Northern Michigan and Mackinac Island v.31

In the garden at Legs Inn Restaurant

We traveled from Glen Lake to Mackinaw City via scenic roads that held some northern treasure.  This part of the world was so green and lush- you would never know the rest of the country was in drought.  Our Michigan friends insisted we drive through the tunnel of trees- 20 miles of lake shoreline.  Trees so full that most of the time, we couldn't see the lake!  At about 5PM, as the tunnel ended at Cross Village, the cars that had passed us on the road and some 20 others were all parked at this one restaurant.  It didn't seem possible that there were that many people in this neck of the woods- why were they all here?  A full parking lot and an "Authentic Polish Food" sign was enough for us.  This will be dinner!  What a find.  The Legs Inn Restaurant, founded by a Polish immigrant and his family, has been feeding great food to northern Michigan for almost a century.  The view of the lake and the gardens completed the feast of the senses.

 

We got to Mackinaw City just in time to see a gorgeous sunset over Lake Michigan.

Mackinac Island was a late- great- entry on our itinerary.  More beauty!  More history!  More bikes and horses in one place that we have ever seen!  We got there without a hotel reservation and landed in the Harbor Inn- a short walk from the ferry past the fort and the statue of Marquette.  We rented bikes and rode the 8 mile bike path around the island.  Becca broke the rules on a break from riding! Oh no!

The Fort at Mackinac changed hands from French to British to American hands several times, but only once was a battle fought there.  The island was an important trading hub in the Great Lakes since it sits between Lakes Michigan and Huron.  It became the second National Park after Yellowstone, and was converted to a  State Park once the federal government decided it was no longer needed for defense.

Preparing the cannon for firing

Doing laundry at the Fort

You can't visit Mackinac Island without seeing the Grand Hotel.  They know this, so they charge $10 each to non guests to go in.  We paid, but realized later that we could have avoided paying if we just wanted to roam the gardens and sit on the vast porch, which is all we really wanted.  It is a majestic old place.  We found a great deal too!  We could lock in today's prices by paying for 100 nights now, which can be used over the next 25 years!  I think we have a spare $70,000 in the 401k for this...

Bocce on the lawn at the Grand Hotel

We ate at 2 Grand Hotel Restaurants- The Gate House, and the Tea Room, and were not disappointed.  We were adjacent to an Obama rally at the Gate House. When Rebecca went over to ask questions, she was asked how she would vote if she could.  Like a savvy reporter, she told them her mom said never to reveal her political leanings, so they gave her a job growth chart and said, "Give this to your Mom!"

The Tea Room was adjacent to the Fort, and had a spectacular view of the harbor from the porch.

Next time:  More on Haunted Mackinac, fudge, that lovely smell of horses, bike rental, bats in the belfry, and a short stop in Detroit...