St.Ignace & Mackinac Island

         Tuesday the Lake was again like glass.  We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we have this kind of luck throughout our Great Lake travels.  We had a beautiful cruise from Detour Village all the way to Mackinac Island.  We thought we’d cruise along its south shore to get a view of the harbor and quickly realized why other cruisers were skirting the island on its north shore: the constant wakes of the high-speed ferries zipping tourists to Mackinac made things especially turbulent.  But we got a glimpse of the Grand Hotel and the Fort as we went by on our way to the municipal marina at St. Ignace.  We’d been advised to not stay in Mackinac harbor - either in the marina or at anchor - but to stay in St. Ignace and take one of those high speed ferries.  After seeing multiple ferries zoom back and forth every fifteen minutes from three different mainland cities, we agreed this was a good decision.  

As we approached St. Ignace, a USCG boat turned toward us and flipped on their blue light.  Really, we thought?  Right here?  But they had decided to come pay us a random visit for an inspection and there was little to do but idle and allow them to come aboard.  Actually, they were very nice, and we passed the inspection with flying colors, but by the time they were finished we were right outside the breakwater of the St. Ignace marina.  

Today we were tourists on vacation.  We took the 0730 ferry to Mackinac Island and spent a good hour walking around.  Nothing was open yet, but the streets were busy with the horse-drawn flatbed trailers delivering supplies and goods to the stores and restaurants, and the workers were biking down the hills to their jobs.  Motorized vehicles are not allowed on this island, though there are exceptions for e-bikes, lawn mowers, and forklifts. 

We walked through Marquette Park and down Market Street, reading the plaques, and spent a few minutes admiring the Little Stone Church, a small congregational church built of stones from the island and decorated with Tiffany stained glass windows. 

        Then we got aboard a carriage tour to spend the rest of the morning exploring the island under the witty guide of the carriage drivers.  Our first driver was from Romania and had never worked with horses before, our second was a young woman from Texas who had “done some ranchin’” and admitted she hadn’t known this place even existed prior to April, when one of her high school friends (yes, this girl graduated high school this year) told her about this job giving carriage tours on an island in Michigan.  Both women were personable and fun, and we had a great tour as well as a gossipy history lesson of the island.  

The first part of the tour concentrated on the inhabited section of the island. In the middle of the tour, for an extra fee, we visited the Butterfly House, a greenhouse with live butterflies flying all around.  We slowly walked through the plant displays, watching where we put our feet and hands, because the butterflies really were everywhere.  If you stand still, they might even land on you.  It was enchanting.  

    The rest of the tour took place in the forested state park, which constitutes about 80% of the island.  We passed through the cemeteries of the Catholics, Protestants, and the military, had a brief stop to ogle the arch rock, and learned a little bit about the Native American folklore, the geology, and the military history.  

Back in the town proper, Dan and I had lunch at the Harbor Tavern and then did what all the other tourists were doing.  We shopped for souvenirs and sampled a lot of fudge.  It was like being on vacation!