Tag: Mackinaw
Fort Mackinaw (Mackinaw Island) 2004
James, Mary and I visited Fort Mackinaw on both the city side and the island side. I personally liked the city one better although the island one was much better built as forts go. The Fort at Mackinaw City is primarily made of wood while the one on the hill at Mackinaw Island is made of stones with the wood on top.
That evening we got to see a great fire work display that went on over the water. There is so much to do nowadays in Mackinaw that you really can’t see everything in just one weekend. The island alone would take that much time. I would say 5 days would be perfect, however we usually only stay for 3 or 4 but at least we never get bored.
We saw the cannons shoot off at both forts and that is pretty cool in any century.
Mackinaw Island State Park 2004
The thing I remember most about this trip was getting up super early and arriving at the island before 7am. On our way up to the State park we met Governor Granholm on her way down.
We went to Mackinaw Island for our Honeymoon and several other times, but this was our first visit with James. We took him for a nice long walk through the state park then let him play in one of the many playgrounds on the island. Hopefully we can make this an annual event for James.
Lots of first’s for James here, first time on a boat, first vacation, first time crossing the Mackinaw Bridge, first time in the Upper Peninsula. He did really well for us in the car which is about a 4-5 hour trip so hopefully we can do many more of these trips.
Fort Mackinaw (Mackinaw City) 2004
Visiting this fort is always much fun. There are two major historic forts on the Mackinaw straits. The one on the Mackinaw City side of the pond and the one on the hill on Mackinaw Island. Both were occupied at various times by England and France as they battled for control of the straits. The one we toured today was the one on the Mackinaw City side located nearly underneath the bridge.
Dad remembers going on the tour as a child and there was a skeleton in one of the lookouts. The first thing Dad checked out was to see if that skeleton was still there and sure enough it was.
The tour is mostly a self tour with mini tours going on from time to time. They shoot off the cannon which is pretty cool and very loud. Bring your earplugs for that.
Mackinaw City 2004
James first trip to Mackinaw became an annual excursion for the family. We think its a great way to start the summer off so we try to go before Memorial Day if we can. The time between Memorial Day and Labor Day all the hotel rates double and suddenly we have an expensive vacation. Fortunately James has not yet started school so we can take advantage of taking him to Mackinaw during the off season.
This year there was still a chill in the air. The month of May might be considered part of summer, especially toward the end of the month, but in Mackinaw with the strong winds and northern location it was still early spring.
Mackinaw Island 2002
After our visit to Saulte Ste Marie we headed South for about an hour and took the ferry from Mackinaw to Mackinaw Island. while there we took a tour by horse carriage to most of the sights. We even made time to visit the haunted house that they have there.
Mackinaw 1958
The Kleiber family heard wind of a bridge being built in Mackinaw that would connect the lower peninsula with the upper peninsula of Michigan. The bridge would be open to traffic in 1957 and the Kleiber family rented a cottage and went up to Mackinaw in 1958 to take a look see.
Since then Mackinaw has been a very popular vacation location for Kleibers of all generations. You will find many pictures of the bridge taken by the family but these are the first.
The Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere. The five-mile bridge is the world’s longest suspension bridge between cable anchorages. Fare revenues are now used to operate and maintain the Bridge and repay the State of Michigan for monies advanced to the Authority since the facility opened to traffic in 1957.
