The Huffys at the Grand Hotel Tea Garden
Best husband and I are just back from beautiful Mackinac (pronounced Macinaw) Island, located in Lake Huron, between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. This quaint tourist spot is home to many historic sites, including Fort Mackinac, where Dr. William Beaumont perfected his experimentation on the human stomach. No motor vehicles are allowed on the island, and visitors must get around on foot, by bicycle or horse-drawn carriage. Our favorite parts of the island are the upper and back roads, where we take our bikes to get away from the crowds, and explore the less traveled (and harder to get to) areas. Here’s some of our favorite spots.
The Grand Hotel
The world-famous Grand Hotel and surrounding gardens. Red geraniums, made voluptuously vibrant by the endless supply of horse manure fertilizer, are the signature theme of the hotel. The gardens and grounds are pristine and manicured. The hotel is formal, requiring dress clothes after 6 PM, and has guards posted at the east drive to prevent those messy-looking cyclists from cluttering up the view in front of the hotel (although those messy horses pulling carriages are allowed.) Always the rebels, we managed to circumvent this by biking up to the west bluff behind the hotel, then coasting down the steep, steep street that runs right into the Grand Hotel drive. They couldn’t catch us and couldn’t stop us, and we had a great ride down.
Notice the “blue sky” of the porch ceiling, repeated on the underside of the porch balconies.
Great view from the porch. Note the geraniums.
This oft-photographed classic phone booth was moved recently from its spot next to the stone church, to make room for a new house constructed there.
A genuine pay phone, for those who’ve never seen one before.
Coming up: Mackinac Island rocks.
© Huffygirl 2011
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