Some times is pays to be lucky.
We visited Mackinac Island for the third time as a family – although it was 25 years between the second and third trip.
We were joined this time by our son and daughter in law – Tim and Tricia – who are camping with us in Northern Michigan for the next several days.
Mackinac island does not allow any sort of powered vehicles – so you either walk, bike, or ride in a horse drawn carriage to get around the island.
My first bit of luck happened when I arranged to board Aurora for the day. After lots of internet sleuthing I found a nice boarding place for her to spend the day while we were on Mackinac Island. When we arrived – it turned out the boarding place was about 0.25 miles from the KOA where we were camping.
Noel said we were lucky. I attributed it to superior planning.
Noel was right.
My second bit of luck happened when I pre-purchased our ferry tickets to go from the mainland to the island. One of the options when purchasing the tickets was “preferred boarding”.
It cost more with a pretty vague description of what you got for your extra money.
It turns out that you go right to the front of the line when boarding the ferry – in front of all of the people who bought “regular” tickets.
My take – superior trip planning. Noel’s take – luck again.
Once we got onto the island, we signed up for an approximately 2 hour tour by horse drawn carriage to see the island – including some geologic features, the historic fort, and the shopping district.
After our tour and several stops along the way – we enjoyed a BBQ and pizza lunch outdoors – and I of course enjoyed a local brew.
We also did some brief shirt shopping and bought some Maple Walnut fudge – and then went right to the head of the line to get back on the ferry.
I must say that some of the people who did not spend the extra money on the “preferred boarding” tickets did not look fondly at us as we walked right by them.
What can I say – I got a Mackinac Island Disney “Fastpass”!
After retrieving Aurora from the kennel – we headed to eat at a highly rated (at least on Yelp) local restaurant that reminded Noel and myself of the “dining clubs” that are prevalent in the Midwest. These establishments have a nice bar, good food, but are pretty casual otherwise. I would put the local “Chippewa Room” firmly in this category.
I managed to get Lake Superior Whitefish one more time for dinner – as well as a Maple Sunday that was stunningly good.
We wrapped up the evening in our campsite with a glass of Washington Wine – and called it a day.
Our third visit to Mackinac Island was fun – and it certainly won’t be our last.
My motto for the day “I would rather be lucky than good”!
Kirk’s Travelogue 