By far, biking around Mackinac Island - literally, was my favorite memory of our vaction to Michigan. The scenery - phenomenal, the company - fantastic, the weather - perfect!
Once again, we drove to Mackinaw City and picked up the ferry at Shepler's. Unfortunately, we didn't get a spot on the top, but it was fun to have a different experience sitting on the lower level.
We brought our bikes along and could have brought them on the ferry, but with all the horse droppings and fear of our bikes being stolen, we rented them on the island instead.
Before picking up our bikes, we ate at a restaurant called, Goodfellows. The food was fine (although they didn't have a kids menu) but the waiter was very unfriendly. In fact, there may be something to the saying, "Minnesota Nice" because nobody was overly friendly or welcoming in Michigan (with the exception of our waitress at the Berry Patch in Paradise). Anyway, after lunch and after picking up a quick snack - Amaya got two chocolate covered marshmallows with sprinkles - we rented our bikes.
There was a large selection of bikes to choose from and we had quite a bit of help. I LOVED the comfort seat on my bike and may need to invest in one soon! Here is a picture of Amaya strapped in and anxious to go!
We biked on M-185 - Mackinac's Island only highway - a little over 8 miles. Basically, a two lane paved road which made for relatively easy biking. Here are a few pictures of the sights as we headed out of downtown Mackinac.
What we enjoyed most about the ride, was that on our right-hand side was glorious views of Lake Huron along the coast of the island and on our left-hand side were views of the wooded State Park.
It was a little difficult manuevering around so many people on bikes and trying to avoid horse droppings, but we quickly adjusted.We got another view of Arch Rock which we saw on our carriage tour just a few days earlier.
Here's a picture of Sugar Loaf, which we hadn't seen before.
We took several stops along the way because it was so beautiful!
Steve and me
Amaya getting her feet wet!
Another view of Mackinac Bridge - waaay off in the distance.
The trip around the island took us about 90 minutes including several stops. The only two things we didn't really get a chance to see was the Little Stone Church and the Grand Hotel. We had passed by them both on the carriage ride, but I didn't get any pictures. Since everything is within walking distance on the island and the weather was nice, we were able to get a few pictures.
The Little Stone Church
The Grand Hotel - this is as close as we could get without paying 10 dollars to be on the property.
After the Grand Hotel, we headed back to Main Street to get some ice cream at Ryba's Fudge Shop. Amaya fell in love with Superman ice cream!
It was time to go back to the campground and say good-bye to the island. Our ferry ride home was a little exciting. About 7-8 minutes away from our stop in Mackinaw City, we stopped in the middle of the lake. Everyone on the ferry stood up to see what was going on and there was a windsurfer sitting on his board! The ferry stopped to see if he needed any help considering he was in the middle of a popular ferry route and so far away from shore! We said he was just fine - maybe a little crazy - but fine!
Once we got back to the campground, Steve started another amazing fire and we roasted marshmallows.
Amaya loved watching the fire!
The Jellystone store carried JUMBO marshmallows and we picked up a bag.
After a few jumbo marshmallows, all the sugar started going to Amaya's head and she got a little crazy!
A fun end to the fun day!
Amaya getting her feet wet!
Another view of Mackinac Bridge - waaay off in the distance.
The trip around the island took us about 90 minutes including several stops. The only two things we didn't really get a chance to see was the Little Stone Church and the Grand Hotel. We had passed by them both on the carriage ride, but I didn't get any pictures. Since everything is within walking distance on the island and the weather was nice, we were able to get a few pictures.The Little Stone Church
The Grand Hotel - this is as close as we could get without paying 10 dollars to be on the property.
After the Grand Hotel, we headed back to Main Street to get some ice cream at Ryba's Fudge Shop. Amaya fell in love with Superman ice cream!
It was time to go back to the campground and say good-bye to the island. Our ferry ride home was a little exciting. About 7-8 minutes away from our stop in Mackinaw City, we stopped in the middle of the lake. Everyone on the ferry stood up to see what was going on and there was a windsurfer sitting on his board! The ferry stopped to see if he needed any help considering he was in the middle of a popular ferry route and so far away from shore! We said he was just fine - maybe a little crazy - but fine!Once we got back to the campground, Steve started another amazing fire and we roasted marshmallows.
Amaya loved watching the fire!
The Jellystone store carried JUMBO marshmallows and we picked up a bag.
After a few jumbo marshmallows, all the sugar started going to Amaya's head and she got a little crazy!
A fun end to the fun day!