Mackinac Island, Finally!

Monday, August 5, 2024

After our morning sunrise Sunday, we said goodbye to Rogers City and continued our trek to the north. Max found us a local restaurant “The Chuckwagon” along our route up the coastline. We had a great country breakfast with some locals. This was one of those places where everyone in the restaurant knew everyone except us, and there was constant banter between all the tables. We checked with our server to be sure we hadn’t sat at someone else’s table, but she assured us that we were fine. We enjoyed a great breakfast of eggs, hash browns, buttermilk biscuits and gravy and bacon cooked just right. If you ever happen to be on Highway 23 between Rogers City and Mackinac City, you should definitely stop for a meal.

Continuing on highway 23, we stopped at a roadside pull-off and sat enjoying a nice view of the shore of Lake Huron while we streamed our Lester Memorial worship service.

We arrived in Mackinac City before check in time at the RV park, so we went to the visitor’s center which was unfortunately closed. There were some brochures available outside that were helpful. Then we got our first view of the Mackinac Bridge. There is a nice park where you can view the bridge and the lighthouse, so we spent some time there and then wondered around town a little. After lunch we registered at the Mackinac Mill Creek Camping for a two-night stay. All our Switch Crew friends will remember this as the location of the huddle last year which we were not able to attend. We spent the rest of Sunday walking around the park, playing miniature golf and visiting with other RVers. During the night we had several episodes of rain. There was none in the forecast and new the forecast for Monday was supposed to be good for a trip to Mackinac Island but…there was some lost sleep. This is the third time we have tried to make a trip to Mackinac Island. We had to cancel the other two, and we were so close we definitely didn’t want it to be a rainy day.

You can walk under the bridge on the beach

The bridge has become the dividing line between Lake Michigan (on the left) and Lake Huron.

Our campsite in Mackinac Mill Creek Camping

To celebrate its 60 year, the campground was giving free “Fun Truck” rides, complete with siren.

Monday morning we were at the shuttle pick up at 8:30, on the ferry at 9.00, and had a beautiful day on the island. Sunshine. Light breeze. We rode bikes around the entire island and had a perfect day. We had lunch at the Great Turtle restaurant and our brisket sandwich was great. We visited all the beautiful spots like the Grand Hotel, the view across the lake to the bridge, many of the gift shops and most of the chocolate shops. Of course we came home with some wonderful Mackinac fudge.

We took the earliest shuttle from the campground, but still did not arrive at the ferry in time to get a seat on the open upper deck.

Our ferry captain took us under the bridge before going across to the island.

Approaching Mackinac Island

We went over on the 9 am ferry and the streets were already busy when we arrived. They were just plain crowded when we left.

The main street is called Bicycle Street. For those who may not have heard, motor vehicles are not allowed on the island.

Start of our 8 mile bike ride around the island

The were quite a few people on the perimeter road but we still enjoyed our ride.

One of the requisite stops on the bike ride is Arch Rock … we enjoyed the stop …

… and it was only 207 steps to get to the top.

Another ferry going by the bridge. The ferry ride is less than 30 minutes.

We visited a few fudge shops, got a few free samples, and watched fudge being made.

Of the few churches on the island Saint Anne’s Catholic Church is probably the most ornate …

… and The Little Stone Church is probably the most famous.

We completed our Mackinac adventure today (Tuesday) when we finally drove across the Mighty Mac (Mackinac Bridge). It was another beautiful morning with light traffic. There was some repair work in two spots, but it was an easy drive. One more item on the bucket list checked. We feel so blessed.