On day 3 of our trip to Mackinac Island, we got up and had breakfast at our hotel. The Inn at Stonecliffe, where we stayed the first 2 nights of our trip, offered a complimentary buffet style breakfast. We ate both days outside on their patio overlooking the lake.
The patio is on the left where the green umbrellas are.
And this was the view from the patio.
We then took a shuttle down to Main Street. The Inn and Stonecliffe is up in the woods, about 2 miles from Main Street. Since there are no vehicles allowed on the island, you have to take a horse and carriage taxi/shuttle to get where you want to go.
Our agenda for this day was to take a carriage tour around the island so we could learn where everything was and learn some history about the island, then that evening we had reservations for a sunset cruise. ☺
So once we were down on Main Street, we found the Carriage Tour company and got our tickets.
Our carriage.
Once on the carriage, the tour started off by going down Market Street, which is just one street up from Main Street. Market Street has a few shops and its where many of the historical homes and sites are located. It is also where the hospital, police station, courthouse and post office is.
If you took the time to read this sign above, you may remember the name John Jacob Astor from the movie Titanic!
The Post Office on the Island.
The Courthouse and Police Station.
The Hospital. They do have emergency vehicles here in case they are needed.
After going down Market Street, we headed up a big hill, passed the Little Stone Church and The Grand Hotel.
We learned on the tour that this church has around 40 weddings a year and holds Sunday services.
The front of the beautiful Grand Hotel.
Once up the hill, we went passed the stable where they keep the horse and carriages.
This was the old "fire truck" that they used to use.
And these were the latters used for fires.
And this is the horse drawn hearse that they use on the island for funerals, still to this day.
After that, the carriage driver dropped us off so we could view the carriage museum and butterfly house.
Inside the butterfly garden.
A cute sign as you're leaving the butterfly house.
After the Butterfly House, you board a different carriage (one guided by 3 horses instead of 2) that takes you through more of the island.
We first, went by the 3 graveyards on the island. One of the 3 graveyards is a Catholic graveyard.
Another of the three is a Military Graveyard.
Next we went by Skull Cave.
And then we went passed the bottom of the hill that Fort Holmes is on. Fort Holmes is the highest point on the island. Later in our trip we rode bikes all the way up to Fort Holmes, so I'll have more pictures on that later.
When we were looking up at Fort Holmes, right across the street, you could see Fort Mackinac below.
After that, they dropped us off at Arch Rock for about 15 minutes so we could see it. It was absolutely breathtaking. They have built an overlook there that you can go out on and see Lake Huron from.
Jake and I up on the overlook at Arch Rock!
After Arch Rock, they took us down a little ways to Fort Mackinac, where we were able to get out and explore it.
Soldiers Barracks 1859.
Jake standing next to a canon.
Jake and I at the Fort.
And this was the view from Fort Mackinac.
After exploring Fort Mackinac, we took the shuttle back to our hotel to get changed for our Sunset Cruise. After changing, we headed back down to Main Street where we had dinner at Millie's on Main. The food was very good here. I had spaghetti and Jake had a really good turkey dinner. They had really good corn bread muffins too!
Then, at 8:30, we boarded a Starline Ferry for their Sunset Cruise. It was a really cool cruise, worth the money for sure! This particular ferry had a covered bottom seating area and then 2 upper/non covered seating areas. The crew members asked if anyone was celebrating a birthday/anniversary and they took mine and Jake's name down and gave us a pretty flower at the end of the cruise. It was a beautiful evening and a perfect ending to our day!
The McKee Sons Freighter, going under the bridge.
The upper deck of the ferry we were on for the sunset cruise.
A cool angle.
Going right under the bridge.
The beautiful sunset behind the bridge that night.
Jake and I on the sunset cruise with the bridge in the background.
Our flower from the crew members for our anniversary.
And that was the end of day 3. I really hope I'm not boring you, but I want to blog about it so I have it all organized somewhere to remember it forever. :-)
Stay tuned for Day 4 next Monday! :-)
