Our visit to Mackinac Island

  

After we saw the sunset in Petoskey (read about it here) we moved on to Mackinaw City for the night.  The next morning we stopped at the Old Mackinac Point lighthouse, and to see Mackinac Bridge from the shore.  It is the the bridge that connects the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan. 

The lighthouse is another nice one that we would like to go back and visit when it is open to the public again.  It has such a pretty view of Lake Huron and the Mighty Mac.  (the nickname for the Mackinac Bridge)  

To get to the island, you need to take a ferry.  You can take a ferry from Mackinaw City, or you can cross the bridge and take one from St. Ignace. We decided do the latter, because we were planning on going north into the Upper Peninsula after our trip to the island.

There are a couple different ferry companies to choose from.   we chose to take the Star Line.  Since we had about 45 minutes before our ferry was due to leave, we decided to check out the small lighthouse that was very close by. 

This is the Watawam Lighthouse.  It is much  different than the other lighthouses we saw on our trip.  It was built in Monroe, Michigan and then moved to St. Ignace in 2006.

While on the ferry we passed the Round Island Lighthouse. It was built in 1895 and help the ships find their way through the Straits of Mackinac. 

When the ferry pulled into the dock, this is the first beautiful building we saw. The pink flowers were gorgeous.

The Mustang Lounge claims to be Michigan's most historic tavern.  When I went to find out why, I saw that the building is made from 200 yr old timbers from the fur trader warehouse that used to be located there.  

The Lilac Tree Hotel is the only all suite hotel on the island. As you can see there is a horse drawn carriage hauling supplies parked in front.  There are a lot of horses on the island, because cars are prohibited. 

This beautiful bed and breakfast has a beautiful of the water and belongs to a relative of a friend of mine. 

This is the equivalent to a traffic jam on the island.  A carriage carrying supplies to the Grand Hotel and the trash carriage met up at the corner. 

There are approximately 500 people who live on the island year round, and this is where the children go to school. 

The Grand Hotel is probably the most famous building on the island.  You may have seen it in the movie Somewhere in Time.  It was built in 1887, and every single room is decorated  differently.  It is also pretty expensive to stay there. We checked the prices the week we were there in August, and they were over $700 a night. There is also a $10 a person fee is you are not a registered guest, and you want to go up to the grand porch for pictures. We decided not to do that this time, but might on our next visit. 

The main type of transportation on the island is the bicycle.  They are everywhere, and can be rented for the day. This was the bike parking lot outside of the Grand Hotel  

All of the buildings on the island have historic significance. This beautiful house is the medical center. 

If you get in trouble while on the island, this is the police station and courthouse. 

Douds Market is America's oldest grocery store. It was founded in 1884 by James and Patrick Doud. 

After dinner the sun began to set, and we knew it was time to head back.  The last ferry back to the mainland was at 9 pm. We decided to go back on the 8 pm ferry just in case it was too crowded.  While waiting for our ferry we saw the pirate ship ferry that we did not know about until the end of the day.  It looks like fun, and we might try it next time. 

One look back at the Grand Hotel as the sun began to set.  It was such a beautiful day and visit. We will definitely be going back again, hopefully one day soon! 

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Our visit to Lake Michigan - Grand Haven, Ludington, Manistee

After a couple week delay (because of a broken computer) I am finally back to post about our vacation all around the state of Michigan.  If you missed the first post, click the link to see Our visit to Holland

Grand Haven

Our first stop in Grand Haven, which is just north of Holland, was the state park. There you could see the harbor and lighthouse.   On top of big hill over looking the harbor there is a large anchor in honor of the Coast Guard.  Grand Haven is called Coast Guard City USA 

One thing interesting about the lighthouse in Grand Haven, you get two for one.  The Inner and Outer Pierhead.  The inner tower was built in 1905.  The outer building was built in 1875 and originally in a different location. In 1922 the pier was rebuild with a concrete pierhead, and the outer building moved to that location. At the time it contained a state of the art foghorn.

A closer view of the inner light, and the bridge connecting the two buildings.

Near downtown Grand Haven we stopped to see the Pere Marquette 1223.  It is one of only two surviving 1223 2-8-4 Berkshires.  I don't know a lot about trains, but my travel companion did. It was constructed in 1941 and used to move heavy war equipment. 

Another great place to visit in Grand Haven that we did not get to see this year, because it was shut down for Covid, is the Grand Haven Musical Fountain.  We used to bring my kids there when they were young and watch synchronized music and light shows. (maybe next year!)

Ludington

If you like lighthouses, you need to stop in Ludington.  There we saw two of my favorites of the entire trip, and we saw A LOT of them.  The first stop was the Breakwater.  To get to the lighthouse, you have to walk out on a concrete pier over the water.  This sign is at the start of the walkway. 

You can see the lighthouse, the walkway and lighthouse through the fog in this picture.  I was definitely nervous walking out on the pier.  It was a windy day, and water goes over of the walkway.  On extremely windy days there is a risk that you can be washed off the pier if the waves are big enough. I saw several families with kids walking out there too, so I put on a brave face and did it. 

                                                   

When we were almost there, the waves got a bit bigger.  I moved very fast at that point. The water was about ankle deep and very cold. 

Up close the lighthouse was cool to see. It reminded me of a big ship. The current version was built in 1924.  A car ferry called the S.S. Badger that takes cars from Ludington to Manitowac, Wi, passes by the lighthouse a few times a day. 

Once we were done looking at the lighthouse, I remembered we had to walk back. It seemed a little less scary, but the waves had died down a bit. 

We made a few friends on our way back to the beach.  Even though the walk to and from the lighthouse was nerve wracking, I am so glad that I did it. 

After leaving the Breakwater on the way to the Ludington State Park, we stopped on the side of the road at a lookout spot.  There we saw some interesting small piers with places to tie your boat. Every single one had a seagull on the end. I am not really sure what they are for, but I am guess you can come in and tie you boat in case of bad weather. 

Going to see Big Sable Pointe Lighthouse was also an adventure.  At the start of the walk you see this sign. To get to there you have to hike 1.5 miles along a path that is sometimes paved and sometimes sandy. It does not sound like it would be that far, until you are actually walking it.   A lot of people rode their bikes on the path. 

The long walk was well worth it. It was beautiful. The building and tower were built in 1867.  The constriction materials were delivered to the site by ship, because there was not a road until 1933.  It was the last Great Lake lighthouse to get electricity and plumbing which was not until the late 1940s! 

The tower is 112 feet tall. It was not open to the public this year, but the platform that you normally can walk up to see is 106 feet.  

We spent some time on the beach at Big Sable Point, because we had to rest before our long walk back to our car.  We definitely got our exercise that afternoon. 

After leaving Ludington, we headed just a little bit more north to Manistee. The weather was starting to look a bit dark, because there was a storm heading our way.  

I just learned some interesting facts about the Manistee North Pierhead Lighthouse. It was originally built in 1869. In October 1871, on the same day as the great Chicago fire, storms caused fires in many other cities.  Most of Manistee also burned down including the lighthouse.  A new one was built in 1872. The wooden walkway added in 1879, was a safer way for the lighthouse keepers to access the light so they could maintain it. 

As we were driving out of town, I noticed an unusual sight.  Two ships were docked right next to a condominium complex that was being built. We did take a closer look and were surprised to see there were only about 20 feet between them.  

We made it out of the path of the storm in time,  and arrived safely to Traverse City for the night.  There we saw probably the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.  It was so vivid and colorful. It changed from purple, pink, red and orange. I hope I am lucky enough to see one like that again.  

There are several more locations I will be posting about so stayed tuned!..  

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Our Visit to Holland Michigan

    As you may know, I recently got back from a vacation where we drove around the state of Michigan.  Our starting point for this wonderful trip was Holland, Michigan.  I was lucky enough to live in Holland 20 years ago.  Two of my kids were born there and we lived there for a few years. I have always had a soft spot for that area, and love to go back to visit when I can.  

We arrived in late afternoon, and our first stop was the Veldeer Tulip Farm.  The best time to see the farm is in the spring when they have millions of tulips in bloom. It was a favorite place to take pictures with my kids when they were young.  Even when it is not tulip time, it is still a fun place to visit.  They have a garden center where you can buy many kinds of bulbs, and other fun things for your garden.

Right next to the garden center is the De Klomp Wooden Shoe and Delft Factory.  There you can see wooden shoes being made and the beautiful Dutch pottery (Delftware)  being painted. It is the only production location for Delftware in North America  (hours have been adjusted for Covid, so they were not making anything at the time of this visit) 

After the farm we decided to walk around downtown before meeting friends for dinner.  We stopped in a quaint little clock shop that was full of cuckoo clocks. 

The clocks were all kinds of shapes and sizes, and from many parts of Germany. 

I wish I took more pictures of downtown.  It is such a pretty downtown, with many stores and restaurants to visit. In many ways it has changed since I lived there, but it also still felt familiar.

We ate dinner at Hops on 84 East. It was recommended by a good friend, and was not there when I used to live there.  She told me about their dill pickle pizza and it did not disappoint. It was really delicious! 

Because we did not plan on where we were going to stay for the night ahead of time, we did have some trouble finding a hotel room. (it was a Saturday night, during the busy season)  Its okay though, we traveled just a few miles down the road and found an nice, less expensive hotel in Grandville.   Grandville also had  very nice Dollar Tree where I found some of the items I will be sharing in another post. 

The next morning we went back to visit Holland State Park. It has a beautiful beach right on Lake Michigan.  I have many fond memories spending time here with my kids playing in the sand and the water. It was a red flag day (very windy), but that was okay because we did not plan on swimming.  We wanted to see the lighthouse and boats. 

Holland Harbor Lighthouse, AKA as Big Red is one of the most well known lighthouses in all of Michigan. It is also one of the most photographed.  One of my favorite things to do with my kids in the summer when we lived there was to pick up some food, and have a picnic at the lake watching the boats in the canal.  It was a beautiful warm day on this day so we sat for awhile and enjoyed the parade of boats. 

Our last stop on this trip was a visit to Captain Sundae. It has been my favorite ice cream place since we lived there.  I always get a buried treasure sundae. The treasure is finding all the cherries, buried in chocolate.  

They have a pirate ship at both locations were you can sit and eat your ice cream. 

Bye captain, we will be back to see you soon!  We have a lot more of Michigan to see.  Next stop Grand Haven! 

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