Tuesday, July 27, 2010

A Charming & Delightful Weekend



I went to Mackinac Island this weekend. For those of you who don’t know, it is a lovely Upper Midwest destination in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is about a 10-hour car ride from my house across Wisconsin and Michigan, and then a 15-20 minute ferry ride from St. Ignace.

The island is right in the middle of Lake Huron and it is wonderful! It is very charming and old-fashioned and delightful. Two of its claims to fame (there may be more but these are my favorites) is that there are absolutely, positively no automobiles and there are 17 shops selling every kind of delicious fudge imaginable. Everyone gets around on foot or bicycle or horse & carriage, and it is just so peaceful, like stepping back in time.

I went with my two best boyfriends (my husband, Eric, and my Pug, Noodles) so we had to find a pet friendly property. There are a lot of cute bed & breakfasts as well as condos to rent and, of course, the famous Grand Hotel. But I had to specifically find one that allowed dogs and then even more fortunate was I found one that had on-site dog sitting! So we ended up at Mission Point Resort which, although the décor was very old-fashioned and there was no air conditioning, it had a ceiling fan and windows that opened and a wonderful box fan that did a great job when it was perched in our window.

The other pluses about Mission Point are there was a spa and a place to get Starbucks coffee and a wonderful bistro where I had many, many glasses of Riesling and Prosecco and shrimp and avocados and S’mores, all while my dog was sitting at my feet. Dogs were allowed at restaurants as long as they had outdoor patio seating.

The best part of the trip was renting bicycles and a Burley stroller pet cart with which to pull Noodles behind. I had a purple beach cruiser that was all retro with a big basket and a yellow daisy and I rode it all over the island. I want that bike and I am determined to buy it when they sell their bikes at the end of the season . Every year they sell all their bikes and then get new ones in the spring!

I hope to post pictures soon, but just wanted to do a quick update in my effort to be a better blogger.

Oh, and besides wine there was fudge – I brought back Cherry Cordial fudge as well as Vanilla Pecan. I brought it to work with me today to share with my co-workers, but then I forgot to put it out. Oh, well, there is always tomorrow!

Anyhoo—if you are looking for a charming & delightful weekend getaway, I completely recommend Mackinac Island – just horses and bicycles and fudge and, of course, Starbucks and some really cute shops selling unique jewelry and artwork and, of course, T-shirts. It was completely relaxing and I just lived in the moment.

Pictures to follow!




4 comments:

hiyaluv said...

lesli! your weekend sounds divine! i am so glad you enjoyed yourself! :)smiles,
gina

Gina said...

what a gorgeous hotel! but a 10 drive, i'd be pretty antsy

Anonymous said...

Glad you enjoyed yourself on the "Island". I usually visit twice a year. Load up our bikes and away we go...but...I only have 1/2 your drive. It is so nice to just cruise around taking in the sights on a bike. Laid back is definitely the norm :-)

Marie said...

Sounds like a great town and what a refreshing experience!:D

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