This is going up a little late, but I wanted to share my experience at Mackinac Island. I had never heard of the place prior to June. Growing up in Florida on the Gulf Coast, I didn't exactly research beach vacations in Michigan. But MAFS was there this year, so 10 students and I DROVE 18 hours each way. So yeah, that's 36 hours in a van to attend a conference for 48 hours. We won't discuss how awesome being trapped in a van for that long is. Suffice it to say, it's as awesome as you're imagining right now.
Anyway, Mackinac. There are no cars on the island. Ok, there are 5 motorized emergency vehicles. Seriously, that's it. You have to take a ferry over, and you leave your car, and the 21st century, on the mainland. Our luggage was taken to the hotel on a horse-drawn luggage cart attached to the "shuttle." Everyone on the island either bikes, walks, or takes a taxi of the horse-drawn kind. The houses on the waterfront look like life-sized versions of the houses you'd expect to see on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. I expected Lady Elaine to come around the corner at any moment. There are tons and tons of flowers on the island - all planted seemingly for "tourist season." Now, in Florida, tourist season starts around spring break and continues until Labor Day, at least. The tourist season here is mid-late June until mid-August. The whole island is only inhabited year-round by about 500 people - everyone else leaves at the beginning of November and comes back in the middle of May. A lot of the laborers are from the islands - like Jamaica - and live on or near the properties they work on. I posted a lot of pics on Facebook, so look there if you want to see the island. But suffice it to say, it's a little unreal.
I spent a lot of time wondering what the hell the permanent residents do the rest of the year. There are many (and a somewhat surprising number of) restaurants, shops, bars, and inns on the island. Do they make all their money for the year and then hibernate? I have no idea. The idea is kind of appealing though - work like mad for about 5 months, relax for 7. Admittedly, the relaxation is probably under a lot of snow.
I actually liked it so much that I'm going to try to go back for my 40th birthday next year. Originally, I was thinking of a very different island - maybe Jamaica again, maybe St. Croix, maybe something entirely new, like St. Martin. The last time Dave and I went on vacation was to Jamaica. I tend to gravitate toward the islands I think because they feel so remote. I relax more because it doesn't feel like anything I do in real life. That and beautiful beaches and amazing cultures. I kinda thought that if we went somewhere in the States that it would feel too normal. But Mackinac is truly another world. I liked the resort I stayed at a lot - Mission Point Resort, but I did a little checking and I think we're going to shoot for the Grand Hotel. It's been in operation since 1887. It's actually all-inclusive, which is pretty cool, and it sounds like we'll be going back to the 1920's. Like, afternoon tea, 5-course dinners, bocce ball or croquet on the lawn, and dancing to a live orchestra every evening. I think it sounds pretty amazing. Guess I'm going to have to polish my dancing shoes...
