As I took waaaaaay too many pictures while on our recent vacation, and the sorting/editing/blah blah blah is taking a while. In between the other things that Jess so kindly listed that are going on, this vacation will most likely be broken up into a couple posts. But, to wet your appetite, here's the lowdown on Mackinac Island these days.
For those of you who are not familiar with Mackinac Island - grow to know it. It's a lovely destination for a family trip. The main catch? No automobiles are allowed - horses and bikes are the main mode for transportation. In short, my kind of place!
Arnold Line are still the rockin' ferries to take. They have the "high speed cat". Don't ask, just do it.
After thinking more, I retract that statement. I don't know that for a fact, I only know that we rode on their boat and they ferried us over to the island and back with no complications. No complications - I like that.
Adalynn enjoyed watching the boats come in almost as much as she enjoyed the ride.
Our boat - arriving.
On the boat, to the island.
Once on the island, we biked to "The Original Mackinac Island Butterfly House and Insect World".
The girls enjoyed seeing the butterflies, even though Keely wanted to pick them up and lick them in the worst way.
The Butterfly House handed out bracelets, they served well as chew toys.
Butterflies, eating.
After the Butterfly House and lunch, the girls tuckered out while us oldsters biked halfway around the island
to take in a decent, albeit cloudy, view of the bridge.
Because I love him.
Growing up, we only knew the island as good for 3 things:
1. Biking...alot.
2. Eating Fudge...alot.
and 3. Taking pictures of, viewing, and watching the horses.
Evidently, T and I grew up differently. He didn't know what he was getting into when we traveled over to the island and volunteered to carry the girls in their trailer. I'm afraid my husband almost suffered a heart attack pedaling around the island, evidently he's never had the lovely experience and swears that the girls grow heavier as they sleep. I don't know about that, but he lived and is better for the experience. I'm sure of it.
We stopped by the airport to watch a big (ish) plane take off,
and a little one land.
I saw this interesting contraption. At first, I thought it carried juice to golf players on the course, you know, like a juice golf cart but with horses?
I was wrong. Boy, was I wrong.
It turns out that this serves as a street cleaner, horse pulled of course. Unfortunately, they have forgotten to clean the street cleaner, evidently in a couple hundred years. As water sprinkles on the road before brushes on the underside turn to pick up debris, the brushes pick delicately from a large selection of crap that has accumulated on the underside over the years. And deposits the muddy substance on the road. So here's my warning: IF YOU SEE THIS CONTRAPTION, DO NOT FOLLOW. On an island where horses serve as the main transportation, what you are imagining this substance to be, look, and smell like is most likely correct.
Really, she's so cute when she sleeps. How can you resist?
What this picture doesn't show is the large hill that T and Oma have just biked, T with the bike trailer with the girls sleeping inside, trying desperately to keep the wheels turning enough to maintain forward motion while
not running into the back of the slooooow moving horses with accompanying trailer. It was a trying experience, but they fought and won - without holding on to the back of the wagon for assist - HonesT!
This awful, awful picture does nothing to display the gorgeousness of these horses. The Grand Hotel, while charging $10 per person to go inside (even just to BROWSE!), allows free entry into their stables. If you get the chance, go, it's worth it. This is one of the owner's Hackney horses (NoT the pony breed!). A beautiful creature, it carried the owner around town that night and had just received a bath in preparation. This horse is one of 450 of it's breed in the United States - or world, I don't remember.
Back at the Straights State Park that night, we walked to the waterside to take obligatory pictures of the bridge.
Adalynn
had to play and swim.
Just another night in paradise!
After we made our way back to the bridge, my dad showed me a hidden (well, there is a sign, i just get the feeling that not many take notice) trail to view the bridge, head-on.
The sun was fading fast, but the view was incredible.
In conclusion, Mackinac Island remains similar to the island it was years before. I think a little more inhabited now, but such is life. We hope it remains somewhat the serene, natural environment we have come to know and love. I spoke with the Michigan Horse Council who is quite interested in horse life on the island. They are eructing a dressage arena on the island, a temporary one stood in it's place when we visited with 3 handsome Fresians in black tie affair showing off inside. This lady evidently has a place on the island, and in ... Mount Pleasant? Each April she ships her horses to the island for the summer, then back to Mount Pleasant in October. Oh, what a life! But I digress. The MI Horse Council lady also said that eventually (i.e. once funds are raised) a community barn will be built on the island as well, allowing some outside horses to be ferried in for the weekend, week, etc. In the future, you may see Peach in some of the pictures on the island. How fun would that be?!
