Friday, 18 August; Ferry to Mackinac Island, MI

We were a bit disappointed in the weather.  The whole reason that we are up in this area is to go over to Mackinac Island.  It is still pronounced Mackinaw, but spelled with a "c" on the end rather than a "w".

Anyway, it rained off and on in the morning.  We decided to go for a jog.  It was cloudy, but not raining so we decided to go back to the rig and get ready to go ahead and go over to the island.  Mackinaw is a "no car" island.  Everything there is bicycle, horse or horse buggy.  There are several hotels and people go over by ferry either for the day or for several days.  Some people take their bikes with them (like us) or they rent bikes or buggies when they get there.  They can hire a buggy to take them around, or They can rent a horse and buggy to drive it around themselves.  They can also rent a horse and ride it or they can rent a bicycle.
We drove down to the Ferry.  We were able to get a Military discount which is always nice.
I have a ton of pictures of this is a beautiful island, so here we go.  It sort of reminds me of Martha's Vineyard.
We took the Ferry over.  It was a high-speed ferry.  We bounced a bit and sprayed water.  Belle was a bit freaked out by it, but she did well.

 This little girl was sooooo cute.

This is actually a cruise ship.  I guess it cruises around the Great Lakes.

We got our bikes.  They were very wet due to the waves splashing.  Even Bella's basket was a bit wet.  

It's crazy getting off the Ferry and getting away from the port.  there are so many people and they are getting bikes and horses and buggies.  It is wall to wall people for a couple blocks.  
There is an 8.2 mile bike path around the island.  It is actually a multi-use, paved path used by bikes, walkers, horses and buggies.
We first rode all around the island.

Then we found a place to eat.  It was around noon when we went over on the Ferry, so it was about 2 when we finally decided to eat.

We walked around for a little bit after eating so that we could take some pictures.  The houses all have beautiful gardens and the flowers are so pretty.

We got back on our bikes and did some more touring.  We found the Grand Hotel. Which is beautiful.

Even across the street from it was pretty cute. It is the Jockey Club which is an outdoor cafe.

As stated earlier stated, everything is transported by horse and buggy as you can see these large bails of hay.

We rode on trails and dirt or gravel roads on the interior of the island.  We found some really awesome areas and as usual said to ourselves, "I could live here".

 The rock arch was pretty awesome, as was the view from up there.

We also checked out the two lighthouses, although we could not get close to either one of them.

Finally we thought it was time to head back.  It was getting somewhat cold and starting to get dark.

This was one of the Ferries that we rode over and back in.

When we went back we went under the bridge, just so we could get pictures of it.  From afar it looks like our Golden Gate, but is is actually yellow.

It was a really fun day.  Needles to say, when we got home we were pretty much just ready to go to bed.