Thursday August 24, 2017

Our Bike

We start the day with a nice breakfast at the Inn. We have an egg casserole, Cherry crumble, carrot cake, and monkey bread. It is very good and the company of the other guests is good as well. After breakfast, we walk to town and rent a tandem bike. This is so I can do all the work and Carol can sit back and enjoy the ride. That is not really the case although there were a few instances where she went no hands and took pictures. We are riding an 8 mile loop around the outer perimeter of the island. This keeps us along the shoreline of Lake Huron.

CNC Mackinac Island

We do stop about a mile up the road to go up to Arch rock. It is 260 steps up to the arch. Then another 260 steps down to our bike. We get on and pedal about 300 feet where there is a sign that says arch rock view. That makes us laugh as we could have seen it without the climb. A short while later, we see arch cloud, a weird cloud formation with an arch hole in it. The water along the shore is crystal clear. Our next stop is British Landing which is the spot where the British landed when they attacked the fort in 1812. We cruise along with the biggest hazard being horse poop left behind from the carriage travel.

Chuck Wagon Burger

We make it back to town and return the bike. It was a beautiful ride and now it is time for lunch. We go to the Chuck Wagon a very small joint known for its burgers. Carol gets a bleu cheeseburger and I opt for the Rattlesnake with jalapenos and pepper jack cheese. They come on pretzel buns and are both really good. By the time we leave there is a line waiting to get in. Now that we have eaten, we have to work off the burgers so we go up a street into Mackinac State Park. It is a pretty steep climb and we end up behind Fort Mackinac. From there we walk to skull cave which is not what we thought. It is a shallow cave and is not named because it looks like a skull but rather because a person hid there from Indians in the 1800s and said there were a bunch of skulls on the cave floor.

Fort Holmes

Moving on, we walk up a trail to Fort Holmes. This was built by the British after they captured Fort Mackinac as an added protection from attack. It is actually on a much higher point than Fort Mackinac which gives us great views across to Round Island. I also take some shots of a very willing butterfly. From the fort we wind back down the road past several cemeteries including the post cemetery from Fort Mackinac.

White House Cottage

Then we walk along a road with stately mansions although they are all named with the word cottage at the end of the name. Two and three story homes with 15 to 20 rooms is not what I would call a cottage so I can imagine what their primary homes are like. One home has the look of a miniature white house. We return back to our BNB and relax for a while before heading out to eat dinner. We eat at the Ice House Barbecue for a good meal of pulled pork and barbecue chicken. It is really good and we are sitting outside in the patio on a beautiful evening.

Fudge and Wine are Essential

After dinner we walk down by the water and listen to some music being played outside at a nearby bar. Then we walk around town so Carol can try samples at the different fudge places and pick her favorite. She chooses Joann’s as the best in town and we buy six different flavors to have as dessert over the coming weeks. Then we return to the BNB and sit on the porch having wine and some fudge watching the walkers, bikers, unicyclists and horse carriages parade on by. It has been a great relaxing day and we have enjoyed the slower pace here.

Expenses                                                                                                                                     Bike Rental 15 USD                                                                                                                           Lunch 20 USD                                                                                                                       Dinner 34 USD                                                                                                                       Fudge 16.95 USD                                                                                                                   Haans 1830 Inn 155 USD