We arrived on the island just before 2pm and we called Scott and Heidi so we could met up with them, and they had already rented bikes and headed to town. While we were sitting on our taxi waiting to go to the hotel, Scott, Heidi and the kids rode by, so we agreed to rendezvous at Mission Point. The island was just as quaint, but beautiful as I remember from 20 years ago. The main drag was pretty crowded by the dock, but it sort of cleared out on our drive to the hotel (a whole 1/2 mile from the dock). The kids loved the "horsey" taxi and Drew kept asking to go back on the "horsey ride" every time we went out.
After we got checked in, we all headed out for a walk (except for Andy who was busy doing schoolwork on his computer) to Arch Rock which is a common stop on any Mackinac Island tour. As you can tell from the pictures, it was a beautiful day and I don't think it was even 70 degrees. We all had dinner together in the hotel (party of 12, 6 adults and 6 children--at least we weren't outnumbered) and then all of the kids went to the pool for a while before bed. Heidi and Scott invited Drew to watch a DVD before bed with Quinn, Avery and Kaleigh so Adam and I got to take a walk downtown in the evening.
On Monday (July 2nd), we all rented bikes for a ride around the island. We learned that we'll definitely bring bikes next time because the rental fees add up quickly. We started out with a tandem bike with a burley attached (I'm sorry that we didn't get a picture), but after a short ride, we went back and got two 3-speed bikes and kept the burley for Drew. It's only 8 miles around the island, but that was enough for us. Andy, Scott and Heidi wound up keeping their bikes and riding up in the hills -- they got some beautiful pictures which you can see on Heidi's blog.
Drew and Adam made another trip to the pool, and then all of the kids went to Kid's Club at Mission Point from 4 - 9 pm. They had lots of fun -- they did crafts, played putt-putt golf and went to the Butterfly House before going back to watch a movie. The adults REALLY enjoyed it. Adam and I wound meeting up with Carole later in the day for a round of putt-putt golf (she and Adam tied so this strange competition goes on) and then had dinner at Bistro on the Greens. While we were at dinner, Carole spotted the kids walking down the street, and Drew and Alex even came over and went to the bathroom a few feet away from us. We tried to hide from them, but they were oblivious anyway and they continued down the street to wherever they were going without giving us any notice (I guess that I should mention that they were being supervised).
After we retrieved all the children, I took Drew to Scott and Heidi's room, so that they could go hang out with Andy and Carole in the great room. I think I sent Drew back with Adam around 11pm and the Quinn, Avery and Kaleigh and I all fell asleep watching Dora the Explorer. I'm telling you--we're all living on the edge.
This was the view from our room. You can see the steeple of the Mission Church and then a little bit of Lake Huron just beyond it. I didn't think we would get a lake view room so this was an extra treat. Plus, you can see the little road right outside where we could hear the clop clop of the horses hooves going by early in the morning.
In the morning(Tuesday, July 3rd), it was time to pack up and leave the island. We got a few t-shirts, but no more fudge (we actually only bought 1 slice). Adam and I agreed that we could have stayed for a week. Being on the island with no cars and the laid back attitude really forces you to slow down. We'd like to visit again, but we'll probably wait 5 years or so until Drew is old enough to really enjoy it.
1 comment:
Thanks for giving us your account of the trip! We had a great time!!! I really like the picture from the room, and the description to go along with it... too bad we can't get some horses to clip clop past our house everyday!
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