Mackinac Island

The wife and I are contemplating a trip up to Mackinac Island, Michigan
the last weekend in August. Have any of you been there (flown or
otherwise)? If so any recommendations for lodging , eats, etc...

I looks like it will be a really neat flight up there and it is kinda
like stepping back in time.

I lived in Michigan for 18 years and never made it out of the Lower
Peninsula. Thanks!!

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL-IA
'79 Mooney 201
4443H @ TYQ

"Jon Kraus" wrote in message
. ..

The wife and I are contemplating a trip up to Mackinac Island, Michigan
the last weekend in August. Have any of you been there (flown or
otherwise)? If so any recommendations for lodging , eats, etc...


It's far cheaper to stay and dine in St. Ignace or Mackinaw City and take
the ferry to Mackinac Island.



I looks like it will be a really neat flight up there and it is kinda like
stepping back in time.


Rent "Somewhere in Time", it's a chick flick but it was filmed on the
island.



I lived in Michigan for 18 years and never made it out of the Lower
Peninsula. Thanks!!


Troll.

Jon,

Made the trip a couple of years ago from 06C (Schaumburg, IL - just West
of O'Hare). About 3:50 up the West side of the lake. The noise abatement
procedure is a bit confusing. They say to "avoid the shoreline". So, do
you fly inside the shoreline or outside? I guessed wrong and tried to
fly inside. Nobody said a word.

I recommend you get fuel on the way in across the channel so you don't
have to stop on the way out. There is no fuel on the island. The airport
is quite a distance (by carriage) from most of the island's attractions.
If you are not willing to spend the money, others suggest staying across
the channel on the "mainland". I preferred to stay on the island.
Everything is expensive. I did not care. I would HIGHLY recommend the
Hotel Iroquois. The service is excellent. Their own restaurant is
perhaps the best on the island for food quality and service (yes, even
better than the Grand Hotel). But you MUST do dinner at the Grand at
least once (figure $200 with drinks). Bring formal clothes for that one.
Staying at the Grand is reported as O.K. - but more expensive than just
about anywhere else.

Now, the horse drawn carriages. Many think they are quaint. Others think
they are somewhat romantic. I found them to be a bit of a pain. To call
one (a "taxi") takes anywhere from 1 minute to 20 minutes depending on
how busy they are. It then takes an additional 20 minutes to get
anywhere. If the weather is the least bit cold, you freeze. Hot, you
roast. I was a pretty avid camper and like living outdoors. But I could
not get into the horse thing. Opinions vary. And, you better like the
smell of horse dung. They have people constantly picking it up, but it
is still everywhere. Again, some don't mind. Others do.

We went on the end of the season (late September) and got lucky with one
day of good weather at 70. The other days were cooler and it rained for
a day. The last day was clear and cool. During the season, the island is
NUTS! There are WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE CRAMMED INTO TOO SMALL A SPACE.
Every day a throng of transient day trippers (called "fudgies") descends
on the island from high speed jet boats and clogs things up quite well.
I believe you are going "during the season", so it may be cramped.

I thought the trip was well worth the expense. It was a neat adventure.
I probably have had my fill for some years though.

Good Luck,
Mike
Jon Kraus wrote:
The wife and I are contemplating a trip up to Mackinac Island, Michigan
the last weekend in August. Have any of you been there (flown or
otherwise)? If so any recommendations for lodging , eats, etc...

I looks like it will be a really neat flight up there and it is kinda
like stepping back in time.

I lived in Michigan for 18 years and never made it out of the Lower
Peninsula. Thanks!!

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL-IA
'79 Mooney 201
4443H @ TYQ

Make sure you do not miss the planked whitefish at the Village Inn....

--
Geoff
the sea hawk at wow way d0t com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail

Spell checking is left as an excercise for the reader.
"Jon Kraus" wrote in message
. ..
The wife and I are contemplating a trip up to Mackinac Island, Michigan
the last weekend in August. Have any of you been there (flown or
otherwise)? If so any recommendations for lodging , eats, etc...

I looks like it will be a really neat flight up there and it is kinda like
stepping back in time.

I lived in Michigan for 18 years and never made it out of the Lower
Peninsula. Thanks!!

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL-IA
'79 Mooney 201
4443H @ TYQ

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 22:12:14 GMT, Jon Kraus
wrote:

The wife and I are contemplating a trip up to Mackinac Island, Michigan
the last weekend in August. Have any of you been there (flown or
otherwise)? If so any recommendations for lodging , eats, etc...

I looks like it will be a really neat flight up there and it is kinda
like stepping back in time.

I lived in Michigan for 18 years and never made it out of the Lower
Peninsula. Thanks!!

We did a trip there a few years ago. There are no cars on Mackinac
Island, so plan on walking or bring a bicycle. We put our bikes in
the back of the Cherokee (it can be done if you remove the rear seats
and dismantle the bikes). The lap around the island was a nice ride
and scenic.

If you are staying overnight the Grand Hotel is supposed to be the
place.

I believe there is a small landing fee for MCD.

We fly there every summer from central Wisconsin. If not for an overnighter
at least for a day trip. We haven't been there yet this summer, but are
planning on going sometime in August.

Just one weather warning about KMCD, watch for fog, it will often be covered
with fog when the surrounding UP and LP airports are clear. KMCD has a
VOR/DME or GPS-A as well as a GPS RWY 26 approach.

Airport is in a MI State Park and I believe the landing fee is $10, get
there early to tie down on the asphalt, otherwise there are plenty of grass
tiedowns. No fuel available on the island.

Walk into town, it's a nice walk in the shade after a warm flight. Horse
drawn taxi's will pick you up at the airport also. After you pass the Grand
Hotel and make your way down the hill, the French Outpost will be on your
right, it is a great stop for lunch. Dine either indoors or outdoors, they
usually have a band playing on the outdoor patio.

http://www.chippewahotel.com/ is a great place to stay as well as eat, it
will be on your right hand side as you walk east down main street towards
the harbor, you can't miss it, it's pink. Or, if you really want to go all
out stay at http://www.grandhotel.com/

At the Chippewa you can dine on the deck that looks south towards the
mainland and watch the ferries and the ore ships pass under the bridge.

Rent bikes to tour the island at your own pace. Take a ride around the east
side of the island on Michigan's narrowest State Highway.

Plenty of golf available, check the websites for details.

Visit the Fort for a historic look back at the Island. As well as some
historic re-enactments.

We try to go up at the end of June for the Lilac Festival, Mackinac Island
has more of varieties of Lilacs located in one place than any other place in
the world. It also has some of the world's largest.

It's really more fun if you can spend the night and really relax, if not,
it's definitely worth a day trip.

Jim

In article ,
"Capt. Geoffry Thorpe" The Sea Hawk at wow way d0t com wrote:

Make sure you do not miss the planked whitefish at the Village Inn....


Is that anything like planked carp?

That is where you:

1. catch a carp

2. nail it to a 12" plank cut to the length of the carp

3. surround it with Brussels sprouts

4. cover it with fresh river mud

5. You bury it under a charcoal fire in the sand for 3 hours.

6. Remove the mud-covered carp and Brussels sprouts from the sand.

7. Chip away the mud

8. Throw away the carp and Brussels sprouts and eat the plank.

--
Remove _'s from email address to talk to me.

"Steven P. McNicoll"
[snip]
Troll.


Jon Kraus - Troll?

Somewhere in Time (1980)
I remember not liking this Christopher Reeve movie for reasons other than it
being a chick flick - don't recall exactly what was lame about it though.
Hmm, I think it was impossible to follow - by the time you figured out who
was who, you no longer cared.


Montblack

"Montblack" wrote in message
...

Jon Kraus - Troll?


Absolutely, and by his own admission. He said he lived under the bridge for
eighteen years.

Montblack wrote:

Jon Kraus - Troll?

You don't understand. People who live in lower Michigan are called "trolls" by
other area natives because they live "under the bridge."

George Patterson
Why do men's hearts beat faster, knees get weak, throats become dry,
and they think irrationally when a woman wears leather clothing?
Because she smells like a new truck.