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.
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