Mackinac (MACK-in-awe) Island is an island and resort area, covering 3.8 square miles in land area (about 8.3 miles in circumference), in the state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas.
We chose a busy holiday weekend for our visit...July 5th. We were staying at Sault Ste. Marie MI and it was an easy 50 mile trip to St Ignace MI to catch the ferry over to the island. We bought package tickets that included a trolley ride around the island. It was a very good decision on our part to catch the first ferry of the morning at 7:30 am...by 8:00 am we were on the island and having breakfast. 
The streets were quiet only a few locals and workers were out. While eating breakfast I watched morning deliveries to the businesses and people going to work...all without cars or trucks.
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| The streets are quiet early in the morning. |
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| Traffic Jam |
Mackinac Island became one of the nation's favored summer resort destinations during the Victorian era. Vacationers arrived in large lake excursion boats from Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit seeking the cooler weather on Mackinac Island. They danced to Strauss' waltzes, listened to Sousa's stirring marches, dined on whitefish and strolled along the broad decks. To accommodate overnight guests, boat and railroad companies financed the building of Grand Hotel.
The Grand Hotel is indeed Grand. I had seen pictures of it before, but it is much better in person. We thought we would just peek into the lobby and take a few pictures of the porch and grounds....WRONG! They actually have a woman - dressed in red with white gloves on standing on the grounds to stop "looky loos" from entering the grounds...unless they pay $10 ea for a ticket (which would be redeemable at the restaurant toward lunch). We just used our telephoto lens.
Over 80 percent of Mackinac Island is within Mackinac Island State Park—free of charge and open year round. The horse-powered trolley took us on several roads throughout the park and we saw historical monuments, cemeteries and geological viewpoints on the island. 
Fort Mackinac has the oldest building in Michigan and 13 other historical structures and has exhibits explaining everything from military training and battles to medical treatments to family life within the fort. It also has an outdoor display of a HUGE bust of Gerald Ford! (It doesn't look like him).
Near the end of the trolley ride, we got off and walked to some of the areas we wanted to see more of and photograph. We chose a spot that gave us downhill roads to follow - not the steep uphill one.
As we walked back into the town after our hike we realized how lucky we were to have come over early. The lines were very long for everything and the streets were crowded with horses, buggies, bikes and people. We found a small waterfront spot to have some food. I chatted with a guy in line who said they had to wait 45 min to catch the ferry they were scheduled for...I realized that getting up at 5 am to leave wasn't such a bad idea.
This was one of my favorite places to visit...
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