Mackinac Island became one of the nation's favored summer resorts during the Victorian era. Vacationers arrived in large lake excursion boats from Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit seeking the cooler weather on Mackinac Island. They danced to Strauss' waltzes, listened to Sousa's stirring marches, dined on whitefish and strolled along the broad decks. To accommodate overnight guests, boat and railroad companies financed the building of Grand Hotel. The Grand Hotel being the main reason for our visit and a special wedding ceremony held at the hotel as well.
Perhaps the most noticeable first impression of Mackinac Island is the absence of automobiles. Mackinac Island is accessible only by boat or plane. Visitors and residents travel by foot, bicycle or horse-drawn carriage. There are only 600 year-round Mackinac Island residents. During the summer, there are more than 500 horses. And yes, horses we rode. Bikes, by foot and a ferry to physically travel to the island. And, considering we traveled via plane to visit this destination, we definitely experienced the "planes, trains, automobile" type of experience.
This was the location and travel of chose for the "Chef" Family. We had a wedding located on the island and decided to venture up to Mackinac Island sans Ms. A. This vacation was one of the first times the two of us have vacationed without our baby.
We toured around the island, shopped through the stores, visited Fort Mackinac and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Learning about the fort and viewing the breathtaking views of Lake Huron were amazing.
Here is a picture of the downtown area full of shops and hotels. Notice the lack of automobiles and all the bikes on the street.
And then another view of the roads from our nightlife excursions to the bars. We frequented the Pink Pony and ate some late night munchies at the Mustang.
We stayed at
The Island House Hotel while on Mackinac Island. The rooms were quaint and decorated as if they haven't changed since the turn of the century. We were lucky enough to have air conditioning in our room, as many of the hotel accommodations on the island are without several modern day amenities such as air conditioning.
As mentioned beforehand, the Grand Hotel was the luxury of our mini-vacation. One of the biggest tourist attractions on the island is the grand porch of the hotel. Guests that are not staying at the hotel can pay a $10 fee to tour the hotel or sit on the porch. Thankfully we were part of a wedding and had full access to the hotel. We enjoyed our $12 beverage while enjoying the views. Can we say overpriced? But, worth every penny to sit and enjoy a drink.
The horse drawn carriage awaiting guests at the entrance to the Grand Hotel.
The wedding ... absolutely amazing.
Carriage await guests for their departure from the church to the hotel. There were probably 15 carriages "aka taxis" to transport the large group.
The views of the island are not only beautiful from the island, but amazing from the water as well. This photo is a water shot of the Grand Hotel. As can be seen, the building towers in size when comparing the other buildings near by.
