Let’s review for a moment…  Our Great Lakes Model A Tour started on Tuesday, Sept. 24^th, in Milwaukee, which is on the western shore of Lake Michigan (LAKE #1).  After a couple of days, we drove basically northward to Ashland, WI, which is on the southern shore of Lake Superior (LAKE #2).  Then we drove a few days along the southern shore of Superior until we reached Sault Ste. Marie, MI.  Here we took a tour of the locks, which had us touch a bit on Lake Huron (LAKE #3).

We will spend days 10 and 11 of on Mackinac Island in Lake Huron.

To get there, we drove 60 miles south, then up and over the Mackinaw Bridge – in the rain.

If you notice the two spellings (Mackinac and Macinaw), they are pronounced the same but Macinaw refers to Macinaw City on the mainland, and Macinac refers to the island.

We left our Model As on the mainland because there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the Island. (It’s truly a “Step Back In Time”.)  Here are photos of some seasonal decorations in the ferry ticket office, a shot of our ferry, and the initial view of our hotel.

The ferry ride was… ahem… exciting(?)  The captain mentioned 7 foot waves, which meant we couldn’t see anything on the ridge due to the splash of waves.

We arrived safely and after lunch, we did a little window shopping and just walked around downtown.  Because of the rain, we didn’t get too many photos.  The turtle below is the first of many turtles – The indigenous people named the island Michilimackinac (shortened to Mackinac)which meant “the place of the great turtles”.  The island is shaped more or less like a turtle and turtles seem to be a symbol of good luck.

On Friday morning, we all met for a tour of the island.  Mackinac does not allow motorized vehicles — transportation is walking, riding a bike, or taking a horse-drawn taxi.

Here are photos of our tour carriage, with horses “Judy” and “Mona”:

Some of the sights from the tour:

The tour ended at the Grand Hotel, where we had the buffet lunch and were able to tour all the public spaces.

At the very top of the hotel is the Cupola Room, where there are 360 degree views around the island.

We had a pleasant walk “home” with some more window shopping followed by dinner with some close tour friends.

Here are Mackinac highlights from the Clausens:

I think I’ll miss the sound of horses and carriages…