We toured the retired Coast Guard icebreaker ship - it was really impressive. The Great Lakes have 6 active icebreakers - one really large one that does the big job of making the initial lane through the ice, and 5 smaller icebreakers which expand that lane and maintain their own areas after the initial job is done. The shipping season in the Great Lakes is considered to be about 10 months, so the icebreakers work only about 2 months out of the year. The rest of the time is devoted to maintenance, and travelling to events, such as city anniveraries, kicking off the annual Chicago to Mackinac regatta, and so on. Here's the icebreaker that took its place.
M and K in the icebreaker's engine room.
Most of you have probably been to Mackinac Island, so I thought I would go a little more in-depth than most visitors to the island, and try to discover the more esoteric trivia. Here are some notes from my investigation.
Transportation To The Island
Other than swimming, the only decent way to get to the island is by ferry. The ferries to Mackinac Island are very competitive with each other. Billboards on I-75 brag about their comfort and speed. They all cost about the same, so it's important to understand the small differences. After scouring all the brochures, I can offer this complete list of competitive claims made by the various ferry businesses
- Shortest time to the island
- Only catamaran ferry - Catch the Cat!
- Oldest Ferry Service
- Fewest Children Lost En Route To The Island
- Most Available Parking Spaces
- Fewest Dolphins Killed (?)
- Smoothest Ride
- Latest Daily Service To the Island
- Most Vomit Hosed from Deck - 2003, 2004, 2005 (tie), and 2008. (Note: we took this ferry - J said she thought it sounded like the cleanest one.)
The Grand Hotel
As everyone knows, the Grand Hotel is famous for its long porch (660 feet), the longest porch in the world. Along with the Great Wall of China and Warren Buffet's wallet, it is one of the few man-made objects that can be seen from outer space.
The Grand Hotel was the first hotel to guarantee its guests a perfect stay - it was the first to place signs in the rooms reading "We want your stay to be perfect. If any part of your stay is unsatisfactory, please let us know. We will make it right, or you won't pay for that part of your stay." They are the only American hotel to still accept the Discover card.
Fudge Shops
Mackinac Island is famous for its fudge. There are several different brands of fudge available on the island. Fudge shops also sell other candy and treats, such as ice cream, taffy, and peanut brittle. This is why Michigan residents are among the fattest in the country.
It appeared to me that most, if not all, of the fudge shops had two shops on the small main road, one on each side of the road. I'm not sure why that is, but I have a few guesses:
1) Some people are such snobs they will only shop on one side of the street
2) Some people won't cross the street because they're afraid they'll get run over by a horse or a bike, or that they'll step in horse poop.
3) Most people nowadays have Attention Deficit Disorder, and studies show visitors to the island will often purchase goodies from a fudge shop without realizing they already bought fudge from the same shop across the street.
4) On a hot summer day, fudge doesn't last very long in small, uninsulated boxes, and by the time you can walk from one Murdick's store to the other, your original purchase will have melted.
We did not eat here.
Getting Around On The Island
There are no cars allowed on the island, possibly because the mayor of the island is Amish. Horses pull wheeled carts around the streets. It's kind of hard to describe these wheeled carts - the best way I can describe them is "engineless automobiles". They don't have steering wheels, and the horses pull them through the streets. While I watched them, I wondered if the horses might have better luck pushing the carts instead of pulling them. (Little-known fact: Some of the horses are actually robots - can you tell the difference?)
The other good way to get around is by bicycle. There were hundreds of bikes everywhere. When there were no horses around, the streets were very quiet. We felt safe walking across the street when there were no horses clopping towards us, but we quickly learned to look both ways in case a herd of bike riders was approaching. We also quickly learned to look DOWN in case the street sweepers had not been available to clean up after the last group of horses.
You can also walk places, but people don't walk in Michigan (we're fat!) so this was unpopular.
There is one motorized vehicle on the island - an ambulance. While at the fort, we looked down and saw the ambulance making its way slowly through traffic. The ambulance doesn't have a siren. It has a giant bike bell that can be heard a quarter of a mile away.
The Fort
Fort Mackinac was built a long time ago and most of it is still standing today. For a building from the 1800's, it is surprisingly modern, with an elevator and everything. The British controlled the Fort at one point, and the Americans controlled it also. I don't know what they were defending, exactly, since the Mackinac Bridge wasn't built until the 1950s, but they really wanted it, so they fought.
The layout of the Fort is confusing. For example, they have several cannons. One of the cannons is pointed directly at a church which is next to a few other buildings. I don't understand that - why would they shoot the church? Another cannon is pointed right at a big park where people have picnics. There are towers with holes in the walls for people to point guns through, and one of these towers was next to a tree. What did they shoot out of this tower? Squirrels?
It was tough being a soldier at this Fort. Winters were cold, and the only things soldiers had to do were cutting off their own frostbitten toes, and looking through the coin-operated telescopes at the frozen lake.
(Side note: It was during one heated battle between the Americans and the British that the owner of the Grand Hotel removed the "satisfaction guaranteed" notices from the rooms. The cannon fire was interrupting afternoon tea.)
I hope you learned something new about Mackinac Island and Mackinaw City today. If the tourism bureau wants to use any text from this blog posting, they are free contact me. I'm here to help.
P.S. While waiting for the ferry back to Mackinaw City, the people in line behind us recognized my Jackson High Vikings baseball cap, and asked us we were from Jackson. We talked for a minute, and I introduced myself. After hearing my last name, he asked me if my dad played banjo. Sometimes it can be difficult being the son of a legend.
P.S.S. I learned after I originally posted this that Mackinac Island, Mackinac Bridge, and the Straits of Mackinac are spelled with a 'c' at the end. Mackinaw City is spelled with a 'w'. I updated this post to use the correct spellings.
1 comment:
My brothers and their families and mom my family and I have spent the fourth of July on the island each year for the last 30 years. It is a very special place. We stay in a condo that suits all twelve of us for four nights. We miss my dad but we all think of him and keep the same island traditions bikes, picnics,kites,lots of laughs:)
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