The day after our wedding in Petoskey our wanderings around Northern Michigan continued with a 3-day visit to Mackinac Island. After a quick 16-minute ferry ride from Mackinaw City (yes, spelled different but pronounced the same, not confusing at all) we arrived, feeling immediately transported back in time and, at the same time, feeling like we were walking on Main Street Disney World, minus the castle.

The entire island is a designated National Historic Landmark, with approximately 80% of it preserved as Mackinac Island State Park. It is also known as the setting for the film Somewhere in Time, which was the only time an exception was made to the ban on all motorized vehicles, in place since 1898. This means that to wander around the island you can either go on foot, rent a bicycle, or take a horse-drawn carriage; I am happy to report we tried all these means of transportation. Probably the two most interesting transportation-related sights were the ‘moving truck’ carrying a washer

and a dog on a golf cart 😉

The days that followed were absolutely relaxing. We had breakfast at The Chuckwagon and walked around town admiring the variety of architectural styles.

We played a round of mini-golf with the family where my mom, who had never held a golf club in her life, got a hole-in-one on the first stroke on the first hole, leaving us quite amazed! We rented a tandem bicycle and rode around the island, which was so much fun! Do keep in mind the the “puddles” on the road are most likely not water (lots of horses walking around everywhere, you figure it out ;)).

We had a great family dinner at The Woods and tried the fudge, which I must confess I didn’t like, I hope that means I can’t be called a fudgie! We also went for a carriage tour around the island, where we learned among other things that there are around 600 horses in Mackinac, so basically there are more horses than people (population is around 500), which explains why there is only one doctor and yet there are several veterinarians on the island 🙂

One of the stops on the carriage tour was Arch Rock, which we had seen the day before form a different point of view on our bike ride (we were all the way down there where you can see those people on the road).

Our tour ended in Fort Mackinac, one of the few surviving American Revolutionary War forts.

This island is not just quaint and laid back but also has a wealth of history and interesting facts around every corner.

Mackinac is definitely a great little island (maybe I just have a soft spot for islands, seeing as I lived on one for about 7 years). It has a relaxing atmosphere and yet many options for things to do and see, making it perfect for a family get-together like we had, where everyone finds something they like. I look forward to visiting it again in our future trips to Michigan.