Day Two: Mackinac Island (Pt. 2)

Within minutes of turning in the bicycles, we regretted not bringing our strollers over on the ferry. Hayes needed to be carried therefore Charly insisted on being carried.  We had heard the island could be easily explored by foot, but we wondered if that meant carrying a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old the entire time!

Charly was a little frustrated and confused as to why we couldn't rent a bike for her too. She is a pro on her tricycle at home but we haven't attempted a bike with training wheels yet. However to her, a bike is a bike, her tricycle included. So she pointed out every single little kid on a small bike the whole time. "See!" she'd say. "I told you they have little bikes. I want one!"

Mackinac's main strip downtown was not more than 3-4 blocks long. Most of the shops were either souvenir shops or fudge shops. The entire island smells of fudge. It is quaint and eclectic and transports you to a time that blends past and present. There are a number of inns on the main strip and restaurants too, but most of the impressive inns were located away from downtown. The Grand Hotel, being one example. And many of the best restaurants on the island are joined with some of the inns or located off the main strip.

One particular restaurant we had read rave reviews for was The Chuckwagon. Out of 44 restaurants on the island, Trip Advisor ranked The Chuckwagon as the second best, behind a popular fudge shop. The reviews sounded legit and we wanted to give it a try. The one problem . . .

The Chuckwagon is nothing more than a hole-in-wall. Quite literally. Inside are four tables for two, a bar that overlooks the grill and stove top seating 8-12 patrons, and two booths in the back for 4-6 people. In all, the tiny burger joint seats maybe 30-40 people at a time. Lines build up quickly. Luckily, when we were ready to eat, a booth in the back opened up and there really was no line. It would have been worth the wait regardless! I got a bleu cheeseburger and Kelli got a cherry chicken salad sandwich. They were both awesome! I don't know if I'll eat cheeseburgers again without a pretzel bun. By the time we were finished eating and resting, the line outside the place was long. Like I said, we lucked out.

Another place we wanted to visit was J.L. Beanery, a small coffee shop on the water, another popular, well-reviewed spot on the island. I bought a Michigan-cherry flavored coffee and was hoping to score a souvenir cup or some beans but found none. Just a friendly shop owner that tried chatting up Hayes. The coffee was good and the atmosphere was, well, "Mackinac." But that's a good thing. We hung out near the racers and boats and chatted briefly with a couple on vacation. They were amazed that we were surviving with two small children! They have a grand-daughter Charly's age and their daughter had wanted to travel with them but they advised against it because they didn't really think Mackinac Island was a place for small children. They told us they saw us get off the ferry and laughed. Then assured us that we weren't the only crazy ones with small children on the island.

 

The other must-see was The Grand Hotel. This hotel opened in the late 1800's and boasts 385 rooms with no two being similar. It has been featured in many movies and has a strict dress code. A tour costs $20 and we didn't think the kids would be interested. An average nightly stay costs around $300 although deals can be found much cheaper. It was quite massive with a really cool courtyard too.

The Grand Hotel was a jaunt from the downtown strip and since Kelli and I had to carry both Charly and Hayes, we were exhausted by the time we returned. The view from the boardwalk was awesome though. We caught a better view of the Round Island Lighthouse, we got to see the Star Line Ferry bring people back to Mackinaw City with it's "tail" of spray behind it, we got to watch thousands of sailboat racers celebrate as results of the "Race to the Mackinac" were read in the lawn of the Grand Hotel, we had some strangers snap a family photo of us, and we discovered that Mackinac Island has a public school!

We learned later that Mackinac Island is home to around 430 people year round. During the summer months, ideal for tourism, the island becomes home to many more obviously, as seasonal business employees live on the island. We were a little amazed at how large the school is for a community with a population of 430 people.

We decided to call it a day after 6 hours on the island. We boarded the ferry, somehow avoided spray again from the waves despite nearly the entire rest of the passengers getting drenched, and saw the Round Island Lighthouse up close.

We had one more lighthouse we wanted to see while we were in Mackinaw City and that was the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. This lighthouse was built in 1892 and it's location marks the spot where Lake Michigan joins Lake Huron. The lighthouse is almost the first thing you see as you cross The Mighty Mack and drive into Mackinaw City. It is located on a rocky beach just below the bridge.

It was cold and windy but we could not deprive Charly and Hayes of an opportunity to toss some pretty amazing rocks into some aqua-blue blue water! So we sat back and let the kids throw . . . It tuckered them out and they went to bed that much easier, our first full day in the books. They needed their rest for what laid in store the next day.