Traveling to Mackinac Island

While in high school, my sister and I were introduced to travel when we went with our parents across the Mackinac Bridge. Besides the bridge, one of the sites I especially remember was stopping to see Castle Rock. There were so many steps and we walked up all of the steps and, of course, walked down all of them too. I have never forgotten that. It was so much fun. That trip started my love for traveling. Visiting Mackinac Island was something I dreamed of doing for a long, long time.

It was late July 2017 when my dream was about to come true. John parked our vehicle in the parking lot for passengers taking the Starline Ferry, and we gathered Angel and our things with us. He loves to travel too and is well-behaved. We boarded a shuttle bus, but on the way to the ferry, it broke down. Everyone got out and walked the rest of the way to the ferry. The first building that I took a photo of was the Mackinac City Hall, followed by The Gateway to Mackinac Island, and The Dixie Saloon. (Click on any of the photos to enlarge them and escape to return to the blog.)

Mackinac City Hall

The Gateway to Mackinac Island

The Dixie Saloon  

Angel is riding on the Star Line ferry with us.

Mackinac Bridge to our left with the spray from our ferry boat

Ferry Boat Service

It was the late 1800s when ferry boats first brought tourists to Mackinac Island. The early wood-hulled boats only made a few trips a day and took up to an hour to cross the Straits of Mackinac. Today there are three companies who provide ferry service.  In 1878 Arnold Transit Line launched their service. Shepler's started in 1945, and Star Line joined them in 1978. High speed and efficient service allows these ferry lines to make dozens of trips to the island daily.

Ferry Boat Service

Five sail boats raced up Lake Michigan from Chicago to Mackinac Island in 1898. This inaugurated the now annual longest freshwater sailing race in the world. The Port Huron to Mackinac race on Lake Huron began in 1924 providing racers another challenging event.

The Mackinac Races

As we approached the island, I took a picture of the fort through the open window of the ferry.

The Fort through the open window of the ferry 

The Candymaker Store window was very tempting after we got on the island.

 Candymaker store window

Marquette Park is Mackinac Island State Park

Mackinac Island State Park 

The Missionary Bark Chapel is near the foot of the walkway up to the Fort.

Missionary Bark Chapel with walkway to fort behind it

In my next post, I will post more pictures of the fort and of our self-guided tour of Mackinac Island. If you would like to be notified when it posts, please add your email by going to the bottom of the post to click on web version. Be sure to go to your email to confirm that you want to receive the notification.

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Thank you for visiting my blog. I have many photos from Mackinac Island, but will divide them into multiple posts for your enjoyment.

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This is my last post for 2019, so best wishes to everyone reading for a Happy New Year filled with love and that you enjoy a year of good health, prosperity and be safe.