Gypsy Wanderings - UP of Michigan - Mackinac Island

I finally got to do some gypsy style wandering. We just returned from our trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (aka UP). Matt and I attended his niece's wedding. In addition to attending the wedding we took day trips every day to check out the area. By the time we left I was praying for a rainy day to rest a bit.

Our first trip was to Mackinac Island. To get to the island you have to go by boat or ferry. We took a hydro boat which was about a 30 minute trip each way. There are no cars or motorized vehicles allowed on the island. Deliveries are done by horse and wagon. The only forms of transportation are walking, horseback, horse & carriage, and bikes. This was definitely not a cheap day trip although we definitely felt it was worth what we paid. If we were to do it again I'd like to go more prepared with packed lunches,our own water and probably rent or take our own bikes as you can bring them across on the boat for a fee. We did not eat on the island as the prices are pretty high. Fortunately we had a large breakfast right before leaving for the island so we weren't really hungry although we did buy ice cream cones at the Sanders Store as a treat. If you can afford to stay on the island it would be worth it to see things at night as well as having more time to explore.

Many of you may remember the movie Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour. The Grand Hotel that the movie took place at is located on this island. The hotel is absolutely awesome looking. It's huge!  It has the longest front porch of any building. The grounds on this entire island are spectacular and even more so around the hotel itself. We paid to be able to go into the hotel but sadly it didn't really allow us to see much. We did go up to the bar at the top and that has a spectacular view, perfect to sit and sip a class of wine and enjoy. I did purchase some teas in the Tea Shop in the indoor shopping area. The views from the porch are spectacular as well and I could have sat in one of the rocking chairs all day reading and enjoying the view.

The Grand Hotel - Mackinac Island

beautiful shaped bushes on the lawn directly across from The Grand Hotel

Other houses along the cliffs on the island.

We took a carriage tour around the island. I thought it would be the best way to get an overview of everything and then we could go back and investigate areas that caught our interest. We did a combination ticket so we could get into the Butterfly Conservatory. The Butterfly Conservatory was breath taking. I'll admit I've never been in one before so this was my first experience. The cottage that the conservatory is attached to is adorable. I could die a happy girl in the gardens here. On our way back from The Grand Hotel we took a little alleyway and discovered a beautiful garden that had a sign The Secret Garden in it.  The flowers were so beautiful I can't describe it. I thought we'd taken a picture of it but unfortunately not.

Butterfly Conservatory

Matt kept telling me to hold still and I couldn't figure out why until he told me I had this fellow on me. Glad he took a picture so I could see it.

Butterfly that took a liking to me

The roof on this building caught my eye. I've never seen anything like it before. It looked like pieces of peeled bark with the the pieces of stripping across to hold them secure. Really unusual. This building wasn't open so I'm not sure what it was originally used for. It might have been a cottage someone lived in.

American Fur Co Retail Store

 This is where hunters and trappers could bring their furs to exchange for merchandise when the island was first settled. The furs were kept in another building.

This is the view from Fort Mackinac. I wish we'd taken pictures of the office quarters because one thing we both noticed was how grand the living spaces were furnished, especially for the time period. For a layout of the Fort please follow the link above. 

While on the carriage tour we went through Mackinac State Park and got to see the Arch Rock.  There are several theories on how this developed but I like the story of the Indian Princess and the Air God that our driver told. Unfortunately I can't find the legend online so briefly the Indian Princess fell in love with an Air God.  Her father didn't approve of the match so to prevent it he took her to this rock and tied her to it and left her there to the elements. She cried and cried and her tears washed away the stone until this arch was made. The Air God found her and saved her. It is said that the Air God went through the arch and became a human male. I'm a sucker for romantic endings.  As you look down into the water just past the arch you can see the picture below. Nobody knows who wrote it.  

Arch Rock

Live Life Valken

Weekend Ramblings August 16th

Menu:
Lunch: Italian on cibatta roll
Supper: Taco Salad with breadsticks

Wow has it been a busy summer! It doesn't feel like it's been that busy but I've been working on little things here and there and it adds up. I've also been in training at work which has added up time wise. Thankfully after the first week they let us train a half day in the office and then all the telecommuters were able to come home and work. Yesterday and today were super humid for North Dakota.  The low humidity here is something I really appreciate. I hear natives complain about how bad it is and can't help but laugh. Michigan's humidity was the worse of all the places I've ever lived and if they think this is bad they need to experience it elsewhere. Otherwise, our weather has been in the mid to low 80's with night temps in the 60's.

Today we had a nice storm pass through. It rained so heavily that the flash flood alarm went off on the TV and cell phones. I'm thankful that I took the pups for a walk before the storm hit. Matt wanted to go to the store and every time he thought it was starting to slow down it would start pouring again.

Water was so deep in the road that it went up over the sidewalk into the yard.  There's a drop down from the step to the road.  Water was up to the bottom of the rims on both our vehicles.

This was totally flooded over for a bit when it was raining the hardest. 

Unfortunately water was going under the skirting on the trailer.

This pitcher was empty before it started raining.

Crafting:

I finished the rug!!!! It was a great feeling when I finished it. I already have the loom warped and another rug started. For my fall project I've started a knitted sample stitch afghan with super bulky yarn.  I wanted something nice and warm to curl up in when it gets cold.

About a month ago we went to a Junk Expo and Matt found a spinning wheel for me. We picked up this beauty for only $75.  I'm not sure what brand it is. I think it might be a Jenny by Sleeping Beauty, which is no long manufactured.  She was dirty and I could tell she'd been sitting in a barn or shed somewhere.  I cleaned her up last week (finally) and hopefully will get her waxed this weekend.  I bought a maintenance kit and she got a tune up after her cleaning.  She's missing a dowel that the brake cord attaches to so Matt is going to fix that but otherwise she appears to be in full working condition. Now I just need to order some roving. The Lazy Kate that she came with is about $75 brand new so I think we got a pretty good deal.

Reading:

I've done a ton of reading.  My latest read was The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club by Wanda Brunstetter. I lucked out and got a Wish List fulfilled notice from PaperBackBookExchange.com letting me know that both it and the sequel had been posted. I will be starting the sequel, The Tattered Quilt, tonight. I find the books interesting in they talk about quilting and these take place close to where I grew up in Indiana. One of these days I'm going to visit Shipshawana.  It brought back memories when one of the characters talked about going shopping at the mall in South Bend, which is the mall we use to go to all the time. I miss the Amish restaurants that serve family style.

Gardening:

My tomato plants have started producing.  The poor plants have been stunted by this odd summer we've had and never got much above 2 feet tall and the fruit is small too.  My Roma tomatoes are like giant grape tomato size. I was getting ready to harvest my peppermint after moving it by the tomato plants when something ate it.  I'm wondering if it wasn't a bunny as I can't think of anything else that would eat it.