cooler starting tomorrow, as we continue north to Mackinaw City. Tonight we stay at a Fairfield Inn in Holland. Fine dinner at an event place overlooking Lake Macatawa called "BoatWerks".

Wednesday Holland to the U.P.

Three Hundred miles on the bus today! We left the hotel at about 8:00am.  The weather looks good and its still warm. First stop was to see the Holland Harbor Lighthouse and walk along the breakwater. A very unusual design for a lighthouse, but beautiful! Our search for official Holland Tulip bulbs was not successful.

We followed I-196 north, up through Grand Rapids, then rt 131 until it was time for lunch. Where to stop? Central Michigan is pretty sparsely populated and our guide Allen wasn't prepared. We finally found our way into Traverse City and a Burger King.

Soon after lunch we made a planned stop at the Music House Museum. Wow! This is a wonderful collection of rare "automated musical instruments". A young lady docent gave us a great tour and demonstrated many of the player pianos. It was fabulous! (This proves the value of a guided tour - had we just driven by on our own, we never would have seen it!)

We drove through some beautiful small towns along Lake Michigan today, notably Holland, Traverse City, Charlevoix and Petosky. Great looking parks, marinas and older mansions with views of the lake. (We bet its really cold here in the winter!) A short time later we stopped at the Friske Orchards store for coffee and apple fritters.

Finally, we drove across the Mackinac Bridge and, before going to our hotel, we stopped at our dinner place, the Mackinac Grill. A very popular place in town!

Hotel for two nights is a nice Holiday Inn Express. Our room even has a view! Tomorrow we spend the day over on Mackinaw Island.....the real reason for this trip.  (There is confusion over the names Mackinac and Mackinaw - it seems there's no difference...its pronounced "aw")

A note about our bus driver - Taryn. She's become part of our group! She's funny, a great driver, and very accommodating.

Ferry to Grand Hotel

A note about our  travelling companions. There are 26 of us, 20 "old ladies" and just 6 "old men".  (I feel like we're much younger than them but, of course, we're not!) Most of the women are widows; there are a few whose husbands won't travel ("I'd rather be fishing"). Most of these ladies know each other; they've been doing DL Evans trips and events together for years. They are a fun group! 

Today was the day we came for - our trip to Mackinac Island. 

Its a LOT colder today than it has been. A little unsettled this morning, but by afternoon beautiful sunshine, but the temperature only reached 50, with a brisk breeze. We started our day by taking a 15 minute boat ride over to the island. Once there, we had a little time to browse around the town before we were met by our carriage ride. The ride was in two parts. First we rode in a two-horse wagon which gave us a tour of the town. That took us to a rest stop, coffee and donuts, gift shop. Then we boarded a larger three horse wagon which took us all around the woods of the State Park, with a final stop at the Grand Hotel. (It was really cold!)

The hotel is magnificent! We had a great buffet lunch in the Main Dining Room (which is enormous!) Then, what we'd all been waiting for, we rocked in the sun on the main porch....the "World's Longest Front Porch". The flowers are spectacular, too. After checking out some of the specialty shops, we walked down the hill to the main street and met our fellow travelers for the boat trip back to "The Mainland", St. Ignace.

By the way, the cost of a room there today was $559.

The town of Mackinac is amazing. There are NO cars allowed (they do have an ambulance and a fire truck). Everyone rides a bike. You'll see workmen with little trailers carrying their tools, hotel bellboys loaded down with luggage.  Horsedrawn passenger wagons, hotel carriages, "trucks" carrying all manner of supplies. Of course, bikes everywhere! We were told that during the summer, there really are bikes everywhere. Its hard to cross the street! They also have rules that do not permit elecric bikes (they go too fast), only peddle assist. Literally hundreds of bikes for rent. The popular route all around the island is 8 miles...and flat all the way. It seems the town is famous for its fudge shops. We bought a small package from the famous Murdick's fudge Shop.

We took the 5:00 boat back to the mailand and our hotel. A criticism of our trip: today was one of those "dinner on your own" days. Trouble was, there's nothing within walking distance, except this strange "Club" in the hotel next door where  we semi-enjoyed a bowl of potato soup and a tiny pizza.

Tomorrow we head south to the city of Frankenmuth.