2019 Summer Adventure Post #6 Mackinaw City/Mackinac Island

Mackinaw City/Mackinac Island 6/20-6/23

We packed up to head onto Mackinaw City.  With both parents having to travel with the campers, the kids had their own car so they headed out to do some exploring on the way up to our next stop.  Judy, John, Steven and I decided to just head right to the campground.  That is the one tricky thing with the campers, if you want to stop along the way you have to be sure there is parking that will accommodate the camper and truck, not always easy to find.  We were almost there and as we were driving we saw a camper(actually similar to Judy and John's)stopped on the highway.  As we passed the trailer we realized it was Judy and John.  So we quickly pulled over.  They said their car just totally died.  They had AAA so they were going to call them and figure things out.  Unfortunately they didn't have towing for the camper on their AAA.  So we told them once the car got towed we would head back to them and tow their camper with our truck back to the campground.  Luckily we had a hitch that would fit their trailer and we brought them to the campground.  The AAA guy was great he helped us hitch the trailer to the truck which being in the break down lane on the highway is always tricky. It turned out the car needed a fuel pump.  So in a few days they were able to pick it up and they we all set.  Luckily this happened close to our stop and we were staying there for 3 days so if it had to happen the timing was perfect.

We got settled in and the kids arrived.  We decided to have a campfire or should I say bonfire lol.  Steven found a place outside the campground that sold firewood.  Much cheaper and you get much more for the price if you purchase someplace other than the campground store.  We had a lot of fun at the fire tonight.  Last year we had found a silly marshmallow toasting gadget that automatically rotated the marshmallow in the fire.  Don't think we ever perfected it but it was fun using. This year we found a fun toy to use when toasting marshmallows.  We all(especially Nathan)had fun with it.  I will put a picture below.  It was basically like a fishing rod with some metal attachment on the end to put the marshmallows on.  There was a bit of a learning curve.  As some of you know Steven claims to make the best toasted marshmallows(he really does but don't tell him I said that).  With this new fishing pole we had to figure out a system that would get both sides of the marshmallow toasted.  After a little bit of trial and error we figured it out.  Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun.  Not sure how we will top that next year but we will be searching for another unique marshmallow toaster tool-if it exists.

One thing we quickly learned in this area that if you are in the city it is called Mackinaw City(w at the end), but if you go over to the Island it is Mackinac City(c at the end)and you pronounce them both the same way the c is silent.  Just a little fun fact lol.

Our next day we decided to head over to the Island.  We had to take a Ferry over there.  On the Island there are no vehicles of any type allowed.  On our way over we took a Ferry that brought us out to the Mackinac Bridge.  The bridge splits the Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.  So on our ride over we were in two of the Great Lakes.  When it was built it was dedicated as the worlds longest suspension bridge between two anchorages.

Marquette Park on the Island

Once we got over to the island it was beautiful.  No vehicles of any sorts are allowed over there.  There were many horse and buggies to get around or take a tour of the island.  They had many bikes as well.  It was interesting when a store was getting a shipment of supplies you would see a flatbed ride up with a horse pulling it to drop it off.  And of course there was always walking.  Which we did many miles of while we were there.

There was a beautiful downtown with many stores.  We were told they were well know for the Fudge.  Well I guess they feel the same way, as literally every other store was a fudge store.  For example Murdick's Main Fudge had at least 3 stores with in a two block radius.  We weren't sure how they all stayed in business and why they had multiple shops on one street.  It wasn't the only fudge shop that did this there were at least two other popular brand fudge stores that had multiple stores on the street.  The fudge definitely lived up to its expectation.  Nathan and Elizabeth did enjoy getting an Old Time Photo done.  The setting of their picture had the Grand Hotel in the background.  This hotel is a  very popular hotel on the Island and actually the  film "Somewhere In Time" was filmed there.  The funny things was if you wanted to go into the Hotel to see the inside you had to pay $10 per person.  Amazing how many people paid that.  We enjoyed the sites outside and the grounds were beautiful but we decided not to pay to go inside.

Nathan and Elizabeth did an Old Time Photo.

Grand Hotel

We also attended Mass at St. Annes while we were on the Island.  It was a beautiful church.  This current church complex was built in 1874.  The church had a beautiful front balcony that overlooked the River.

While we were there we also got a geocaches.  Katelyn loves geocaching and we shall I say dabble in it.  But now that we have more time we may do a little more.  We took this picture when we found the cache and sent it to Katelyn.

It was a beautiful day on the Island.  Nathan and Elizabeth did some short hikes to see Arch Rock and the many Lilac bushes.  They are abundant there.  As a matter of fact they had "The Lilac Festival" complete with a parade about a week before we visited.  I guess it is quite the event.  Judy and John rented some bikes and biked around to explore.  So much to do and enjoy.  There was  Fort Mackinac that has been restored for visitors to explore.  Well, at the end of the day we were all ready to rest on one of the many park benches along the main street.  I would definitely recommend a visit to the Island and may even go back to see the sites we didn't have time to visit.

On our last day here we went to a beautiful place called The National Shrine of Cross In The Woods.  It had an indoor church as well as an outdoor church that is used during the summer months.  The cross is 55 feet tall and 22 feet wide and is carved from a single redwood tree and stands as the centerpiece of this Catholic Shrine in the woods of northern Michigan.  The bronze figure of Jesus Christ is attached to the cross and weighs about 14,000 pounds and is the work of famous sculptor Marshall Fredericks.  The grounds were beautiful and had multiple shrines and a Stations of the Cross walk that we did.   

After we left here we went to  Petoskey, Michigan. Petoskey is nestled along the shores of  Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan, in the northern lower peninsula of Michigan. This beautiful resort community is steeped in history, Victorian architecture, and breathtaking views. We packed a picnic and found a beautiful place to stop there right on the lake.  Then we walked out on a pier that had a light house on the end of it.  

In the evening we went to a great pizza place for dinner and then went to a Lumber Jack show.  It was close to the campground and it was enjoyable.  Then headed back home and finished our last night here with a nice campfire.