Mackinac Island with Aunt Hannah

Dave's youngest sister, Hannah, came to visit us on September 2nd. We had been planning on her visit all summer and had been thinking of so many fun things to do the week she'd be here. When we got word that Dave's work detail was switching dates and he would miss all of Hannah's visit, I was so sad, and a little grateful at the same time. Hannah is an awesome aunt and the boys love her dearly, so I knew she would help us a lot while Dave was gone, and we stuck with our plans and had a great time! 

Hannah arrived on a Tuesday evening. Dave stayed with the boys while I went to the big city to do some shopping and pick her up. Dave left bright and early the next morning for Utah. Hannah and the boys and I went to the farmers market, playgroup at the park, and the beach that day. Thursday we took Jed to school and then Hannah helped me make pickles. Friday I had a meeting with the MOPS "steering team" and Hannah was AWESOME and babysat for all the kids. Of course, they all loved her. And, best of all, on Saturday, we fulfilled a life-long dream of mine and went to Mackinac Island.

Mackinac Island (pronounced mackinaw) is an located in Lake Huron, just east of the Mackinaw bridge. In order to get to Mackinac, you have to take a ferry or an airplane.

 Aunt Hannah and the boys waiting in line for the ferry. Our boat looked just like the one behind them.

 Riding on the ferry! It was pretty noisy up on top but we loved seeing the beautiful blue water of Lake Huron.

The light house on Bois Blanc island. If you've seen the movie Somewhere In Time, this should be very familiar. I had to restrain myself from squealing like a little girl.

Once we got off the ferry, it was really like we were in a different world. Cars are not allowed on Mackinac Island, so everyone uses bikes, horse-drawn carriages, or their feet to get around. Mackinac island is well known for amazing fudge, so the streets smell amazing. It is beautiful there and everyone is so HAPPY! It's such a fun place.

 We climbed this little grassy hill, overlooking the harbor and sitting under the old fort, to eat our lunch. It was nice to get warm in the sun after the breeze on the ferry, watch the people and seagulls, and enjoy our sandwiches.

 The cannon went off in the fort above us while we were eating. The boys were less than thrilled.

 After lunch we decided to explore the island. I really wish smell-o-vision was a thing, because the main street smelled SO GOOD! And it was beautiful. We enjoyed watching the people and deciding which shops we wanted to go in later while we walked toward the bathrooms.

 Here is the Mackinac public library. It was bright turquoise--almost the color of my piano!

 Since it is fall, there were tons of monarch butterflies fluttering in the air. We stopped to situate the boys in the stroller a little better in front of this beautiful garden, and were thrilled to see several butterflies.

 There are so many charming houses on Mackinac. Many are bed-and-breakfasts but some are private residences. It was so fun to squeal over them with Hannah!

There are also lots of beautiful churches on Mackinac. This one was just down the hill from the Grand Hotel. It was so pretty.

Standing in front of the Grand Hotel. I have always wanted to go here, ever since I was a teenager. I'm sure Hannah thought I was a total dork, because I could barely contain my glee. It was so beautiful there!

I love the beautiful porches of the hotel. And I could totally picture Christopher Reeve skipping down those stairs.

Hannah and I loved how the ceiling of the porch was painted a fun color. And the bottoms of the balconies too. Such a fun little touch.

Jed loved all the different couches and cool things they had inside the hotel. There was a large model ship that he was particularly enthralled with. I loved the geranium carpet--the geranium is the symbol of the Grand Hotel. We also got to walk around a small art gallery and see the ballroom all set up for a wedding luncheon. It was beautiful. Hank fell asleep and the hotel, since it was built so long ago, isn't very stroller friendly, so Hannah and I had to take turns staying with the stroller and poking around the cool places. But it was lots of fun. After we got done inside, we headed out to enjoy the grounds.

The beautiful lawn where Jane Seymore runs across, shouting "Riiiichaaard!" in Somewhere in Time. I restrained myself from doing the same since there was a wedding going on.

Horse topiaries. If you look closely, they have pine cones for ears.

Jed and I enjoyed the fountain a lot.

A few fun facts about Grand Hotel: The porch is 660 feet long--the largest in the world. They use 5200 geraniums in the flowerbeds each season. There are 378 rooms and 8 suites in the hotel; the cheapest is $310 per night. Each night there is a 5-course dress-up dinner. Over the course of the season, the kitchens use 83,500 pounds of potatoes, 23,000 pounds of carrots, and 14,000 pounds of strawberries!

After Hank woke up, we had a little snack on the lawn and played around for a while near the fountain. Hank thought these bushes were so great for playing hide and seek.

My sweet boys and I in front of the Grand Hotel

After we got done at the Grand, we walked down a little garden path towards the school. Yes, the island has year-round residents, including kids.

We found a fairy ring (it's kind of hard to make out, but it's there) on the large field between the school and the Grand Hotel.

The boys had a good time playing on the school's playground. It was nice for them to be able to burn off some energy, especially since they had been SO incredibly good at the Grand. After playing for about an hour, we were hungry, so we meandered downtown and ate dinner at The Pink Pony, a restaurant and pub. Hannah and I had really good burgers/sandwiches and the most amazing sweet potato fries. The boys were good eaters and we had fun. After eating, we headed out to do a little shopping. It was a little strange--there are no places to lock up bikes or strollers on the island. Everyone just parks their bikes along the road, where you would normally park a car, or stashes them in the few bike racks around. No one bothers anyone else's bike or stroller. When we would find a shop we wanted to go into, we'd just park the stroller on the side of the road, lock the brakes, and in we'd go. When we came out later, everything was just like we'd left it.

The boys thought this turtle was so funny. And they each picked out a toy to take home--Jed picked out a large stuffed snake and Hank picked a stuffed tree frog that emits a loud "peeeep" when you squeeze it. Hannah and I bought some fudge, of course, and then we headed back to the ferry dock to wait for the boat home.

The beautiful marina

There was a huge cruise ship parked next to our ferry boat. It was at least 2 football fields long and looked so luxurious. I wonder if some tycoon was visiting Mackinac that day?

Aunt Hannah and the boys riding the ferry home, with the bridge behind them.

We had such a great time! I love Mackinac island--there is so much to do, and it is such a fun change from everyday life. I was so glad that Hannah could come with us. The boys love Aunt Hannah so much. When we had to say goodbye to her the following Tuesday, there was much sadness. Jed even prayed the night before "please bless Aunt Hannah to live with us always so everything will be perfect." Talk about heart-wrenching! We have had many talks about how it's important for Aunt Hannah to go to college, because school is important, but Jed always tells me afterwards "Well, after she is done with college, she will come back to us." Awwww!