Mackinac Island trip continued...

There are two spellings for Mackinac but only one pronunciation. I was confused by this so thought I would pass on the info. Mackinaw is the English spelling and Mackinac is the French spelling but they are both pronounced Mackinaw.
We continued our way around the easy 8 mile ride around the island, I would say back to civilization but there was an abundance of people the entire way. Way too many for my taste but it is in the height of the tourist season. It is a beautiful place but having to be careful not to run over someone or get run over detracts from the experience. Since I am blessed with a vivid imagination I could envision a landscape without people often enough to make it worthwhile.

Chicory and rock

Coastline blow the Arch

Fort Mackinac

After returning to the midst of the port area we found a place to eat. Mary's Bistro. Wanda and I had Chicken Pot pies and the guys had burgers. What else?! It was a tasty meal. We decided a restaurant would be forced to be good there or they would not be in business long if they could not put out an excellent meal. After our meal we had to find fudge. Not hard to do as every other shop sells it. Butch bought a slice of maple pecan fudge. He did share but most of it ended up in Butch. Good thing too because that stuff does a number on my system. Too, too rich! 

After riding around the island on bikes we decided to splurge on a carriage ride that would take us to the steeper parts of the interior of the island. 

The famous Grand Hotel

The horses from the Grand Hotel getting a drink and a break from their duties. The drivers of these rigs are dressed very formally including top hat.

The pavement is hard on the horses feet so this shoe made of hard rubber was invented on Mackinac island for their horses. It saves money in many ways and I am sure the horses are grateful for the help.

This young man was giving us a preliminary explanation about the fort. The admission to it was $10.50 each so we declined. Butch wanted more fudge.

The governor's mansion for Michigan is on Mackinac island. The view from here is magnificent.

Horse powered street sweeper. They export 5000 pounds of manure a week besides what they keep for their own use as fertilizer.

The weather was beginning to get chillier and spit rain as we headed back to the mainland. We were fortunate that it waited till late in the day.

On our way back to Thuder Bay Resort we stopped for a quick look at CLEAR Lake and it indeed lives up to its name. Absolutely beautiful and very very clear. Understand that the picture was taken under heavy cloud cover. I understand that on a sunny day it has a turquoise color like the waters of the Caribbean .

 

We all four had a great time on our Michigan excursion.