Mackinac Island has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I’ve been dozens of times, and used to go every year with my mom, which is a tradition I have started with my own child. Without stopping, Mackinaw City is approximately three-hours from my house near Lansing. As I have a two-year old, well, stops are required.
This year was my daughter’s second trip and my… well, I don’t know. Twenty-second maybe? In any case, we – my daughter Elena, my mom, and I – stayed at the Lilac Tree Hotel. The hotel is located on Main Street a short distance from the Shepler ferry docks. Shepler is the only Mackinac Island ferry I’ve ever ridden on. I suppose it’s part tradition, but I’ve also never had a reason to switch companies – I’ve found that Shepler has competitive pricing, efficient crews, and no hassles.
Back to the hotel. Like every hotel on the island, the room was not cheap, especially since we rented a suite. Unlike some suites, this one was actually a suite – you know, rooms separated by doors, not half-walls or big rooms. The living area with kitchenette was separated from the bedroom (with two beds) by the bathroom. Each section had doors that could be closed, great for privacy. The views were ugly, as the suite was at the back of the hotel and looked out on a dirt alley and dumpy little houses. Yes, dumpy is a judgmental term, but they were dumpy.
I know, I know – you don’t spend much time in the room. And you would be completely wrong in this case, because it rained. A lot. So we did, in fact, spend lots of time in the room, and that extra space in our huge suite came in very handy with an energetic 2-year old wanting to do everything but sit still.
The big problem I had was the noise level. Hallway noise was easily heard through the thin walls, but the greatest source of noise was from a group of people – kids, teenagers, adults, donkeys, I have no idea – that were running through the hotel and jumping up and down in the elevator. They could do this because the stairs and elevator to access the upper levels of the hotel are outside the actual hotel – anyone walking by can get access to the hotel hallways without going through the lobby. That is, officially, A Bad Idea.
Unfortunately for the people above me, the noise sounded like it was coming from their room, and after my complaint to the front desk went apparently unanswered, I went into a rage and stormed up to the room and frightened the family above me. After I learned they were not the cause of my frustration, I apologized and no one was hurt. So next time, do not go into battle unless there is, actually, a battle. Lesson learned.
Enough about that. Let’s get onto the real focus of the trip – rain.
We arrived on Friday afternoon, which was a beautiful day. A walk to Marquette Park to amuse the daughter on the play set, a jaunt to the harbor to look at the boats and enjoy some Goldfish crackers, a minor tantrum when I wouldn’t let her into the coffee shop (only mommy lets her drink coffee) – those were some of the wonders of the first day.
The second day was rain from dawn to dusk, so there was not much outdoor activity that day. My daughter was happy to try out her “Hello Kitty” rain boots, though, and you have to be satisfied with the small victories sometimes.
So what is there to do on Mackinac Island in constant rain? I’m still not sure. There is the butterfly house. Oh, sorry – The Original Butterfly House. They have, you guessed it, butterflies. And they have a web cam, so we could to wave to Andrea who was sitting comfortably (and dry) at home.
There are two butterfly houses on the island. We visited the other last year, and I have no opinion on which is better. Both were filled with hundred of beautiful butterflies. The ORIGINAL butterfly house did have the web came as well as an additional insect exhibit. The UNORIGINAL butterfly house had a goat. And goats do like Goldfish crackers, in case you were wondering. Both are good options, though the ORIGINAL butterfly house is closer to downtown.
What else to do in the rain? Well, you can eat. Not great food – this isn’t Chicago or Vegas or Mackinaw City – but there is certainly a wide variety of places to choose from.
For those of you staying at the Lilac Tree Hotel, the first floor entrance to the hotel shares the area there with a small shopping mall including a book store and, for those of you with children, a toy store. That’s a nice feature, especially nice when it’s raining.
As the sun set on Saturday – I assume it was setting, since it was still cloudy – I took a stroll to the bluff overlooking Haldimand Bay and downtown Mackinac Island. Though gloomy and with a sky full of clouds, it was still a beautiful sight to look down on Main Street as the lights came on.
As required by state law, here is a picture of Arch Rock.
So our trip was, in a nutshell, rain. It slowed us down, but even with rain, it’s still Mackinac Island, and being on the Island is still better than being most places.