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Last weekend i spent a couple of days on Mackinac Island...pronounced Mackinaw.. :wtf:  Definitely worth the 8 hour drive from Cleveland.  What a great place to visit with the old time charm of no vehicles, which have been banned since 1898.  Bicycles and horse and buggies are the way to go.  There are 17 fudge shops as well.  So taking a step and smelling the sweetness of fudge, while taking a second step and getting a whiff of horse manure isn't very pleasant.  But that aside, very nice area.

 

The Grand Hotel, constructed in 1887, is spectacular.  Somewhere in Time was filmed there.  I was able to tour the hotel and access almost every inch except the rooms.  For $12 you can do a self guided tour, and even venture up to the cupola, where the Cupola Bar is located...creative name huh?  Great views.  My hotel showed Somewhere in Time in the evening, so i could see parts that haven't changed in 28 years since the filming.

 

Would you believe they even have a Starbucks there?  Can't get away from them.

 

KJP, this might convince you to go or any of you folks.

 

so here are the pics....enjoy.

 

The approach in the ferry created some difficulty taking pictures, but what can you do.

 

50th anniversary of the Mackinac Bridge.

 

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Starbucks...two buildings to the left from Horns Bar.

 

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view down to the boardwalk

 

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Limited views of Fort Mackinac...didn't feel like viewing the inside.

 

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The courthouse and police station.  I saw one bike cop the four days i was there.

 

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people bike to church.

 

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I rented a bike and rode around the island...7 1/2 mile round trip.  The water was beautiful, almost ocean like.

 

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The island's first hotel

 

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The approach to the Grand Hotel

 

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They planted over 225,000 flowers...feel sorry for the grounds crew

 

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World's longest porch...at 660 feet long

 

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The Cigar Room

 

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The Orchestra Room

 

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The Dining Hall.  $45 gets you a lunch buffet.  Hmmm seems reasonable. :-o

 

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Theater

 

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And I'm done...good night

 

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Gorgeous.  Everyone I know that has visited there raves about the place.  Looks like the perfect place to get away from it all and relax.

Yet there's no reason why we can't have one of those "Mackinacs" in our own state.  God, the potential of the Erie Isles...

"You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers

Wonderful photos! Great to see the hotel's interior as well!

it looks really nice and romantic.

Yet there's no reason why we can't have one of those "Mackinacs" in our own state.  God, the potential of the Erie Isles...

 

something family and charming like that would be nice have and even ideally almost possible at kelley's, middle or north bass islands. however, a ghetto key west north vibe seems to be the model -- ohioans are too busy drinking beer out of dixie cups at frosty's to get it together. i blame downstate party hearty influences from ou.

 

 

hahahahahahaha!

"You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers

I love Mackinac Island, I'll be there in a few weeks.

Wow, much nicer than I thought it was/would be . . . although I don't know why I would have thought that.  Thanks for the tour!

  • 4 weeks later...

you stay classy mackinac

Beautiful, and comprehensive!

 

It reminds me of an episode of Dirty Jobs I saw a couple of weeks back where Mike Rowe was working with the Mackinac Island horses**t shoveler.

 

Pretty, but too cold.  Especially the water.  There is a reason why nobody's in the water :)

 

 

just a reminder that if you family folks want this kind of bucolic great lakes vibe closer to home it's available in ohio too at the private lakeside chataqua on the marblehead peninsula near cedar point (classic hotel, cutesy cottages/buildings, shoppes, etc.-- in other words the same stuff minus the horses):

http://www.lakesideohio.com/

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=4761.0

 

or....if you substitute the horses for biker gangs you can even get a low rent ghetto version at geneva-on-the-lake.  :laugh:

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