Well I got up early checked all the weather reports - US and Canada and we departed for Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Island at 8. It is a fairly long run run but I planned my track on the charts and most of the way I ran by autopilot. Northern Lake Huron was like glass in some spots. The only problem was that it was cloudy
We arrived at Mackinac Island around 2:00 and found a spot at the state marina. After settling in, we went to lunch at a little coffee shop not far from the Marina. We had received advice from one of the couples in Drummond that we should have dinner at a place called the Woods, so Brenda made a reservation for 8.
One of the things I didn't realize when we docked at the marina is the amount of ferry traffic going in and out of the harbour. Not just plain old boats but high speed hydro jets ferries that kick up a lot of swell even in the harbour. The boat did a lot of rocking through the night.
Mackinac Island is a unique place - no cars.People get around on bicycles, horse and carriage and horses. In fact the smell of the horses in some places is rather pungent. The homes on the island are absolutely beautiful made of clapboard for the most part and kept spruced up. Of course it is a tourist community and a summer home for a number of wealthy people. Mackinac was a British fortress during the war of 1812, and the fort still stands on the hill and the guns continue to go off. The focus of the island is the Grand Hotel - a huge hotel that was built in the late 1800's and still operates as a grand lady. Dinner can be had there but men must wear a jacket and tie and women must wear a dress. No riff raff is allowed. If you are not a guest at the hotel you have to pay $10 to go in and look around. Forget it!
The restaurant that Brenda made the reservation is part of the Grand Hotel but it does not require formal dress. We thought we could walk to the restaurant so we trooped up the hill behind the Grand only to find out it was a couple of miles away. We then walked back to Grand and caught a ride up in a horse and carriage for $15. It took us 25 minutes to get there with the horses having to rest a couple of times because it was entirely up hill and hidden in the woods - hence the name. Along the way were numerous homes again beautifully kept up.
The restaurant was absolutely amazing and the meals were out of this world. I had a lobster mac and cheese and Brenda had chicken which sounds rather pedestrian but definitely was not. Since I had the daily special I also got dessert - a chocolate brownie and two spoons of ice cream. Brenda ate most of the brownie.
We then caught the horse and carriage back down to town. Again another 15$ of course we could walk but I doubt if I could find my way back in the dark.
One interesting thing about the Woods was all the staff were from Jamaica. Apparently, they work 6 months of the year on Mackinac and then return home to work at the resorts in Jamaica. One person has been doing this for 40 years.
This was very interesting to read. I was living vicariously through your description particularly the horse and buggy ride and dinner. Sounds wonderful! That was unusual that the restaurant employs Jamaicans. I wonder if that can get landed immigrant status if they so wish after working in Canada for a length of time.
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