Mackinac Island, MI

It was cool but sunny this morning, perfect for a day trip to Mackinac Island. I called the night before to confirm that the free shuttle to the St. Ignace ferry terminal will pick up at the Straits State Park campground. It was a 15 minute ride to Shepler's Ferry Terminal, where I got a ticket for the "Mighty Mac" scheduled for 8:30 am. My friend Ed suggested taking this ferry because it detours under the Mackinac Bridge for visitors to take photos. The other regular ferries take a direct route to the Island.

The ride to the Island took about 40 minutes: there were not too many people at the terminal since it was relatively early in the morning. I walked around and marveled at the pretty buildings, no gas powered vehicles, lots of bicycles, horse drawn carts, passenger carriages and horse droppings on the street (which were promptly cleaned up). Walked around the Mackinac Island State Park, took photos of the beautiful grounds.

Bicycling was the best way to explore the entire Island, a distance of 8.2 miles on the outer loop of Highway M-185, the only road on the Island. Walking would have taken too long; I did not want to pay for a carriage ride, so bicycle it was. Since I was not confident I could still ride a bicycle without falling, I opted to rent a tricyle. It took a few minutes to get over my fear of bikes and get used to riding a trike. I finally relaxed my grip on the handlebars after the half mile.

Below are photos of notable landmarks. The first stop was Arch Rock, had to hike up 207 steps to get to the top.

A family with kids was having fun counting the steps. The views at the top were amazing! After getting down and back on the trike, I discovered a pull out on the highway that offered a great view of Arch Rock from the bottom.

Riding the trike actually took some effort, especially when on upslopes. My legs were getting tired, so I had to make frequent stops. There were beautiful shorelines and scenery most of the way. The sign that promised food and restrooms 2 miles away (second photo below) was reassuring ...

British Landing near the water, with a food stand, the Cannonball Oasis, across the road. Briefly considered getting something to eat there but did not want to wait in the long line. Did use the promised restrooms though.

Devil's Kitchen was interesting

Finally, after 2.5 hours from when I started, the town, with hotels and stores, came within sight. I passed the Grand Hote and took photos of the exterior but was not dressed appropriately to visit or have high tea inside.

I returned the trike, then checked out the stores on the main street. Apparently I forgot to take photos of fudge shops that Mackinac Island is know for. It was past noon: there were a lot more people on the Island and lines outside restaurants. I gave up trying to find some place to eat, and went back on the ferry for St. Ignace.

Back at St. Ignace terminal, I walked past the parking lot, crossed the road and went into the store with the big sign that said Lehto's Pasties. I had read that pasties are special to Michigan, especially the Upper Peninsula. My previous experience of pasties was in the UK. The beef pasty I ordered to-go did not look like Cornish pasty. I went back to the ferry terminal and boarded a waiting shuttle back to the campground. The driver took me all the way to my campsite! Finally got to have lunch, in Roxie. The beef, potato and onion pasty was excellent: I had planned to eat half of the big pasty but it was so good that I ate the second half as well.

Then, with nothing much to do the rest of the afternoon, I took a shower at the campground and decided to leave half a day early so I could get a headstart to my next destination: Autumn Moon Winery in upstate New York, where my friend Jerry had agreed to fix some RV issues.