Another Mackinac Island visit (1 Viewer)

[Scott Merryfield]

We visited the island again last weekend to celebrate my parents 60th anniversary and my dad's 80th birthday. While the weather was not ideal, we still had an enjoyable time. Instead of starting a new thread, I'll just add to my thread from last year's visit with a few shots.

Underneath the Mackinac Bridge, via Shepler's Ferry:

British Landing, with the bridge in the background.

Ferry heading to St. Ignace at sunset

A quiet evening in town

Anne Cottage, which is for sale and could be yours for around four to five million dollars.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

A couple more...

A wide angle shot in front of our hotel -- the historic Island House.

Two horsepower engine taking us on a tour

 

[Mark Collins]

What beautiful shots you gave us Scott. Stonecliff before it was restored I just stumbled upon. The house so reminded me of Collinwood. I vacationed MC every year. Life and other things such as a burn out ended those visit in 1980 I believe. I remember watching THE WRATH OF KHAN in the movie house on the old college grounds. How still and beautiful the night sky was that night when leaving the movie.

I also flew there which I may have mentioned before. MC I am afraid became a treasured memory when I discovered Carlsbad CA. I went there for 20 years during the Christmas holidays.

So I guess I would say it replaced MC for me. I just want to say if you want a great place to go and please stay the night it is MC.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Thanks, Mark. It is always nice to read your thoughts on Mackinac. You have a passion for the place similar to my wife's and mine.

 

[Mark Collins]

You know I almost had a chance when I was in my 20s to be a passenger in the Annual Chicago to Mackinac race. Long story but I just did not want to push myself on the person who with a group was part of that race.

I still can remember seeing the winners in the harbor. You could walk out and talk with these people. I love how there were no money snobs on the island back in the 70s. I feel bad Scott that you cannot even stop now in front of the Grand Hotel.

I bought last year for the first time Somewhere in Time on BD. I remember being there the year the film was made.

Gosh what an event that was for the Island folks! I also remember how the island folks would refer to the casual tourists as I think the Fudgy's

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Beng in one of the Mackinac races would have been cool, Mark. We have never been up there for either of the races (from Port Huron or Chicago) because (1) it's very crowded and (2) the prices to stay on the island are higher then (if you can even get a reservation).

I like the quieter time after Labor Day. There are fewer people, and the prices are lower. My wife, though, worries about the weather during the late season visits. Last year it was warm and beautiful, but this year it was colder and rainy.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

We visited Mackinac Island again last weekend, treating my mother for her 80th birthday. It happened to be during the island's annual Lilac Festival, so there were various events going on throughout the weekend.


Some wide angle fun:

Lilacs with Fort Mackinac in the background:

Downtown after a storm:

A secluded trail on the island's interior:

The Grand Hotel

Scottish bagpipe and dance troupe:

The fog rolls in:

 

[Mark Collins]

Scott any new photos of the island?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Scott any new photos of the island?

Mark,


Just those is post #27 from our visit in June. Here are a few more...


Here's one from the parade from the Lilac Festival during that June visit

Some of the lilacs

A tasty beverage

Our favorite house on the East Bluf

 

[Mark Collins]

Love those June photos and the house on the bluff. I also did not make the connection with Anne Cottage. The book Anne where there is a rock on the island dedicated to the book. I wonder if the Cottage was named after it. I have the book it is very old and long in small print but i did read it. The descriptions of the island during the winter were great.


Love your photos. The old college is suppose to be haunted. They went there and filmed in an episode of show I only watched once. I was watching because they were filming at the location of Collinwood from Dark Shadows and I had visited the house and here the Island was included.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

We just returned from another week in northern Michigan, spending two nights on Mackinac Island and then continuing on to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, staying in Copper Harbor and then heading to Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior. I will create a new thread for the Isle Royale photos, but just added to this existing thread for our Mackinac Island visit.

The new addition to the island is the newly restored Fort Holmes. This was not completed when we visited last year. Mark Collins will remember this as just earthen mounds with an old door frame, but the fort has been restored to its original structure.

Some houses from the East Bluff

Peonies in front of the Island House Hotel where we stay

A view of town from Fort Mackinac

 

[Scott Merryfield]

We just got back from a couple night's stay on Mackinac Island. I decided to travel light this time and only brought along my Canon EOS M body along with the 22mm pancake and 18-55mm lenses. Here are a few shots:

Arch Rock from the shoreline

"The Baby Grand" house on the East Bluff

A rare sight on the Island -- construction signs and vehicles. They are updating the storm sewers and repaving the road in town.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

We visited the island again last week, celebrating my parents anniversary and Father's Day a little early. The lilacs were in full bloom.

This is the first time we've ever seen a cruise ship on the island, and there were two different ships there on consecutive nights.

Here are both of the remaining passenger ferries to the mainland -- Star Line and Sheplers. The third line, Arnold, was purchased by Star Line last autumn.

This one was hand held with the EOS M. I left the tripod at home for this trip.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

We were on Mackinac Island again last week. I didn't take many photos, as we were with friends and I only brought along my Canon EOS M. Here are a few different shots than I've posted in this thread in the past, though.

The autumn colors are just beginning to emerge

 

[Scott Merryfield]

We were on Mackinac Island again last weekend, showing the island to some friends from North Carolina who were visiting for the first time. The area experienced gale force winds on the day we arrived, which made for a harrowing ferry ride across the Straits of Mackinac to the island, and shutting down the Mackinac Bridge for a period of time.

This freighter actually ran aground and was stuck for the entire first day we were there:

How deliveries are made on the island:

People taking the 8.2 mile bike ride around the island:

Historic carriage house:

A Studebaker carriage:

A freighter passing by our hotel (the grounded freighter was pulled out the night before):

A view of town from Fort Mackinac:

A water heater, circa 1880, in the troops bath house at Fort Mackinac:

The golf course, with the Mackinac Bridge in the background:

 

[TonyD]

My wife has family in Michigan so we plan to go up there in the next six months or so and visit Mackinac Island.
I want to visit the hotel where Somwwhere in Time was filmed plus the other stuff too.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

My wife has family in Michigan so we plan to go up there in the next six months or so and visit Mackinac Island.
I want to visit the hotel where Somwwhere in Time was filmed plus the other stuff too.

That's great, Tony. It's a wonderful place to spend a few days. You will need to plan that visit a little more than six months out, though, as the island pretty much shuts down at the end of October until May. About the only things open are one bar/restaurant (The Mustang Lounge) and a couple stores for the approximately 500 full time residents. The passenger ferry services are shut down, too. Here is an article about winter life on the island.

We've been trying to go in June and September the past few years to avoid the very crowded summer months, but still have a chance at decent weather. In early June the island holds its annual Lilac Festival, which is a lot of fun. May and October can see some brutal weather along the Straits.

Here's a shot from our trip last weekend of the Grand Hotel where the movie Somewhere in Time was filmed:

 

[TonyD]

Hey Scott I saw you post abou the ferry in the Black Friday thread.

What are some tips you would offer for visiting the island?

A decent priced place to stay for about 4-5 days.

This ferry is the way to get on the island or is there another way we should look at?

Booking a stay at a hotel should be looked at now?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Tony,

Hotels and bed & breakfasts book up fast, so the earlier you book the better. We always stay at the Island House, but it’s not cheap. There are a few less than expensive hotels right in town, and some bed & breakfasts on Market Street. If you can find something for under $200 per night, you will be doing very good. The Island House, with an included breakfast, is around $300 per night. I think the Harbor View is a little less expensive, and we stayed there once many years ago. We booked our June 2019 trip a month ago because it is during the Lilac Festival and the hotel only had a few rooms left.

A passenger ferry is really your only option for getting to the island, unless you own your own boat. There are two services — Star Line and Shepler’s — that leave both from Mackinaw City (lower peninsula) and St. Ignace (upper peninsula). Normal round trip ferry prices are $26 per passenger, $12 for a bicycle, and different overnight parking fees depending on what you choose. You can save a couple of dollars per ticket by ordering them online in advance.

You can rent bicycles on the island, so you don’t have to bring your own if that is not convenient. A single hour rental, though, is close to the price of bringing your own across on the ferry. We always bring our own bikes, but I have a good bike rack for the car and it’s only a four hour drive from our house to the ferry dock.

 

[TonyD]

Yikes the Soemwhere in Time weekend at the Grand is well over a Grand for two people and two nights.