Last week I took 5 days off in the midst of busy wedding season to relax, recharge, and soak up the sun! It was spectacular! Eric and I traveled to Mackinac Island and Mackinaw City and this is a location that both of us had not visited before so it was so great to get to visit it together! Keep reading to see what all we saw/did and to see some of my favorite photos from the trip!
Since Mackinaw City is about 6.5 hours away we decided it was the perfect location to drive to and so we could take Eric's dog Ollie with us. We started out the drive early Wednesday morning. If you know me, you know I'm a roadside attraction fan and specifically am trying to visit all of the Stonehenges in the world (I've visited 5 now including the real Stonehenge). We found a Stonehenge in Nunica, Michigan that was just a 30 minute detour from our drive so we decided to make the stop! This Stonehenge is private and is on someone's private fenced in property, however, there is a little view of it from the road so we made the stop!
We made lots of fun rest stops to take a breather and to walk Ollie and found the perfect rest stop right outside Mackinac that had some great views of a river.
We arrived into Mackinaw City around 4pm that night and got checked into our cabin. We booked a waterfront cabin with The Beach House and it was spectacular! We got to walk right out of our cabin and step on the beach. I mean, just look at that view!
We wadded in the water for a bit and let Ollie get settled into his new space for the next 5 days.
After we unpacked and rested a bit, we headed out to explore one of the parks in the city. It had a spectacular view of the Mackinac Bridge and Ollie loved walking around the sand.
After the park, we ordered a pizza and headed back to the cabin to relax. The night was going to be a clear night and had a possibility to see the Northern Lights so we headed to The Highlands which is a dark sky park in the city. They ban all white light and have telescopes set up so you can star gaze. Unfortunately, the moon was out too much to be able to get a glimpse of the Northern Lights that night but we got a great view of all of the stars. It was spectacular! Afterwards, we headed back to get some shut eye for the morning.
Remember, when I said our cabin was right on the water? Just look at that view from the cabin! The ducks were also out and would swim by often.
The next day was our first full day so we took the ferry over to Mackinac Island. We caught the ferry that would take us under Mackinac Bridge so we could have a fun perspective.
We of course started out by taking the standard tourist photo with the sign!
We spent a few hours that morning exploring the downtown area of the island.
It was truly beautiful!
There literally is not a bad view anywhere on the island!
We stopped by the Visitor's Center and picked up some fun souvenirs and maps!
We walked around a bit more and went down to the harbor.
We popped our head in Doud's Market and then grabbed an amazing smoothie at Moomers next door!
So many fun, cute shops!
After a few hours, we took the ferry back to the city and sat on the top deck for some incredible views.
I mean, so pretty!
I'm also a huge fan of taking photos of lighthouses.
Once we got back to the city we relaxed in the cabin for a bit and then took Ollie out on a walk to a park that's connected to Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse.
The views here were incredible too!
If you can't tell, Ollie also loved it!
We walked around the lighthouse a bit.
And enjoyed the waterfront.
And view of the Mackinac Bridge.
After we walked Ollie, we took him back to the cabin to rest and headed out to see the other lighthouse in the city.
There was also this pretty beach nearby that we explored.
Since we went to The Headlands at night and in the dark, we went back to take a photo of the sign, visit the gift shop, and see what it looks like in the daylight.
You can even see a sunken ship from the gift shop! We also passed the local school who's mascot is the Comet! Eric and I both went to high schools with Comet mascots so we figured it was only fitting to pull over and take a quick photo!
We ended the day by hanging out at the beach outside our cabin and wadding in the water and reading a book.
We LOVED The Beach House and would stay here again when we go back for sure!
I will never get tired of this view! Afterwards we cleaned up and visited the local brewery for some beers and some amazing appetizers for dinner!
We woke up nice and early the next day and took one of the first ferry's to the island again. We explored the right side of the island this day and passed some pretty houses!
The churches on the island were so pretty too!
We took the hike to Arch rock and the coastal line was gorgeous!
There are quite a few steps that you have to take to reach arch rock but it was worth it!
After seeing Arch Rock we walked back down and explored the fort a bit.
Obligatory cannon photos.
One thing that Mackinac is known for is their fudge! We picked up some fudge from Murdock's Fudge (the original fudge shop on the island) and then went back to Moomers to grab an ice cream! (If you go to the island, Moomers has the best ice cream and smoothies!)
We then took the ferry back to the city and went to explore a few more places in the city.
Like the Coast Guard ship and this little lighthouse/bell tower.
AND a stop at the World's Largest Spray Foam Hot Dog at Wienerlicious!
LOVE!
We grabbed lunch here for the day. Also for you vegetarians, they have a veggie dog option! After lunch we shopped a bit in the city and then relaxed in the cabin and made some grilled cheese for dinner and enjoyed the beach some more.
We woke up at sunrise the next morning to catch the gorgeous view from our cabin.
It did not disappoint and was 100% worth it!
We took a quick photo outside our cabin and then took the ferry to the island one last time.
This day we explored the left side of the island a bit.
The Grand Hotel was pretty and the grounds were gorgeous!
After we explored a bit we stopped back in Moomers for the last time to grab one last smoothie.
We then went over the Mackinac Bridge to explore the Upper Peninsula a bit! We stopped to see the lighthouse and then grabbed some Mexican food for lunch.
Afterwards we stopped by the rock and old Mackinaw Boat. We went back to the cabin afterwards and spent the rest of the day doing some last minute shopping and swimming in the water outside our cabin.
In the morning it was time to say goodbye to the beach and our cabin.
We really loved The Beach House and being literally right on the beach!
On the way home we made one last roadside attraction stop and that was The Cross In The Woods. This cross is on a church's property and it's such a gorgeous setting in the woods. We walked around a bit and then hit the road.
Ollie was such a good boy and loved coming with us on vacation. Eric ended the trip with one last surprise roadside attraction once we got back to Indiana. We swung by James Dean's house for a quick photo!
It was the perfect vacation and we both can't wait to go back again someday!
