I have lived in Michigan now for almost 10 years and have heard of this magical place known as Mackinaw Island and yet I have never been there. So this summer, my husband and I planned to hop a ferry and experience a place set back in time for a perfect weekend getaway.

We always try to make the journey to our destination apart of the vacation, so we set our GPS to navigate us from the suburbs of Detroit to the island avoiding the interstate for most of the trip. We drove through the beautiful farmland of Michigan and stopped for lunch at Big Buck Brewery in Gaylord, MI. They have a great selection of microbrews and my husband enjoyed a tasting menu, while I sampled some of their great rootbeer. We wanted to make it on island to enjoy the afternoon, so we hit i-75 and booked it to Starline Ferry.

We boarded the boat and sat on the upper deck as we crossed the straights of Mackinaw. I had heard that there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island, and we were greeted at the docks by a hotel porter who stacked our suitcases on his bicycle and balanced with athletic precision as he made his way down Main Street to our hotel. I can’t say I am a huge fan of crowds or touristy places, so at first I found Mackinaw to be overwhelming. It was a bustling Saturday and the streets were filled with carriage tours, bicycles and shoppers. So, to avoid the craziness, we grabbed a map (which you can get in about every shop for free), and we started walking toward the Grand Hotel.

The reputation of the Grand Hotel’s porch was calling me. The idea of relaxing in one of the white rocking chairs with the lake breeze on my face motivated a very pregnant me to walk from downtown with a mission in mind. Rock, relax and enjoy the freedom of vacation. We spent a beautiful afternoon admiring the view and vowed to return to experience their 5 course dinner on our next trip to this magnificent resort. We headed back to town, via Market Street and enjoyed the history of Mackinaw’s fur trade commerce and the views of fort. To find a restaurant for dinner we relied on our favorite go-to app, Yelp, and it directed us to the Pink Pony. We knew it was going to be a great time when walking up to the restaurant/bar we heard a crowd of people singing “Sweet Caroline” along with their live band. Since we were so close to the UP, we chose fresh whitefish and Doug paired his meal with a Mackinaw Fudge Stout from Arbor brewing company (which we found out was in honor of the annual fudge festival).

After dinner, we noticed that the day crowds had boarded the ferry and we experienced a calm and nostolgic island evening. We walked towards mission point and found some lovely adorondack chairs by the water and watched the sunset with the lighthouse in the distance. It was a perfect crisp Michigan summer night and a day to remember.  (to be continued… This will be a 3 part series – so much to do and see – hope you enjoy! )