Mackinac Island

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

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

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.

"Orval Fairbairn" wrote in message
news
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?


No. But thanks for asking.

--
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.

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.

Ok, so I've never flown in to Macinac. I do have a fair personal
relationship with the place, though.

10 years ago this September I asked my wife to marry me on the front
garden of the Grand Hotel. September 5th was her 30th birthday and I had
to sort of stall the momentous occasion until after midnight so I could
propose on her birthday.

We did stay one night at the Grand Hotel. That was the most I ever paid
for a hotel room of rather so-so quality. It was probably their most
inexpensive room, but if I remember correctly it was something like $300.
Another $200 for dinner. It was a great dinner if you are into the formal
dining kind of experience.

We did rent a tandem bicycle while we were there and went around the
island. Not as quaint as the horse thing, but we aren't horse people (my
wife is actually allergic). I'd think this would be the best way to get
around unless you were hauling luggage.

And, yes, I've seen "Somewhere in Time" way too many times. At least
yearly, unless I fall asleep in the middle of it. Not really a movie that
I can work up much excitement about. However my wife (as 12 year old)
has a tiny walk on part in it, as does my step father-inlaw. My
mother-inlaw did a considerable amount of the costuming for it.

--
Frank Stutzman
Bonanza N494B "Hula Girl"
Hood River, OR

"Frank Stutzman" wrote in message
...
Ok, so I've never flown in to Macinac. I do have a fair personal
relationship with the place, though.

10 years ago this September I asked my wife to marry me on the front
garden of the Grand Hotel. September 5th was her 30th birthday and I had
to sort of stall the momentous occasion until after midnight so I could
propose on her birthday.


Under the catagory of "Small World..."

I also happened to propose to my wife, 10 years ago, on Mackinac
Island...but our moment was on the ferry returning to Mackinac City after a
thundershower which gave us the most vivid end to end rainbow either of us
had ever seen.

Congrats on your decade...

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
Chandler, AZ

OK, I have a couple of Mackinac Island flying stories too.

My bride and I spent our honeymoon there six years ago. We flew there
from Lawrence, Kansas in a Mooney, so I guess you could call it our
HoneyMooney. We were working around the west side of a large
thunderstorm front that stretched between KC and Chicago, and spent our
first night in Prairie du Chein, WI, then flew through WI and the UP to
St. Ignace. We stopped there for fuel and were told that tiedowns were
no charge with a fuel purchase. Since we had that taken care of, we
decided to ride the ferry to Mackinac Island. We stayed at one of the
smaller B&B style hotels, but I don't recall the name (don't tell my
bride).

Since we were in a Mooney, I told my bride that we each only had room
for a gym bag. That was a bit of an exaggeration, since she has a
tendency to pack up to the aircraft's gross limit. We found out in
mid-June that the temperatures at night get down to the 30's. She was
wearing pretty much everything in the suitcase, and we purchased a
couple of coats to wear over that.

Also, a good friend of mine used to fly for Wright Airlines out of
Cleveland years ago. He flew a lot of equipent, including Ford
Trimotors and DC-3's. He also flew charters and one of the popular
destinations was Mackinac Island. He used to fly a VIP up there on a
regular basis. The VIPs stayed at the Grand Hotel, and the pilots
stayed at the most economical hotel available. The guy he used to fly
there now owns the Yankees.

Take the trip, you'll really enjoy it.

B

tendency to pack up to the aircraft's gross limit. We found out in
mid-June that the temperatures at night get down to the 30's. She was
wearing pretty much everything in the suitcase, and we purchased a
couple of coats to wear over that.

While that's the norm, we just returned from the Island (like, yesterday),
and it was NINETY-FOUR DEGREES!

We've been there four or five times, and have ALWAYS worn a sweatshirt, even
in July. Many of the island businesses don't have air conditioning, so you
can imagine how happy *they* were about the heat wave...

;-)

But it was a great flight (IOW to Lansing, MI, to St. Ignace, to Mackinac
Island, to Ephraim, WI {Door County} to IOW) that took just 7.5 hours flight
time and covered some of the most scenic territory on earth. It was a
great way to celebrate our 20-year anniversary!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"