Day 7 Mackinac Island

Unlike our other stops we had actually planned to be on Macinac Island for 2 days. Today was for tourist stuff. We decided on an ambitious schedule, but dialed back as we went.

We slept in, then after breakfast we headed up to Fort Mackinac. Famous for being surrendered to the British at the beginning of the War of 1812, they have soldiers in period 1880 uniforms and perform canon and rifle demonstrations.  We walked around and took pictures of the boat from the battlements.  Then ate lunch at the Fort Mackinac Tea Room. The Tea Room has a patio outside with a great view of the harbor.

The climb up the hill to the Fort is very steep. There is a back entrance that is also a drop-off for the carriage rides.  We went out the back way to the paths leading to other sights on the island.

First was Skull Cave which is a shadow of itself.  It was caved in back in the 1970s because it was deemed a safety hazard.

Then we walked to the stairs leading to Fort Holmes and the highest point on the island.  From there we could see the straits and Bois Blanc Island very well.  I took some wide angle pictures with the Gopro from there.

Back down the stairs and a mile or so down the road is Arch Rock.  The water of the lake is very clear and the view from the rock reminds me a lot of the waters of the Caribbean.  The photos can't do it justice.

The walk back took us past Mission Point resort and St. Ann's church.

We took a break back at the boat before our next excursion, a horse drawn carriage ride.  The ride is 2 parts. First the go down Market Street which has some shops we'd misses earlier.  Then the tour goes up to the Grand Hotel. 

The hotel has a less than pretty past.  The first 60 years it didn't make money.  The tour guide suggested this was due to them knowingly building it on Indian burial grounds.

Next stop was the stables of the tour company which had some shops and donuts that rival Yates Cider Mill according to Charlotte.  We were let off here and would change carriages after a look around.

The second leg of the tour took us were we'd just walked.  But this time we had narration.  The tour ended at the Governor 's Summer residence. Sort of like Camp David at the state level.

We did a little shopping on the way back to the boat and decided that riding the 8.2 miles around the island on a tandem bike would have to wait for our next visit.

We had supper in town and had a quiet night with a movie.

Weather tomorrow for our trip to Gore Bay looks great.  We changed plans (the theme of the whole trip it seems) because there is no fuel at Muldrum Bay.