7-4-24 4th of July on Mackinac Island, MI

Everything on the ship is, “free.”  It’s a loose term, “free.”  More correctly, I could say, “paid for in advance.”  Nevertheless, all booze, snacks and soft drinks available 24/7, laundry service, mailing and excursions (for us) are at no extra charge.  This is nice.  I don’t have a constant, worrisome calculator running in my head.

 

The ship departed Escanaba in the evening, sailed all night and the next port of call was Mackinac Island at 7AM.  There are no cars or other motorized street vehicles allowed on the island (except emergency vehicles).  There are 600 horses stabled here and they draw carriages which act as hotel shuttles, taxis and tour rides. 

Rob with the horses and carriage
at the Grand Hotel

Lindy with Spencer and Archie

Some of the carriages are 
3-horse carriages.  You can
see here who's the boss.

Our carriage (also, “free”) was pulled by Spencer and Archie, two black percheron draft horses, with Bridget as our guide.  Percherons as a breed, incidentally, are larger than Clydesdales, weighing in at 1,600-2,000 lb.  But there are no Clydesdales on the island.  Bridget says that percherons are smarter than Clydesdales.  If that’s not true, why does it take 8 of them to pull an empty beer wagon?  She might be biased.  After the tourist season, the horses are removed from the island and taken to Pittsburg, MI to winter there.

 

Fort Mackinac was established by the British in 1780.  The US gained control of the fort in 1796.  In 1812, the British, who never really accepted the fact that they lost the Revolutionary War, decided to try again.  Thus, the 2-year long War of 1812.  The US tried but couldn’t retake the fort, but after Britain lost round 2, they gave the fort back to the US in 1815.  Much of the fort has been rebuilt but the ramparts and the stone Officers’ Quarters and a few other structures are the originals built 225 years ago.  It was a functioning military fort until 1895 when it was decommissioned and became part of Mackinac Island State Park.

Reveille at Fort Mackinac

Enlisted men's barracks

Field hospital

Tea House - originally the mess

Kitchen in the Officer's Quarters

Arch Rock is a point of interest on the island.  It was formed by natural erosion but there is an Indian legend explaining how a princess and her love affair with one of the gods had something to do with it.  The limestone that comprises the arch is very rare in the Great Lakes region.  The view of Lake Huron from the stairway that goes up to the top of the 146-foot-high Arch Rock is spectacular.  Lake Huron is the second biggest of the Great Lakes (with the longest coastline) and one of the biggest bays on the Great Lakes, Georgian Bay.  Georgian Bay is so big that early explorers considered it an additional Great Lake.  From the top of the arch, we could see water forever.

Arch Rock

The view of Lake Huron from 
the top of Arch Rock

 

There are no cheap places to stay on Mackinac Island.  You might stay at The Grand Hotel, for example, if you are good for $1,100 to roughly $1,600/night.  It was constructed in 93 days, made from Michigan white pine and is considered a magnificent landmark and has the longest porch in the world.  We have been to the island in the distant past and tried to pay a visit to The Grand but in those days, men had to wear a jacket and tie and women, skirts or dresses, just to step across the threshold.  Since this type of dress was not a part of our vacation vocabulary, we were barred from entry.  They have relaxed these restrictions, now, and we were allowed entry.  We thought that, since we may never pass this way again, we should have lunch here.  The concierge advised us as to the price/person:  With drinks, tax and tips, about $110.  Well, it can’t be that delicious.  We hiked back to the ship, instead.

In the parlor of The Grand

In front of the longest porch in the world

Arrival at The Grand

The Grand Hotel, established 1887

 

You can get a room here at
the Island House for $600-1,200/night!

You can stay here at the Cloghaun 
Bed and Breakfast for $700/night
but, hey, it includes breakfast!

To help celebrate the birth of our nation, dinner featured a whole lobster for each guest.  This was stunning and we had no idea how to attack such an animal.  The waiters took charge and moved about the dining room cracking and shelling and we feasted in luxury. 

 

Fortunately, it was warmer weather on Mackinac Island, about 80F.  It was shorts and t-shirt weather, so later in the evening, there were several fireworks shows around the island.  They could be seen in comfort from the top deck of the ship where champagne flowed freely.  Happy birthday USA!

Rob watches the evening 
harbor lights

This replica of the 
Statue of Liberty was donated
to the city by the Boy Scouts.

Harbor lights

Yay!

God bless America!

Sunnie and Cubby
celebrate the birth of 
the USA!