The hubs and I knew that Mackinac Island didn't allow cars, but it doesn't really hit you until you step foot on the island. Tourists to Mackinac Island are called "fudgies" because of the huge amounts of fudge they buy - the island is known for fudge. And the only way to get to the island is by ferry. So as we all trudged off of the ferry, it took a moment to take in the horse carriages and bikes, and a total lack of cars!
Mackinac Island looks like Main Street USA in Disney World. It doesn't look real - you'd swear you're on a movie set! The old-fashioned buildings are just too perfect, the flowers too pretty, the houses too quaint. This is Doud's, the first grocery store in America.
There's a fort, but we didn't go up to the top. I was just fine to stand in front of it.
After 500 recommendations to get fudge, we stopped by Joann's Fudge and bought 1.5 pounds! The store says you can freeze the fudge, but since I managed to lighten the load by half a pound just on the ride home, we don't have any left to freeze!
The most famous building on Mackinac Island is the Grand Hotel. It costs $10 per person just to walk in the lobby, so we only got a view from the outside. The building is stunning, and leaves you wondering how it ever got built on an island where every piece of wood, every furnishing came over by boat.
The Grand Hotel is old-fashioned in many ways, one of which is the dress code - ties for men, and no "slacks" for women!
We walked around the island, and almost got blown away by the wind!
I loved this sign - "parking," and all you can see are bikes! The only motorized vehicle we saw was a mart cart, and surprisingly didn't see any golf carts. Snowmobiles are allowed, however, as it's really the only way to get around the island during the winter, when only an ice road connects it to the mainland.
We sat on the top floor of the ferry on the way home. It was less than 50 degrees, then even colder with a 30 knot wind! Poor hubs is sick this week, and I blame our insistence on "experiencing the moment" by sitting in that cold! It did leave me with a great shot of the bikes crowding the dock, though. That's true Mackinac Island.
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