Somewhere in Time

Stepping onto Mackinac (pronounced MackinAW) Island is like stepping back in time.  No wonder the 1980 time traveling love story, Somewhere in Time was shot on this little island.  A short, 20-minute ferry ride from mainland Michigan takes you to an island with an 8-mile circumference where life is slower-paced and time seems to have stopped many years ago.  No cars are allowed on Mackinac and the buildings on main street are somewhere between the saloon days and classy early-twentieth century.  They are colorful, tightly-packed and intricately decorated.  Horse-drawn carriages make all the deliveries necessary whether trash pick up, Amazon deliveries or a taxi-ride from the tiny airport.  Bicycles are everywhere, and watching hotel-workers carry large amounts of luggage on their handlebars was incredibly impressive.

Mackinac was reminiscent of Martha's Vineyard, where established wealth thrives and tourists jump at the opportunity to enjoy it for just a few moments.  It is certainly a bit of a tourist trap, and things are a bit overpriced, but it is also adorable and endearing.  Almost everyone we met there had been coming to the island since they were a kid, the summer getaway for all Michiganers.  One of the Yoopers we had met told us of his time in the Boy Scouts when he got to spend a week on the island raising and lowering flags and giving short tours.

Main Street, about five blocks long was seemingly where 70% of those on the island were at any given time.  Go about two blocks in any direction from main street, and you'd find another 20%.  The street teemed with people, especially during the heart of the day after day-trippers arrived and before they returned to their mainland beds.  The store fronts could be split into four categories: restaurants, souvenir shops, fudge shops and everything else.  Another Yooper had told us that Mackinac had a particular scent.  When we stepped off the boat, it hit us immediately: a combination of horse and fudge.  While it may sound unpleasant, it became part of the endearing charm of the island.

I am unclear as to why, but Mackinac is known for their fudge.  I believe there were only about eight fudge companies (remember, I said it was about five blocks long), but some of those shops had two or three store fronts on the same street!  Walking by some shops gave me a sugar high just from the wafts that came out the front door.  The art of fudge making was on full display with large marble slabs in the store windows where talented artisans mixed and shaped fudge.  It is said that if you got just one sample from each store, you'd get two pounds of fudge.  I'm not sure we made it quite that far, but I made sure I was never in want of something sweet.  Truly a treat!

We stayed in the Murray Hotel, a historic hotel dating back to the late 1800s.  As an old hotel, the rooms were near closet size, but the decor was truly perfect for the setting and just as gaudy and tacky as one would hope.  The wallpaper was covered in brightly colored birds and framed on the wall were artificial flowers.  In order to open the door to the hallway, we had to closer the cabinet where the TV slid in and out of (the TV had an entire channel dedicated to Somewhere in Time), and for the first time in our travels, we carried around a real key.  A perfect place for the setting of this historic little island.

Making the 8-mile loop around the island was high on our list, but bikes were not cheap to rent, and Jessica is very patient with my lack of comfortableness on a bike.  So, our first trip around was on foot, and we were one of the very few doing that!  The road/sidewalk goes all the way around the outside of the island.  It is flat, and often just inches from the crystal-blue-clear waters of Lake Huron.  Much of the island is a state park, and so, while main street is crowded, much of the island is forested land with little signs of humans.  Part of the road was closed off for construction, but thankfully, a cut-through path allowed us to continue and see almost all of the circumference.  Later in the afternoon, when the crowds had died down a little bit, and I was sure of our flat path, we did rent bicycles and do the loop once more because, well, that seemed like what you were supposed to do.  It was lovely - simple joys on an island that allows you to slow down and enjoy them.

I went for a walk one morning and ventured a bit more inland rather than just the coastal path.  It is nice walking on paths that are close to road width without any fear of a car running you over.  (Of course, a horse and carriage would be a horrible ending...).  There were clutters of small homes and apartments where people who work on the island live, but the big glorious homes seemed harder to find (perhaps it is like this was by design...).  Some people do live on the island year-round.  The K-12 school there usually houses about 90 students, but many of the residents of the island are there from May - September, working hard to satisfy tourists.

The Grand Hotel is stunning and of an era where big, fancy hotels were retreats of the elites.  It boosts having one of the longest porches in America, but the joys of sitting in one of the rocking chairs costs you a fee unless you are a guest of the hotel.  Outside the hotel, a sign describes the attire one needs to enter the hotel.

It is this old-world charm, this "of a different era", this "of simpler times" that makes Mackinac a true gem.  It is all of this that makes it a repeat destination for locals summer after summer, to taste the fudge, glide on a bicycle and step back a bit to somewhere else in time.