Mackinac Island – May 2012 Visit – Day 3

This week Mackinac Island’s annual Lilac Festival begins (Friday, June 8)! I’ve never been there for it and I sure wish we were there right now! But, we did have a fun visit last month. Here’s our recap of Day 3 of our springtime Mackinac Island trip! If you missed day 1, you can catch up here, or Day 2 here.

We always like to see something fun and this day didn’t disappoint! On our way out first thing in the morning we found this little guy on the screen door of the inn. He was sound asleep and didn’t mind the attention.

We like bats, and they like Mackinac Island!

Off we went to our usual morning watering hole, the Chuckwagon restaurant. We love this place. It’s our favorite place for breakfast on the island. In fact it’s also our favorite place for lunch. We joke with Sharon and Donny, the owners, about whether it’s embarrassing to eat at the same place twice in a single day. Here’s Donny cooking our breakfast!

We like to belly on up to the counter and watch Donny cook. It’s mesmerizing! And the food is fabulous!

After a hearty breakfast we decided to walk up Fort Street and head toward the East Bluff.

A view from Fort Street toward Main Street and the harbor.

The beautiful East Bluff. I love the winding, peaceful air to this road. Not to mention the lovely cottages and stunning views!

We didn’t think too much of this picture when we took it, but once we had a look at it we were intrigued. This was taken from the East Bluff, looking back toward Fort Mackinac. I don’t think we’ve ever taken a picture from this angle before. On the left is Grand Hotel, another view we’ve never noticed from this angle.

The pictures that follow are of the more typical East Bluff variety. The pictures never seem to do the views justice!

Eventually we made our way back to Main Street.

This (below) caught my eye for a very special reason, can you tell why?

These horses appeared to be driving themselves!

They weren’t driving themselves of course, we spotted the driver right away!

We got to meet them. Please say hello to Rex and Phil!

And the mystery of the driver-less horses was solved!!

We decided to stop for lunch at Millie’s on Main. We try to eat at Millie’s at least once per trip. It holds a special place in our heart because we ate lunch there on the very first day  we visited the island during our first ever trip. They have great soups!

A shot of the inside of Millie’s on Main taken with a fisheye lens.

On the way back to Market Street Inn we passed these stunning horses!

Say hello to Bob and Gunner! (I suppose I could have also asked the driver’s name, but I didn’t.)

By the time we decided to head out for dinner, it had started to rain. This was the first time we had ever experienced rain on the island. Guess what? We loved it! It was quiet and peaceful, we didn’t mind getting a little bit wet, and we realized any day is a good day on Mackinac Island, rain or shine!

Heading to dinner on rainy Main Street

While we were having dinner, we spotted yet another bat underneath an overhang just outside the window. There’s got to be something lucky about starting and ending your day with bats! 🙂

We took a slow walk back after dinner ….

… with a stop at the Island Bookstore.

We also spend a rather embarrassing amount of time in The Island Bookstore when we visit Mackinac. It’s tucked in under the Lilac Tree Hotel and it’s not to be missed! We stop in sometimes twice a day (I’m not kidding) and always leave with something. It is a full service bookstore which also carries many Mackinac- and Michigan-specific authors, information and souvenirs. It’s our favorite store on the island.

One final “rainy day on Mackinac” photo

We’ll be back in a few days to round out the series with a recap of our fourth and final day. We hope you’ll join us!

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Unless otherwise indicated, all photos are courtesy of my amazing husband, the late Jackson Pearson (1961-2019) May he rest in eternal peace ❤  

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