Mackinac Island

June 2004

	In the morning, however, it was glorious. Here is the Mighty Mac Bridge from near our motel in Mackinaw City.
	More Mighty Mac.
	Our simple but clean and nice motel.
	The ferry harbor in Macinaw City.
	The bridge from the ferry. It was cold, so these were taken from inside.
	More bridge.
	Yet more bridge.
	Our last attempt at bridge pictures. We were really moving!!
	The first thing you see when your ferry slows down to approach Mackinac Island is the Grand Hotel.
	It's a pretty swanky place. They charge $10 for you to enter the grounds if you aren't a guest or live on the West Bluff past the hotel. It has a very dramatic front porch.
	Round Island Lighthouse.
	Leaving the ferry. It was a beautiful day so the ferry was packed.
	I'm pretty sure that this is where we took Ben & then girlfriend Sarah to breakfast.
	After breakfast we strolled around the island. This is a park. Way up at the top of the hill is Fort Mackinac which was constructed by the British during the Revolutionary War.
	These are the "cottages" along the waterfront east of the fudge shop area of the island.
	The harbor.
	Another view of the waterfront "cottages."
	We just can't resist places that are named after our son!!
	We need to move this picture. We began our walk to the house where Ben works. On the way we had to stop at the Grand Hotel so Ben could do his daily chore of picking up the newspaper.
	Elaine had wanted to visit Mackinac Island during the annual Lilac Festival. She finally got her wish and the lilacs were cooperating by blooming at the right time. These lilacs were completely new to us. Pretty!!
	Same lilacs.
	Again with the lilacs.
	If you remember our pictures from our trip to Mississippi, you know why we took this picture. If you care, you can check those out here. It's too complicated to explain.
	Kites near the public library.
	The Cohen's lilacs. There were zillions!!! Beautiful.
	Another of Ben's daily chores is watering the plantings.
	Here he's watering lovely step gardens off the patio.
	One of the high points of the trip was making friends with this little fellow and his buddy (not shown) in their little personal dry sauna on the warm surge protectors behind the TV.
	Looking at the house's porch from the gardens.
	This is what you see when you approach the house from the trail leading to it.
	Between the house and Lake Huron is a 175 foot drop. Climbing up from the lake is quite an experience.
	The view from a balcony.
	More views.
	Still more.
	Our hosts had lots of garden whimsies. This was one of Elaine's favorites.
	More lake views.
	The bridge at sunset.
	The view from our bedroom window.
	A very cool garden whimsy.
	Our hosts the Cohens.
	Our hosts with a couple of the very few motorized vehicles on Mackinac Island.
	Along with seeing the lilacs, Elaine has long wanted to stand on the porch of the Grand Hotel. Because we had to pass the hotel to get to the house, she got to do it FOR FREE!!
	Mackinac Island is said to resemble a turtle. In the spirit of Chicago's cows, businesses decorated turtles to raise money for charity. They were fun to see around the island.
	Our hostess invited us to view the Lilac Festival Parade with her. We had excellent seats!!
	More parade.
	One of the very cool marching bands in the parade.
	Even the turtles got to "march." There were lots more interesting sights in the parade and on our way home, but the camera battery died.