Last year, all the "old gals" on the AM shift at work (which includes yours truly, of course!) got together and hired a Mackinaw Trolley to take us on a color tour from Mackinaw City to Harbor Springs, then along the tunnel of trees to Cross Village on Lake Michigan and, finally, back to Mackinaw. We had fun, but it would be pretty hard to beat the good time we had yesterday on this year's "Big Adventure Tour."
We'd talked about a Trolley ride to Tahquamenon Falls, but then I suggested we stay closer to home and go to Mackinac Island. It was almost comical to see everyone's expression when I mentioned it. They were like, "Oh, wow! Mackinac Island! Why didn't we think of that before?!"
I know it's hard to imagine overlooking the perfect short excursion right in your own back yard, but we honestly had. So Laura made a phone call and scored complimentary VIP passes on the ferry, and Margaret (who was born and raised on the Island) arranged a special carriage tour for our group. Let this be a lesson to you, boys and girls—sometimes it really isn't what you know, it's who you know. ;)
Yesterday, our big day finally arrived! Because the weather was cold and blustery and rain was threatening, we briefly considered rescheduling our adventure but finally decided to go for it. What's a little wind and rain, right? By the time we got off work, we were rarin' to go! We ran home to change clothes and met each other at Shepler's just in time to catch the 3:30 boat to the Island.
We almost had the boat to the Island to ourselves that late in the day. We planned to catch the last boat off the Island at 8 PM, which would still allow plenty of time to get into mischief. BTW, have I mentioned that the gang from our restaurant has been thrown off the Island at least 3 times over the years for misconduct? We have something of a reputation over there, let me tell ya. We only hoped they wouldn't see us coming. Heh!
Here is the obligatory picture of the Mackinac Bridge taken from the ferry as we crossed the Straits of Mackinac.
We arrived on the Island and spent a few minutes waiting for our carriage. As you can see, although the wall-to-wall crowds of summer have thinned somewhat, there was still plenty of activity in the streets. Once our ride arrived, the driver promptly drove us down the street to Doud's Market to pick up snacks and some [ahem!] liquid refreshments for our tour.
Here, just ahead and on the left, you see Margaret and on her right, her sister, Wilma. Beyond them, our driver, Billy from Ishpeming, MI (loved his Yooper accent, and, whew boy, could he tell the jokes! Heh!) and our trusty steeds, Belgian draft horses—Willy (left) and King (right). Because Margaret and Wilma are from the Island, they couldn't resist correcting our driver as he tried to narrate a bit of the tour. However, he was a great sport, and before long he did everything but hand the reins over to them!
We spent nearly two hours criss-crossing the Island—our wish was his command. So we drove past the Grand and West Bluff then wound our way around the back roads until we passed the airport. We then made a little side trip into Harrisonville for a quick visit with Margaret's brother's family.
It soon became obvious that Willy and King had absolutely NO IDEA where we were making them take us. You must remember, the carriage tours generally stick to the same route, day after day, year after year. The horses undoubtedly know the prescribed route so well, that a driver is pretty much optional. On this trip, however, they saw quite a bit of new scenery, and their ears perked up and they whinnied in surprise and curiosity. We all had to laugh at their antics and were thrilled to see they were obviously enjoying the drive as much as we were.
Here you see our mascot, Dan. (BTW, that's my BIG can of "soda" he's holding while I snap pictures.) Dan always comes along on our girl outings. When Billy commented on the fact that one guy was stuck escorting so many ladies (7 women altogether), Dan promptly asked our driver how much he thought he could get for his "girls" on the Island.
"Probably not much," Billy shook his head, regretfully. "Da girls over here, well, dey pretty much give dat stuff away...you know what I mean?"
Sorry about your luck, Dan. :P~~~~
Here's a view of town taken from East Bluff.
...and another view from East Bluff. You can see St. Anne's steeple from here. Sorry these pictures are a little rough. As with most of the pictures I grab for my blog, they're taken with my cell phone which only does a so-so job as a camera.
It was all downhill from here as we waved goodbye to Billy, Willy and King when they dropped us off at the Irish Pub. Then, further down the street, we wandered into the Mustang for one and into Goodfellows for another....
Before we knew it, the group was getting loud and rowdy, Dan mooned Laura, and we figured we'd better hurry to catch a boat off the Island before they asked us to leave... again. [sigh]
This year's big adventure finally ended right where it began—at our restaurant where we all met in the lounge for a late dinner and a nightcap. Dan and I were home before 10 and looking forward to next year's big adventure by 10:01!
~ Robin
We'd talked about a Trolley ride to Tahquamenon Falls, but then I suggested we stay closer to home and go to Mackinac Island. It was almost comical to see everyone's expression when I mentioned it. They were like, "Oh, wow! Mackinac Island! Why didn't we think of that before?!"
I know it's hard to imagine overlooking the perfect short excursion right in your own back yard, but we honestly had. So Laura made a phone call and scored complimentary VIP passes on the ferry, and Margaret (who was born and raised on the Island) arranged a special carriage tour for our group. Let this be a lesson to you, boys and girls—sometimes it really isn't what you know, it's who you know. ;)
Yesterday, our big day finally arrived! Because the weather was cold and blustery and rain was threatening, we briefly considered rescheduling our adventure but finally decided to go for it. What's a little wind and rain, right? By the time we got off work, we were rarin' to go! We ran home to change clothes and met each other at Shepler's just in time to catch the 3:30 boat to the Island.
We almost had the boat to the Island to ourselves that late in the day. We planned to catch the last boat off the Island at 8 PM, which would still allow plenty of time to get into mischief. BTW, have I mentioned that the gang from our restaurant has been thrown off the Island at least 3 times over the years for misconduct? We have something of a reputation over there, let me tell ya. We only hoped they wouldn't see us coming. Heh!
Here is the obligatory picture of the Mackinac Bridge taken from the ferry as we crossed the Straits of Mackinac.
We arrived on the Island and spent a few minutes waiting for our carriage. As you can see, although the wall-to-wall crowds of summer have thinned somewhat, there was still plenty of activity in the streets. Once our ride arrived, the driver promptly drove us down the street to Doud's Market to pick up snacks and some [ahem!] liquid refreshments for our tour.
Here, just ahead and on the left, you see Margaret and on her right, her sister, Wilma. Beyond them, our driver, Billy from Ishpeming, MI (loved his Yooper accent, and, whew boy, could he tell the jokes! Heh!) and our trusty steeds, Belgian draft horses—Willy (left) and King (right). Because Margaret and Wilma are from the Island, they couldn't resist correcting our driver as he tried to narrate a bit of the tour. However, he was a great sport, and before long he did everything but hand the reins over to them!We spent nearly two hours criss-crossing the Island—our wish was his command. So we drove past the Grand and West Bluff then wound our way around the back roads until we passed the airport. We then made a little side trip into Harrisonville for a quick visit with Margaret's brother's family.
It soon became obvious that Willy and King had absolutely NO IDEA where we were making them take us. You must remember, the carriage tours generally stick to the same route, day after day, year after year. The horses undoubtedly know the prescribed route so well, that a driver is pretty much optional. On this trip, however, they saw quite a bit of new scenery, and their ears perked up and they whinnied in surprise and curiosity. We all had to laugh at their antics and were thrilled to see they were obviously enjoying the drive as much as we were.
Here you see our mascot, Dan. (BTW, that's my BIG can of "soda" he's holding while I snap pictures.) Dan always comes along on our girl outings. When Billy commented on the fact that one guy was stuck escorting so many ladies (7 women altogether), Dan promptly asked our driver how much he thought he could get for his "girls" on the Island."Probably not much," Billy shook his head, regretfully. "Da girls over here, well, dey pretty much give dat stuff away...you know what I mean?"
Sorry about your luck, Dan. :P~~~~
Here's a view of town taken from East Bluff.
...and another view from East Bluff. You can see St. Anne's steeple from here. Sorry these pictures are a little rough. As with most of the pictures I grab for my blog, they're taken with my cell phone which only does a so-so job as a camera.It was all downhill from here as we waved goodbye to Billy, Willy and King when they dropped us off at the Irish Pub. Then, further down the street, we wandered into the Mustang for one and into Goodfellows for another....
Before we knew it, the group was getting loud and rowdy, Dan mooned Laura, and we figured we'd better hurry to catch a boat off the Island before they asked us to leave... again. [sigh]
This year's big adventure finally ended right where it began—at our restaurant where we all met in the lounge for a late dinner and a nightcap. Dan and I were home before 10 and looking forward to next year's big adventure by 10:01!
~ Robin
0 comments:
Post a Comment