Mackinac Island - Ann's 70th BD trip

Tuesday

4 couples set off to Mackinac Island to celebrate a friend's 70th Birthday. For all eight of us, this was a new destination.  We left DFW on the 3rd of August, flying to Traverse City, Michigan.  We had a nonstop on American Eagle.  Much nicer plane than American Eagle use to fly out of Midland, Texas.  Each row had 2 seats on each side with plenty of leg room.  Only hiccup on the trip, when we arrived only one of the two rent cars that were thought we had reserved was confirmed.  No one had any rental cars available.  Luckily, Enterprise had a list of shuttles we could try.  After several nos, we scored Rick!  He was a lifesaver, taking half of our crew to Mackicaw City to catch the ferry to Mackinac Island.  Rick also promised he would be at the pier on the 6th to bring us back to Traverse City.  Yeah for Rick! Greg was driving the rent car.  We parked in the secure parking lot, met up with the others on the shuttle, boarded the ferry and off for our advenure

Starline Ferry

The cost of the ferry was included in the hotel price.  When you drop off your luggage at the pier, you don't see it again until it arrives in your room.  The ferry process was a well oiled machine, and all went well. The ferry ride itself was no more than 20 minutes.  

Lighthouse 

After checking into the hotel, The Island House, we checked out our rooms.  They were called dormer rooms because they were on the 4th floor with a dormer ceiling.  You took the elevator to the third floor, then wound around a couple of small flight of stairs, then one steep set of stairs.  All the rooms had an angled ceiling.  Each room was configured differently, and not all, but several had the angled wall beside the bed.  I do believe the hotel wanted more rooms, so they converted the attic into rooms.  Not horrible, and we didn't book early enough to be picky. 

 Before checking out our rooms, we decided we better eat because it was getting close to 8 pm.  They were able to seat us in the restaurant,1852 Grill Room, in the hotel.  It was their nicer restaurant and the food was very good. Several of us chose the Walleye and it did not disappoint. 

Wednesday

We headed down the street to find a cafe for breakfast and then to book the carriage ride around the island.  First thing you see is bicycles everywhere. 

Breakfast was at the Pancake House.  Everyone was pleased.

We then went to get in line for the carriage tour.  We had about a 45 min wait so we wandered around for a bit.

The perfect store for Donna

Father  Marquette  Statue

Fort Mackinac 

The carriage ride started in town and then went past the Grand Hotel, stopping at the stables for the Grand  Hotel.  Here we left our driver, Nathan from Romania, toured the stable area, then continued with a different driver, Hayden, to take us through the National Park.

The Grand Hotel

We visited the stables and Roberta and Ann went to the Butterfly Exhibit before continuing our tour.

                                                 

The second part of the tour was going through the National Park.  Hayden, our driver, did a very good job of describing and informing.  

The St Ann's Cemetary was moved from town to the National Park

Fort Mackinac

Governor's Summer Home.  She wasn't in residence. Probably just as well with this group of conservative Texans

We opted to leave the tour and visit the Grand Hotel.

The porch!!

Before going inside, we decided that ice cream was what was needed.

The interior decor was certainly unique.

                                                 

Chandelier in the Cupola Bar 

Tried to have a drink in the Cupola Bar but service here wasn't any better than Lake Kiowa so we left.

After touring the hotel we walked back to town, enjoying the scenery.

 

                                                   

                                              

                                          

                                    

                                     

                                                   

                                               

                                                  

                                               

                                       

                                  

 

We stopped along the way home at The Little Stone Church and watched some fudge making, and maybe some fudge sampling, and fudge buying!

 

Peanut Brittle was pretty good too!

 We  opted to eat before our sunset cruise.  We went to Mary's Bistro Drought House. We shared a couple of orders of truffle fries for an appetizer. 

So many beers and so little time.

After dinner we headed to our Sip n' Sail excursion that Ann had prebooked.

We arrived early 

Because we were one of the first people on board we claimed all the couches and chairs on the top deck.  It was the perfect location.

The duo were awesome.  Everyone was singing along.  They took requests and knew every song requested.

The Mackinac Bridge   The Mackinac Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac to connect the Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Opened in 1957, the 5 mile long bridge is the world's 24th-longest main span.

                                                      

 

                                                         

                                                    

                                                   

                                                          

                                                 

                                               

                          

Our hotel from the lake

Homes on the hillside

The Grand Hotel from the lake

 

                                  

 

                                                        

 

Our hotel as we returned

 

Got a bit chilly toward the end of the cruise.

                           Some of us sat on the porch in the rocking chairs when we returned but they shooed us inside at 10 pm

Thursday

The guys were up early for a 9:15 tee time.  They arranged for a taxi carriage to take them to the course, Wawashkamo Golf Club. Wawashkamo was laid out on a farmer’s field that had been the site of the 1814 Battle of Mackinac Island. Separate historical markers commemorate both the golf links and the battlefield. Wawashkamo was honored as one of “America’s Historic Golf Landmarks” by Golf Digest in 1996. The course is contained within Mackinac Island State Park. At the top of the ridge, on the first tee, the golfer stands on the spot where the British cannon shot at the Americans on Auguest 4,1814. 

                                                   

The girls spent the morning walking, maybe doing a little shopping, and enjoying the quaint buildings.  First stop was Starbucks.

View from the porch of our hotel

Town Crier, the newspaper office

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We didn't think we had tried the best truffle fries yet, and the fries at the restaurant next to the carriage tours ( Millies on Main) were recommended, so we had to give it a go. They did not disappoint.

 

After lunch we continued our quest for the perfect hoodie to take home. Spent quite a bit of time in the Pink Pony gift shop.  They carriedLily Pulitzer, so it had Donna;s attention. We then headed back to the hotel for some porch sitting and librations.  We discovered the outdoor patio area behind our hotel and we settled in there for the afternoon with the guys joining us after golf.

The spicy bloodmary!

After a drink or two, we decided to wander to the left of the hotel which we had not done before.  Several nice Boutique hotels and St Ann's Church. 

                                                 

                                                 

                                                  

Our plan was to eat dinner at Pink Pony Restaurant but the wait was 1.5 hours so off we went in search of another option. We had looked at the menu of Yankee Rebel Tavern on a side street for lunch that looked pretty good so we were off to see if they were full.  Great choice. They could seat us immediately, service was good, food was excellent and cost was reasonable.  A win-win.

White fish 

scallops

berry brulee

We waddled back to the hotel and sat on the porch until the bewitching hour of 10 pm.  

Some random pictures.  The flowers were so pretty.

Greg is always checking out any 1st National Bank Building

Friday, Ann's Birthday!!

The next morning our baggage was picked up at 8:50 for our 10:15 departure back to the mainland.  Again we don't see our bags until we get off the ferry. So nice to not have to deal with the luggage getting on and off the ferry. We left the hotel.  When we saw the no waiting at The Pancake House we stopped for breakfast. After breakfast, off to the ferry terminal, had a short wait to board, and we were off for our quick trip to Mackinaw City.  The shuttle driver, Rick, was waiting for us on the pier.  Ann and Mark went back with us in the car and the other two couples went with Rick. We met back up at the hotel. 

Marfices taking advantage of a photo op

First stop on our way back was Petoskey, which is famous for finding Petoskey Rocks.

Petoskey rocks are unique rocks that sport a tightly-packed hexagonal pattern all over their surface. This pattern is the fossilized pattern of the prehistoric rugose corals. Each hexagon on a Petoskey stone was once a coral polyp and the dark center of each one was once the mouth, which used tentacles to feed the

We stopped at the Little Traverse Historical Museum which is housed in a train depot.  The museum had information on the stones and an exhibit talking about the Hemingway family that had a summer home (Windemere) on Walloon Lake near Petoskey. The summer home is still owned by the Hemingway family. 

After driving through downtown Petoskey, where we drove by the park with a Hemingway statue and we passed by the bar that Hemingway used to frequent, we headed to Charlevoix.  In Charlevoix, we were interested in the architectural collection of self-taught builder Earl Young. Starting in 1919, and continuing into the seventies, Young fashioned over two dozen creations using indigenous materials.

Over the course of his fifty-year career, Young would build twenty-six residential houses and four commercial properties. His works are made mostly of stone, using limestone, fieldstone, and boulders that he found throughout Northern Michigan. Each of these houses is individually different and was designed to blend in with its surrounding landscape. Earl Young's houses feature his signature designs, along with wide, wavy eaves, exposed rafter tails; cedar-shake roofs; and a horizontal emphasis in design.These buildings are creatively known as Gnome Homes, Mushroom Houses, or Hobbit Houses.  The houses were very unique and we enjoyed seeing the houses.

Our last stop was a winery.  I had a glass of Reisling at our first restaurant that was excellent and found out the winery was not far from Traverse City, so off we went in search of wine.  The winery, Chateau Grand Traverse, was very welcoming and we enjoyed our tastings.  They ship to Texas, so I'm sure we will be making a purchase.

Our hotel, The Baywatch Resort, was waiting for us and we were ready to be out of the car. The hotel in located on the shores of Lake Michigan and was very nice.

After a rest, we headed to the restaurant to celebrate Ann's Birthday.  We had a 7:30 reservation at Harrington's By the Bay. We arrived early but still did not get seated until 8:00.  We ordered drinks at the bar. Drinks and dinner were excellent, but it didn't compare to the opportunity to celebrate Ann's 70th Birthday together. 

modeling the earrings

A great finish to a fantastic trip!!