Family Vacation Travel ~ Mackinac Island Summer & Winter
Mackinac Island (pronounced mackinaw) is a Victorian island located in Northern Michigan. The charm awaits you as you ferry over trading cars for bicycles (or horse and carriage if you prefer.) Dotted with bed and breakfasts along the way the quaint location is suitable for any age.
We were so taken by the locale that we chose to have our wedding there! On that memorable day ,130 guest travelled for the weekend to share our special day. At first I thought it was too much to ask for everyone to travel to see us get married. On the contrary, most brought extended family and turned it into their family vacation, staying on after we left for the honeymoon. This is a perfect family vacation travel spot!
I arrived by horse drawn carriage to the wedding at a gazebo by the lake. The gazebo where we were married was where the romantic movie “Somewhere in Time” with Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour was filmed. We had their famous fudge, made on the island, boxed up for favors. The fun was walking up and down the streets from one Victorian home to the next seeing various family and friends hanging out on the large front porches visiting. This made it a perfect spot for a family reunion.
The Straits of Mackinac are such a huge body of water that some of our guests kept referring to it as “the ocean.” Actually, it is where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan meet. It separates the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. You may get to the island via ferry or small plane, unless you have your own yacht. There are no cars allowed, even the UPS man has a mountain bike! The quiet relaxing attitude makes this a wonderful getaway.
There are two butterfly sanctuaries, a spa, golf, and of course bike riding! We rented a tandem bike, which I hadn’t seen one of those in years. Since we were still in our honeymoon phase, my dear new husband did all the work pedaling. The day after the wedding, we took a horse and carriage with some friends and rode around the entire island, the whole 8 miles.
One thing I cannot leave out that as beautiful as it is in summertime, a little known place to steal away to for a wintery wonderland is Mackinac Island. Most people, even from Michigan, don’t realize that you can get there with some planning. Instead of bicycles, you cross country ski through town or snowmobile! There is always an abundance of snow!
How do they get there? There is a magical thing called the ice bridge that can last days or months and anywhere in between. It is when the ice is thick enough to walk (and some snowmobile) across to the island. The residents save their used Christmas trees to form two lines that create the path to navigate the journey. It is four miles across but thirteen if you walk all the way to town. If you are not bold enough to try the ice bridge, you may fly in by small air ferry for a extremely reasonable price. The air strip is also conducive to private planes.
Once you arrive on the snow covered, enchanted island it is closest you will be to entering Narnia! (Minus of course, the witch, half human creatures and Turkish delight.) But to anyone who lives in the South, this is the closest since snow is magical to us anyway.
Horse drawn sleighs and cross country skiers are the normal mode of transportation in this quiet, peaceful little snowy town. If you get there during holidays it will be decorated like a little Victorian Christmas village. Shopping there is not like the local Wal-mart, some even open at the request of a sign- up sheet. The change a pace will be refreshing. Whatever season, it is a journey back in time. If you are in Northern Michigan you can jaunt over for a day trip. It is worth checking out for a family vacation travel experience.
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