Sails Meeting - Day 1 Mackinac Island

You board the ferry either in St. Ignace or Mackinaw for a 20 minute ride to the Island. If you aren't a "day tripper" and have luggage then they will tag your luggage at the ferry and it will be delivered to your hotel either by bike or horse and cart, depending on your hotel. Of course if you are staying at the Grand Hotel then it will be transported by a liveried attired carriage driver. Ours went by bike.

 

There are many ferry lines available - we took Star Line. Mackinac Island is nestled in the Straits of Mackinac where the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan meet. It was a hot overcast day as we headed over.

The island is a national historic landmark and only horseback, biking or walking are permitted modes of transportation.

The island is 3.8 square miles. The season is May to October and the hotels, shops and restaurants hire seasonal employees to accommodate the 15,000 tourists daily.

Our first impression of Mackinac Island when you step off the ferry was that we were in Disneyworld. It reminded me of being on Main Street with the horse and carriages and the swarms of tourists.


Of course the camera was very busy immediately. We walked to our hotel Chippewa Hotel, it was early and we didn't expect our room to be ready, but upon entering the lobby the Jason Mraz song, I'm Yours was playing (the first song on my soundtrack for this blog) so I knew it would be and it was!

Our room was facing Main Street and decorated in a very pretty old-fashioned yellow with an iron headboard.

Then it was time to explore and get some lunch. We chose Sinclair's Irish pub, it was crowded (as most places are during the day) but we grabbed a couple of seats at the bar. Over pints of Guinness and Irish Red we selected our lunches. Shrimp for me and an Irish club for DH which had corned beef as it's foundation.
Lunch was good, but nothing special.
This town is so pretty, everywhere you turn are quaint houses and inns, all gaily painted with flowers blooming everywhere. Will do a separate post for the houses and flowers.

We spent the rest of the day just wandering around. The day remained overcast with a colourless sky.

                                                            Stopping for libations

We decided on Goodfellows for dinner and munched on wings and sliders.