Mackinac Island, Part II

By Thursday, it had gotten really nice out, and the lilacs were doing this!



Darren and I took some pictures in front of the condo. When on vacation, it's hard to have pictures of the two of you, so Darren brought the tripod. I was patient for a couple pictures, but Darren is a perfectionist. This is nice when you get home and have a lot of good pictures from which to choose, but I'm not so amenable for all the posing it takes to get them.



Then we hopped on our bikes and headed out. Do you like how nonchalantly I said, "hopped on our bikes" as if that's something I ordinarily do? I actually hate riding bikes and haven't done it in eight years. But, I was going to give it a whirl.

It was actually enjoyable for the most part. Darren had the map and said, "Let's ride along the shoreline highway," which made me nervous at first until I remembered: no cars! It was just a beautiful, scenic, quiet road--with other bikers and walkers.

We stopped for some more pictures. A seagull flew, squawking overhead. "You sound just like that bird whenever I want to take a picture," Darren observed.



We rode probably five or six miles around the island until we reached downtown. Here is the main square--see how beautiful the lilacs will be in a few days.



Here's one of the few pictures that I actually took. The horses made no complaint.



We were starving by this point, so we headed to what is now our favorite restaurant on the island. We ate there two days in a row--Millie's on Main.



I had some homemade turkey noodle soup one day and a hot dog the next. Both days Darren had the whitefish basket. Every place we go, Darren tries to find good fish. He hit the jackpot here. The fish had come out of the lake only that morning. I'm not a big fish eater, but even I kept sneaking bites off his plate. It was fantastic. We finished up with the homemade apple crisp and ice cream.



Downtown we got some souvenirs for the girls, Sarah & Lucho and their kids, and ourselves. We got the girls Mackinac Island t-shirts and turtle necklaces. Darren got himself a baseball cap because, you know, he doesn't have any of those (yes, that is sarcasm), and I got myself a cool Indian bag. We sampled some varieties of fudge, which the island is known for, and I got some mixed caramel corn and cheese corn. It is addictive and...gasp...wait for it, Chicagoans...it's even better than Garrett's. Sacrilege, I know, but true!

We headed back in the late afternoon because we had to either send our bags or our bikes down to the ferry dock that night since we had to leave early in the morning (bikes aren't allowed on taxis). We opted to send our bags with the exception of what we would need in the a.m.

Here we are again, on the beach.



After we dispatched the bags, we took a walk on the grounds and enjoyed one last sunset.



We got up early in the morning and rode our bikes down to the ferry and back to the real, non-vacation world. We called Sarah, who had picked up the girls from my mom on Thursday, and heard that they were having a great time, that they were all going to the pool that day, but that Elaine missed her mom and kept calling me on her pretend phone. Then she said that Elaine had woken up at 2 a.m. (I somehow completely accidentally forgot to mention that that is her regular habit), feeling alone. Sarah said, "I just laid down with her until we both fell back asleep. I really miss having a little one like her around!" I could possibly work out an arrangement for a few nights a week if she's interested.

So, one last look at the island lilacs as they bid us farewell! It was a great week...