Virtual vacation, Day 5: Mackinac Island

On Day 5 we found ourselves in Mackinaw City because I wanted to visit Mackinac Island, primarily because my parents had visited there some decades ago and raved about it. Mackinac Island prohibits cars (although they cleverly hide the internal combustion-powered snow removal equipment). Transportation occurs on feet, horseback, or some form of a bicycle/tricycle. While there we observed a plumber cycling through the woods with a little trailer carrying his tools. When planning the trip I had rearranged part of it to avoid being there over a weekend. When we viewed the crowds on a July Thursday it seemed a well-thought idea.

One travels to Mackinac Island primarily by ferry (unless one owns a boat or is rich enough to fly to the tiny airport). Two ferry services exist, both privately owned. Ours ran different types of boats at different times; like many things having to do with Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island, little explanation was offered. My supposed purchase of ferry tickets when I booked the hotel turned out to be so much nothingness: we were told on check-in to let them know if/when we wanted to ‘activate’ that purchase. When we did so and got to the ferry dock, we got in a very small line to enter the waiting area for the ferry, only to be told that we only had vouchers which needed to be redeemed for actual tickets. That line serpentined like a badly organized TSA check-in. Bottom line: just go buy a ticket, the voucher system only added 15-30 minutes to the process. Our particular ferry took an extra five minutes to motor north and westward at the beginning of its voyage so that we could pass under the Mackinac Bridge–at the time it was built, the longest in the US (or world?):

For an island where the easiest form of transportation is a horse-drawn taxi, Mackinac surprisingly is not small. Maps show it to be more than 2.5 miles long by 1.75 miles wide (both at their greatest distance). We were put off by the admission fees in place for pretty much everything, including people who would give you a tour of their historic house for a fee. Feet are free, however, so we hiked up the steep(!) slopes, eventually coming out at the highest point of the island with a decent view toward Lake Huron:

A “short cut” through the cemetery, a stop for beer, and it was back on the ferry for us. This trip occurred on a much slower boat, but it beat waiting an extra half hour for a quicker one. A fine dinner of Great Lakes fish with a wonderful view really topped off the day. As the sun set, we saw the ‘special’ Pirate Ferry ride coming in. (We never did figure out what pirates plied their trades on Lake Huron, nefarious or otherwise.)