Macinac Island: Where Fudge is Your Neighbor

Mackinac Island is a quaint and cozy island resting on Lake Huron between Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas. My husband’s family has been vacationing for over a decade and this Fall we started the season off by taking a short but very sweet trip. It was the perfect time to go I decided as I wanted to live in one of my cozy mystery novels, and what better time for that than in the Fall. The trip to Chicago is not too bad. It can be rather long for the occasional driver, but having spent four summers driving across the country, the drive didn’t seem too bad. The leaves had started changing in Northern Michigan, so the drive was beautiful. You park your car at a ferry lot, as there is no transportation on the island. The only way to get around is by foot, bike, or horse carriage. Is this place even real?

It was exceptionally cold when we got to the dock, but they have a waiting area with heat. I did not leave that heat source until the ferry was docked and ready to go.

The town is seriously one of the cutest places I have ever been. It’s not a place to go if you want to pack your days with action and adventure or even a ton of activities, but if you want to get away and unwind and relax, this island is a perfect little spot. Main street is filled with different restaurants and stores, and unlike some places where all of the stores are a tourist sanctuary filled with hoodies, magnets, and mugs, and they definitely have a couple of those, but they also have these boutiques filled with local artists work, food, and accessories. I walked into these stores, looked at the prices, and my mouth fell open. Usually, the prices are so high for these small boutique stores, but they were so reasonable, amazing actually! I could have got all of my Chrismukkah gifts on this one trip. You can also get all the fudge your heart desires.

The island has a library which I vote as one of my favorite places on the island. As you might expect, it isn’t that big, but it’s brightly colored on the inside and outside and has a fireplace! A fireplace in the library…be still my heart. They have these Adirondack chairs on their back deck that overlooks the lake. It’s such a beautiful place to curl up with a book.

The island is mostly a forest, and they have some nature trails you can walk or bike through and some lookout points. It was so beautiful biking through the forest in the Fall. In the morning it would be a great place to run, but just taking a walk through on the trails would keep you active and surrounded by beauty.

My husband and his family have been staying at the same bed and breakfast every time they visited the island, so the place became like a second home and the owner/innkeepers became like family. It was the first bed and breakfast I have ever stayed at, and now that’s all I want to do. I want to travel around the country or even the world and stay in these bed and breakfasts. We would wake up and have a delicious breakfast, then spend some time reading on the front porch, watching the horses trot by, and then go out for the day. We’d come back for tea time and read by the fireplace with a pastry and tea, and then play cards in the parlor. It was so lovely and I miss it terribly.