12
JAN/FEB 2014
TRAVEL
Break Out the Bikes
Cars are not allowed on Grand Mackinac
Island
by Jan Ross,
Staff Writer
The first thing
you need to know
about friendly little
Mackinac Island is that no matter
whether you spell it Mackinac or
Mackinaw, it is pronounced with
an “awe” at the end, not an “ack.”
Blame the British, the French
or the local Native Americans
who called the island Michinnimakinong, which the British and
French of course immediately
shortened to Mackinac (British) or Mackinaw (French). But
however it is spelled, it is still
pronounced Mackinaw.
There are only two ways to get
to Mackinac Island, which is
perched comfortably in the
middle of expansive Lake Michigan, and neither involves driving
because there are no bridges to
the island. And even if there were,
cars are not allowed anywhere
on the island. This is one of the
few places in the world where the
only transportation allowed is by
bike, horses or foot. This makes
Mackinac one of the most pleasant places you can imagine. You
can arrive by ferry, cruise line or
plane – there is a small airport on
the island.
You step off that ship or plane
and arrive at a place where the
pace of life slows down and your
only decision will be choosing
the best way to leisurely find you
way around the island. Take a
bike ride along the seven-mile
trail that is placed right beside
the lake – an absolutely gorgeous and scenic way to get some
exercise – and then bike around
the small downtown area, at least
long enough to pop into one
of the many fudge shops – you
can afford it after you burned all
those calories.
If you prefer to be chauffeured
around the island, book a tour
with Mackinac Island Carriage
Tours and relax as the horses do
all the work. You’ll see historic
Fort Mackinac and Mackinac
Island State Park, two locations
with beautiful butterflies, and the
incredible Grand Hotel.
This is one of the few places
in the world where the only
transportation allowed is by
bike, horses or foot.
Leave plenty of time to see the
Grand Hotel. Made famous by
the movie Somewhere in Time,
it is a sprawling resort located
high atop the island with an
amazing view of the lake. If you
are not staying at the hotel, be
prepared to pay for the privilege
of strolling around inside the
Grand: The proprietors prefer
not to have hundreds
of tourists milling
about and disturbing
their guests. That is
entirely reasonable.
We were on a
weeklong cruise of
the lake with Blount
Small Ship Adventures, and we were
lucky enough to be
invited for lunch and
a tour of the hotel
as members of the
press. We took full
advantage of the
invitation, sampling
as much of the great
array of food available as possible, then
enjoying our tour as
we tried to figure out just which
parts of the hotel had been featured in the movie.
The Fourth of July was the perfect time to visit the island. We
enjoyed fireworks from the deck
of our cruise ship and made plans
to return as soon as possible to
this idyllic location.