Ayla’s Voyage Blog

Fabulous! This past weekend, my family and I visited Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Island. This island is bustling, historical, unusual, and very, very fun.

Mackinac, located in Michigan, is very unique for lots of reasons, one reason being there are absolutely, 100% NO CARS (scooters, motorcycles, go carts etc are also not allowed!). The only modes of transportation are horse drawn carriages which run frequently and the clip clop of the hooves is always present. Biking is also widely popular with more than 100 bikes on the main street at any one time.

Another reason for it’s fame is the FUDGE!!!! Chocolate, turtle, peanut butter, vanilla, almond, toffee … the choices are endless. There are probably a dozen fabulous fudge shops on the main street, an each of them offer viewing areas for fudge making! You might be surprised, but it really is a skill to make a creamy, moist, and tasty piece of fudge! ( was too busy eating to take pictures).

For a third unusual and famous part of Mackinac, we’ll take a look at Fort Mackinac. This fort was built by the british, survived the war of 1812, survived several sieges, and then acted as protection for Mackinac once it became a state park! The fort is very large, and overlooks Lake Huron. With comfortable (and downright luxurious) quarters, this fort was actually in only one war, although it stood as protection in case needed. There are historical reenactments every day (including music and dancing of the period, canon firings, gun salutes, and so forth). The fort buildings are set up as they would have been when the fort was being used, so you really get to experience life back in the 1800s.

We were in Mackinaw for the Forth of July, a very big holiday there with the patriotic fort. We started our day by bike riding around the island, which is a beautiful ride, as you are directly on the water, with Lake Huron on one side, and thick greenery on the other. In the afternoon, we went “fudging” … that is, going from shop to shop, tasting the fudge and rating it. If you stay long enough to watch the workers make the fudge, they’ll often give you globs of warm, fresh, and creamy candy! :). That evening, we hiked to the fort and enjoyed an All-American picnic with victorian games, old fashioned dances, and a very special demonstration. In honor of the period the fort reenacts, they raised a 38 star flag and did a 38 gun salute to each state. Keep in mind, we are celebrating Independence Day at a fort the British built.

Once it got dark, we stood up at the fort walls and watched a magnificent fireworks display over Lake Huron. Standing on a ledge directly across from the fireworks, we had the best viewing I have ever had. Aside from the usual shaped fireworks, there were cats, smiley faces, planets, hearts, and spirals that decorated the sky. The finale was an explosion of popping, sizzling, spewing, and booming colors.

Eu de Mackinac: Er…Oder de Mackinac. With no cars, and horse drawn carriages as the only non-human powered transportation there’s bound to be a certain smell in the air. The Eu De Mackinac is the lovely gift the horses leave behind … the ever present smell of manure. : – ).