Mackinaw City, Michigan

Today we traveled 46.5 NM through the Straights of Mackinac to Mackinaw City, MI and are docked at Straights State Harbor.

Biddle Point Lighthouse

De Tour Reef Lighthouse

Martin Reef Lighthouse

Round Island Lighthouse

Mackinac Island, MI

The Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Michigan, built in 1887

http://www.grandhotel.com/aboutgrandhotel/our-story/

Who knew?!

The Grand Hotel - America’s True Grand Hotel

At 660 feet, Grand Hotel’s Front Porch is the world’s largest, and is visible as you approach the island from the Straits of Mackinac.

No motorized vehicles are allowed on Michigan’s Mackinac Island. All transportation is provided by horse and carriage or bicycle.

Mackinac Island is accessible only by ferry boat or plane.

More than 130,000 overnight guests stay at Grand Hotel each season.

The 5,000,000th guest in Grand Hotel history checked in on June 26, 2006.

While more than one million people visit Mackinac Island each year, the island has only 600 year-round residents.

It takes 500,000 gallons of water to fill Grand Hotel’s swimming pool, which was named for actress Esther Williams who starred in the 1947 movie This Time for Keeps, shot at Grand Hotel.

The 1980 film Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour and Christopher Plummer, was filmed on location at Grand Hotel. The movie now has a huge following, with a fan club that meets at Grand Hotel each October.

There are more than 500 horses on Mackinac Island.

Five U.S. Presidents — Clinton, Bush, Ford, Kennedy, and Truman — have visited Grand Hotel.

Grand Hotel’s kitchen staff of more than 100 prepares and serves as many as 4,000 meals per day.

Each season, more than 83,000 pounds of prime rib, 23,500 pounds of ham, 83,500 pounds of potatoes, 23,000 pounds of carrots, 14,000 pounds of strawberries, and 6,500 pounds of pecans are served to Grand Hotel’s dining guests.

One ton of bulbs are planted in the fall, including 25,000 tulips and 15,000 daffodils.

More than 125,000 bedding plants (annuals) are used to create the many gardens on Grand Hotel grounds.

The Grand’s famous Front Porch flowers include 2,500 geraniums-the hotel’s trademark flower-in 260 planting boxes with seven tons of potting soil. More than 5,200 geraniums can be seen in all its flower beds combined.

More than 50,000 Grand Pecan Balls, the Hotel’s most popular dessert, are served each season.

Ferries everywhere!

The red and white pole attached to the fire hydrant (which is taller than Charlie) is so firefighters can locate the hydrants when hydrants are covered in snow (that's a lot of snow)

Fudge Shops everywhere....