8/26 - Day 13 - Mackinac Island

We had a splendid day visiting Mackinac Island! After a short drive to the ferry dock in Mackinac City, we were whisked across the water by catamaran to the Island. Motorized vehicles are prohibited (OK, they've got an ambulance and we saw a few golf carts), so transportation is horse drawn (carriages) or people-powered (bicycles and walking). Several couples opted for carriage tours in the morning, with the longer tour making stops at Arch Rock, the Carriage Museum, and the Butterfly Conservatory.

The powerful catamaran soon had the shoreline of Mackinac City in the distance.

We had a nice view of the Mackinac Bridge - very long!

Houses along the main street in the "downtown" area are exceptionally well maintained.

This is one of the "taxis" operated by the Grand Hotel.

The local church is all hand-cut stone.

Two-horse carriages are used for the initial part of the tour.

The Butterfly Conservatory

Horse-drawn fire engine

"Surrey with the fringe on top"

While the hearse is on display in the Carriage Museum, it's still used for funerals.

Prime view from the front seat of the three-horse carriages used for the second half of the tour.

Arch Rock

Our team of horses got a nice rest and a water break while we were at Arch Rock.

The Butterfly Conservatory was quite interesting, although we spent so much time there we were almost late for lunch!

Feeding on a banana...

The highlight of the day was lunch at the Grand Hotel. The buffet was HUGE!  After lunch, we had a chance to explore the Observation Deck.

After lunch, we were on our own to continue touring the island, then take the ferry back to the mainland. The tour of Fort Mackinac was complete with cannon firing and musket demonstrations, not to mention fantastic views of the "downtown" area.

There are 17 buildings in the Fort, all containing some type of exhibit like the officer's quarters shown here.

One of the blockhouses, offering a commanding view of the harbor area.

The Fort flies a 38-star Army Garrison Flag, close to what would have flown when it was decommissioned in 1895.

The docents passed around a six-pound cannonball...

...then fired a blank round from the six-pound smooth-bore field gun.

The cannon firing was followed by a musket demonstration, which was even louder!

Panoramic view from Fort Mackinac

Back at Hearthside, we had a short "social hour" followed by dinner on our own (even though many of us were still stuffed from lunch!).