Imagine replacing your four automobile tires in for four carriage wheels, four horse hooves or a set of bicycle tires.Or what if you just used your own two feet? Sound crazy? Not for Mackinac Island residents, who live on a surprisingly mountain-like island around an area commonly known for it flat elevation.
The road looks like a typical one with a yellow dotted line, yet absent of traffic flow as the bikes weave in and out of the carriages and slowly walking tourists, drifting from one side of the street to the other. Colorful, flowered houses with tin signs and occasionally drifting music line the road eight miles around, and you find yourself curious of their daily lifestyle. After all, living on an island only accessible by boat can be difficult to imagine.
My waiter at a restaurant on Main Street explained the name has two spellings, the French Mackinac and the British Mackinaw, but the same pronunciation, which is Mackinaw.
The island was originally called Michilimackinac by Native Americans, meaning “place of the great turtle” because of its hump-backed shaped. They travelled there every summer to catch trout, pike, sturgeon, herring and whitefish, considering it a sacred place.
French settlers adopted this name, as well, but it was shortened in the 1820s to Mackinac. Then, it was changed to Mackinaw by the founders of Mackinaw City to distinguish it from the spelling used for the bridge, straits and island itself.
Sites include Fort Mackinac, Arch Rock, the village business district, Grand Hotel, cottages on the East and West Bluffs and the 1814 battlefield.
French soldiers constructed a fort near present-day Mackinaw City around 1708 as a center for fur trading until the British won it in the Sevens Years War in 1761. They transferred the fur trade to Mackinac Island, and constructed a fort on the steep limestone for better defense from American soldiers. After an eventual British defeat in the Revolution, the island became United States territory in 1814.
And though my pocket guide tells me of the historical significance, it is not what one observes first glance on this little getaway in the middle of Lake Huron. No, it’s the food, the smells.
Once desensitized to the strong odor of horse after a few minutes, your nose is graced by the smell of warm, sweet caramel and melting chocolate. Mackinac Island’s first candy shop opened in 1889 by Henry Murdick, and fudge quickly became the top island sweet by the 1920s.
A plethora of fudge shops, about a dozen or so, dot the main street on the edge of town and lure visitors away from the gift shops and restaurants between them. And there’s no doubt about it; the competition is fierce.
Drifting from one shop to the next, fudge flippers adored in brown-smeared aprons must explain why theirs is the best. We actually chose the original Murdick’s by accident, where one of the fudge makers was kind enough to show off his skills for us. Keeping hot fudge on a narrow wooden table is no easy task, but he made it look easy. Of course, he didn’t forget to mention their confections were recognized on Food Network and used all-natural ingredients without any additives for additional flavoring and color.
And though the smell of cherries doesn’t waft in the air like it would in Traverse City, the amount of cherry trees in the state of Michigan is considerable. One can’t enter any restaurant without the word “dried cherry” appearing a few times on the menu, at least in this section of the state.
Yes, this beautiful island could certainly be my home away from home.
The visitor’s guide explains, “One of the best things that ever happened to Mackinac Island was the automobile ban beginning in 1898. The absence of cars and the resulting benefits- exhaust-free air, quaint and narrow village lanes, no auto noise and picturesque horse-drawn carriages- have created a unique, charming and historic ambiance.”
Not to mention, it makes us sit back and enjoy the scenery a bit more instead of focusing on simply “getting there.”
Living on an island year-round without cars might be too inconvenient, and I certainly wouldn’t want to be stuck there when the snows hit Michigan.
But life is all about the ride; if you spend time thinking only of the destination, how will you enjoy today? So grab an old-fashioned bike or some reigns and let the wind blow you toward a renewed appreciation for your surroundings.
Kristin Larmore, a recent Journalism grad of Appalachian State University, visited Mackinac Island on Labor Day weekend this year. She spent much of the day racing her brother-in-law on old fashioned bikes the eight miles around the edge of the island. Her favorite feature was the steep trek up the side of a tree-covered cliff which culminated in a gorgeous view. It reminded her of being back in her North Carolina mountains.
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