I had never been to Mackinac Island, despite the relatively close proximity to where I grew up. Austin, being from Michigan, used to go there with his Grandma when he was very young. We've been wanting to take a trip up to the island for a few years now, but have never found the time. Conveniently, I just switched from working every weekend to every other weekend, and this was my first official weekend off. We were in dire need of some family time, so we packed up the car last night and headed up to Austin's grandparent's cabin in Northern Michigan. We stayed the night at the cabin and headed to Mackinac Island bright and early this morning. This was Hadley's and my first trip to this magnificent island, and it was absolutely awesome!
It was raining really hard during our entire drive up to the island. We were worried that our trip would be spoiled, but the rain quickly ceased and eventually the sun came out making it a beautiful day.
We rented a pair of bikes and a bike trailer. This was Hadley's first time in a bike trailer and we were a little nervous about how she would do. She kept calling it her "buggy" and loved every minute of it...flying mud and all.
Our first stop on our 8 mile bike ride was Arch Rock. It was a little steep climb and some of the stairs have washed away, but it was worth the effort. At the top, it's an absolutely breath taking view!
I took the picture of Austin below while riding my bike and pulling Hadley...a little daring, but I had to catch the beautiful view with Austin in the foreground!
If you look really close and I mean really close, you may be able to see the bridge behind me and Hadley. It was so nice to just pull the bikes over to the side several times during our ride and enjoy the shoreline.
It was really sweet to watch Austin show Hadley how to skip rocks. She got the idea, but unfortunately none of her rocks skipped...they just plopped. She put so much effort into it though and that's all that matters!
Getting closer to the bridge! You can see it much better in the picture of Austin and Hadley below.
Eight miles down and back to town!
We made up our minds pretty quickly about where to eat lunch, and our choice couldn't have been more perfect. We chose Goodfellow's Italian Chop House. It was close, it looked good, and we were starving!
We got to eat out on the balcony overlooking the main street, where Hadley enjoyed watching all of the horses and buggies stroll by. The food was great too!
More sun! It's turning into a beautiful day!
After lunch, we headed up the hill to Fort Mackinac. It was pretty interesting, and the views were breathtaking!
You can't come to Mackinac Island and not buy fudge, so we bought fudge...and lots of it!
Look at that cute little face with chocolate all over it!
The bridge...
Hadley thought the stern on the boat was a little loud. I love her cuteness!
We came so far...so we decided to head over the bridge and officially enter the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was a first for me and Hadley, but not for Austin. To make it worth our time, we drove into the nearest town, bought some drinks and then headed back over the bridge and onward to the cabin for the night.
I love spending time with Austin and Hadley. This was some much needed family time, and we had a perfect day! I can't wait to come back to Mackinac Island again. As the website states, it’s an Island suspended in a forgotten, more innocent time, and I was mesmerized by the simple pleasures of life. Serenity!
