Over the bridge

into the Upper Peninsula today.

First (short) stop was St Ignace, just over the bridge.  We snapped a picture of the lighthouse and continued on our way.

I know, I’ve shared road trip pictures before, but these long, straight roads just seem to sum it up sometimes.  I’d have been knitting, but having reorganised our luggage for the island, I didn’t have it to hand.  So I sat and sorted journal ephemera and entertained the crew with the sound of rustling paper.

We are travelling close to the Canadian border again.

Before long, we were in the city of Sault Ste Marie.  It’s nothing like as affluent as some of the small towns we’ve been travelling through, but we had a clear destination in mind.

We were going to take a look at the Soo Locks, which enable shipping to travel between Lakes Superior and Huron.

We’re right there in the red O and looking at it like this, we can get a great view of where we’ve been.

With a small yellow boat in the lock when we arrived, we lost no time in getting out there to see what was going on.

But once it had gone, we returned to the Visitor Centre to see what it was all about.  Looking at it like this, the importance of these locks became clear.  Thinking about it, what’s the alternative?  (if there is one at all?)

The relative levels of the lakes and the St Lawrence Seaway (and the Atlantic Ocean) was interesting to see too.  Who knew that Lake Superior was so deep – or so high?  Not me!

Anyway, as we stood chatting and looking around, we noticed there was another ship due. 

So we dashed out to the viewing area to take a look.

It was a slow old do, but eventually, the Federal Bering eased into the lock basin, close behind the cheerful red and green tug which had been sailing alongside.

We stood watching as they progressed through the whole lock process and eventually sailed out into Lake Huron, on the way to Sorel, east of Montreal, Canada.

Meanwhile,  we were chatting to our fellow ship nerds and watching as another tour boat came through.

All rather entertaining, if a little slow.  Plus, the show seemed to have ended for today.

So, it was time to go and check into our Hampton Inn for the night – a bright new property on the edge of town.  Not quite the Grand Hotel but a perfectly comfortable and very familiar format which suits us very well.  We identified a good place for dinner tonight on the way, so we can be back in time for Fixer Upper!

More Mackinac

Not quite done there yet!

When we woke this morning and saw the sunshine coming through the curtains, there was no question about it – open all twelve (yes!) pairs of curtains and let the sun shine in!

The Grand Hotel operates on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis, so you’ll guess what was next on our agenda.  Whilst there, I had to take a photo of the e-n-o-r-m-o-u-s dining room.

Actually, that was half – above is the other half.  Oh, and there’s another section to the right as well!

From there, we did what we’d been unable to do yesterday – walk along the porch and take sunny pictures.

The red geraniums looked glorious.

The view across the strait, similarly so.  What a difference a bit of sunshine makes.

We hadn’t noticed the planted horse and carriage in the garden yesterday.

Neither had we noticed the staff member standing by the entrance to collect admission fees!

On this lovely morning, we could see people beginning to arrive on the ferries.  Yesterday, the three of us and about another half dozen folks chose to sit inside, but today, they were up top as well, enjoying the fresh air.  When we thought about it, we felt the rain had perhaps done us a favour yesterday in keeping the crowds away?

The view of the bridge was lovely too.  We’d be driving over it later.

I was glad I’d worn my black patent sandals with red shiny toes to match the carpet!

There was just enough time left to take photographs of one or two things we’d missed, like these phone booths.  More green and white stripes!

The teddy bear ferris wheel too!  Well, I’d taken photos of that for Lesley, but this morning, without anyone else around, it was easier!

But we couldn’t stretch it out any longer.  It was time to go.  We’d sent our bags on ahead, so checked out and made our way down into town, to the ferry terminal.

One last look at our room, up there on the third floor; the curved windows.

Aaah.

Walking down to the ferry, we had chance to peer inside some gorgeous gardens.  The season here is short but flowers are abundant.

Hehe, the better weather gave me a better shot of the lighthouse too.

Standing looking over the strait, I mused on this lovely garden.  A great view of the bridge, the water lapping at the rocks, flowers, well tended lawn, visitors gawping over the fence…what more could one want?

And here we were, at the ferry.  Good grief.

(let me remind you of what it looked like yesterday…)

Well, once more, what a difference a bit of sunshine makes, eh?

Feeling rather pleased that the rain yesterday hadn’t stopped us from doing what we planned and the sunshine today gave us a view of the island in better weather, we counted our blessings and felt more than happy.

We boarded the 11.00am ferry and said ‘bye to the island.

I chose to sit up top for an exhilarating ride!

Better views, too.

Well, of course, I had to take one last shot, didn’t I?

As we arrived, another full boat was just leaving and the queue for the next one stretched out to the road.

The system worked beautifully again and having collected our car and our bags, within half an hour we were over that bridge!

The road trip continues.

The Grand Hotel

No, not the Grand Budapest Hotel (though at times, we feared it might be a similar experience!) but the Grand Hotel Mackinac Island.

I referred to the slight anxiety experienced this morning, overcome now we are here.  But having to leave our car on the mainland and bring only a carryon bag was tricky enough.  The fact that the Grand Hotel has standards meant that my Hero had to bring a jacket and dress trousers and Mary and I our finery too.  At times, we did wonder if it was all worth it.  Now we are here, believe me, it was.

So, the hotel is indeed grand in every sense of the word.  Everything runs like clockwork, from dropping off our carry on bags at the ferry in Mackinac City to our arrival here straight from the carriage tour.  All our anxieties came to nought.

The decor is striking.  Classic, contemporary and somewhat timeless, the “theme” is black and white with red geraniums.

Very pretty and rather elegant.

There’s a daily programme of activities.

There are so many comfortable places to sit with a book.

There’s an elegant ballroom.

And the Parlour is lovely with its remarkable geranium-patterned carpet!

Just outside here is the longest porch in the world, complete with rocking chairs and window boxes filled with red geraniums.  Sadly, too chilly to sit out here today, but maybe tomorrow morning?  The ceiling is painted a particular shade of duck egg blue, to deter flies, we were told by Kylie this morning.

Of course, there’s a gift shop where we might have acquired a new friend.

But at this time of the day, visitors are encouraged to pay $10 to take a look around the public areas and so parts of the hotel feel a little like a railway station.  Perhaps our rooms are ready?

Mary’s certainly was.  Decorated in a pale turquoise with the red and green geranium theme going on, it’s elegant and comfortable.

There’s a cosy nook to sit in too.  Not bad for a standard “single”.

Ours wasn’t quite ready, so we had a bite to eat before asking again.  My Hero went off and returned with a set of keys.

We opened the door to 394, booked as a standard king room and wondered if there’d been some mistake.

Because 394 is a corner room; one of those round sets of bay windows we’d seen coming up the hill in the carriage this morning.  There’s a piano in here, which is a first.  I really don’t think we’ve ever had a room with a piano before!

A step up leads to the bedroom/sitting room, which is furnished in the red and green with yellow accents.

It’s not what I’d choose but, hey, I’m not complaining!

We have a fine view of the drive and have been sitting watching the carriages come and go this afternoon (through the screened windows)

But mostly, I’ve been thinking how fortunate it was that I brought matching luggage

Now, I’d better pull my linen dress out of that bag and do some ironing.  Can’t be letting the side down this evening, can we?

To the Island

The original plan was to stay in Mackinac City and go over to the island for the day.  But so many friends, whose knowledge and opinions we respect, said “you’ve got to stay at the Grand Hotel!”  So plans were changed, my Hero had a small moment working it all out and another one this morning, putting it all into practice.

It wasn’t easy.  I’ll explain more in my next post, but for now, just believe me.

When we saw the weather this morning, we were glad to be doing something.  On a dreary day, there’s nothing worse than just mooching about, is there?

We aimed for the 9.30am ferry, negotiating the arrangements for our overnight bags (which they take straight to the hotel) and for the car, which had to remain here overnight.  The heavy rain made all this more difficult than usual, for running about from one place to another, avoiding puddles and trying not to get completely soaked to the skin wasn’t easy.  But we did it.

In true Hero-style, we did it all so efficiently that we caught the 9.00am departure

It reminded me a lot of my days on the Isle of Wight, when catching the hydrofoil across the Solent was all part of the fun.

Shhhhh!   We had two stowaways in our bag as well!

These small, fast ferries are like big jetskis!

I was glad I’d taken pictures of the bridge yesterday afternoon, though, because it wasn’t such a great view today.

And though I know it’s there, you’ll probably struggle to see the Grand Hotel, which is that white splodge in the dark strip of land over there.

Oh well.  At least the weather meant there weren’t too many visitors, and my photo of the lighthouse at the entrance to the harbour looks rather atmospheric!

We had been warned that any luggage might take a couple of hours to reach the hotel, but as the trolley only appeared to have our three small carryons, I guess it went straight there.  We made our way straight to the town centre, to take a look around and get our bearings.

With just one main street, it didn’t take long.  There are no powered vehicles on the island, so except for bicycles, everything is horse-drawn (which is why we couldn’t bring the car over).

We took a look in a few cute shops and admired the local colour before warming up in Starbucks with hot drinks.

Next, we planned a round-island tour in a horse-drawn carriage.

Kylie was our driver, Rolls and Royce the two dapple grey horses. 

We climbed on board and settled in for the ride.  Kylie gave a great commentary, filled with puns and interesting information.  We soon learned that there are 400 horses working for the carriage company, plus another 200 horses in use by private companies running taxis and delivery buggies.  So, I’ll leave you to imagine the aroma in town on a wet Monday morning!

First building we passed?  Moomers ice cream!  The queue for hot drinks was longer than the ice cream queue this morning, though.

The island is pretty and the residential streets were really attractive with flower-filled gardens.  Lilac grows well here and the colour palette seems to work well with that.

The Governor of Michigan’s Summer Residence was pointed out to us.  Lucky chap.

But of course, we didn’t need this building to be identified.  Hopefully our bags were already there; we’d be joining them later.

With 600 horses on the island, someone’s got to sweep up, don’t they?

We were assured of the horses’ welfare – the island has three permanent vets on duty (and only one medical doctor, so Kylie’s recommendation was to whinny if we fell ill).  The horses wear special shoes made of some composite material which cushions their tread.  “Equine Nike Airs” she said.

We changed carriages along the way, moving to a larger vehicle to ride through the State Park.  This one was pulled by three horses, Jenny and the Jets!

It was a pretty drive, though there were few landmarks.  Just this one – the Rifle Range – and the Archway, where we had ten minutes to look around and take photos.

This was where the horses had a break too. 

I’m glad someone found it funny!

The rain had eased off as we’d been riding, but returned with a vengeance around this point.  Some folks had got off to visit the Fort, leaving just a few of us on board.

We had to switch to a final, smaller carriage again for the last section from the upper station to the hotel.  Woe betide reckless riders, eh?

And so, though we were a bit wet, rather windswept and somewhat chilly we arrived at the hotel in style, in our horse-drawn carriage. 

The rest of the story is worthy of a post of its own!

To Mackinaw City

We said our goodbyes and hope to see you soon this morning and reluctantly, left Torch Lake to head on further north towards Mackinaw City, by the “scenic route”.

 

This was via Charlevoix, where a community group plants flowers along every roadside and maintains them through the summer.  How pretty!

It was also where there was a sudden obstruction on our route in the form of the lifting bridge over the waterway in between the small lake and Lake Michigan.  A small pleasure cruiser was coming through and we were happy to wait and take in the view!

Our first stop was Petoskey, famed for the fossilised stones which bear the name.

 

Here was a cute little shopping street; quiet because it’s Sunday morning, but livening up in the hour or so we were there.

Needless to say, we couldn’t resist the invitation to drop by this little shop!

The bookshop a few doors down was pretty nice too and we enjoyed browsing some different reading suggestions.

I spotted a book about the storm we’d learned about whilst driving through the Sleeping Bear Dunes, where fallen trees still remained, some years later.

Someone spotted a book which he liked the look of and with a birthday coming up, a purchase was made. 

So all in all, a pleasant Sunday morning in Petoskey.  Where next?

We set off, noting the small lighthouse, and followed the road around the coast.

The clouds were coming in and it didn’t look too promising, but we know now how quickly the weather can change and didn’t worry too much about it.

Our next stop was Harbor Springs, another delightful small town with a collection of lively shops and cafes.  We browsed in and out of them and, finding a pretty cardigan/jacket in one, I thought I was about to spend my “Sunday Dollars”.  But thankfully I noticed a small hole in the collar just in time – a shame they didn’t have another.  They did have a very sweet Michigan cushion though, which might just inspire a road trip souvenir when we are home!

A flowery table in the sunshine and the promise of ice cream seemed a great idea, so we put our feet up and watched the world go by for a while before jumping back in the car for the next thing on our list.

Seeing this barn with a quilt on it reminded me what I had intended to look out for on the way to Charlevoix this morning!  We’d driven that road when out to dinner last night and spotted a barn quilt just before the “Welcome to Charlevoix” sign.  This morning, as we passed that sign, I knew there was something I was supposed to spot, but could I remember what?!   Never mind.

Anyhow, the next attraction was the “tunnel of trees”.  Very beautiful it was too, reminding us of home…

The Legs Inn is a landmark, recommended by our friends and judging from the car park, was a popular spot for lunch.  There was an interesting menu outside, complete with the Polish specialities the Inn is known for.

We’d imagined this as a great place to stop for lunch except, standing here right now, we couldn’t imagine how we might manage it.  It was a daft decision to eat ice cream, wasn’t it?

 

See the “legs” on the roof?  (The table legs, of course – I don’t know the significance of the silhouette)

So, with a change of plan we might regret later, we continued to dawdle our way to Mackinaw City, following Gill Road at one point.

It was quite clear when we were almost there!

We couldn’t resist stopping to take a look at the beautiful lake from this little beach.

Though this isn’t Lake Michigan any more.

The Mackinaw bridge crosses the strait between Lakes Michigan and Huron and is the dividing line.

So I put my feet into the (cold) Lake Huron and ticked that one off.

From here, with the aid of my zoom lens, I could see where we’ll stay tomorrow night.

But for now, we’ll enjoy the sunshine here in…

No, I have no idea how to pronounce it either.  I’ll stick with Mackinaw City.