Mackinac island

Rick told us that it is hard to get reservations in the UP this time of year, especially in popular spots. Since our next two destinations are just that, I spent the entire morning arranging accommodations. It is an arduous process as you have to identify campgrounds, then study amenities, then read reviews, then see if they have a vacancy. The amenities are different than in the South. Running water is a luxury and there is a lot of primitive camping. Sometimes the showers are coin operated. I did get us set through next Sunday. After that we start our descent through Wisconsin.
We then drove over to Hessel where the boat show had been with the hope that some would still be there and were rewarded to see about ten classic wooden boats from the 30's to the 50's.

If all the bikes were rented, the streets would be impassable.

The next day, Monday, we went to Mackinac Island, a tourist attraction island  where no automobiles are allowed. About a 30 minute drive down to St. Ignace and about 20-25 minute ride on the ferry. Really charming and a lot of neat houses and old hotels still in business. Interesting to see goods being delivered in horse drawn wagons, the equivalent of  Fed Ex. Smaller items are moved in carts with bicycle type wheels or in large bicycle baskets. Tourists can rent bikes and ride them around and the natives all use them also. The "downtown" strip was very congested so we spent most of our time away from that. There is a fort from the 1700s, and several beautiful old

100 lb. bags of sugar for the fudge store

churches. We saw a miniature golf course with real grass ( see photo). The flowers were everywhere and stunning. This place becomes mostly a ghost town in the winter as the lake freezes over. There are some winter activities and people come over in snowmobiles. There is also an airport on the island. The big deal here is supposed to be the best fudge what am. Of course we bought some, but I do not detect specialness.
After supper we sat on the dock with Rick and Pam. Just before dark one of the minks came out and cavorted among the rocks along the shore. It would have been too dark to try to take a photo but he sure was cute.