Grand Hotel

This afternoon I returned from a three-day church conference at Mackinac Island.  The AMEN (All Michigan Episcopal Network) Conference meets every other October at the Grand Hotel, and for all who attend these are definitely memorable events.  Not so much because of the church activities, which are often a bit limp, but because of the venue.

The Grand Hotel sits on a high bluff overlooking the Straits of Mackinac and the Mackinac Bridge.  This venerable structure, built of white pine in the late 19th century, is the world's largest summer hotel.  It boasts the world's largest covered porch, a huge and gracious lobby where guests enjoy high tea at 4:00 p.m. daily, and a dining room which serves top notch food.

The Grand Hotel, as you approach from town.

The Grand Hotel's grand porch, looking east...

...and west.  It's a great place to sit and read.

The Lobby is decorated in turn-of-the-century furniture
and art.  Geraniums (see carpet) are the hotel's symbol.

My friends Liz and John, now living in Tennessee, come to the conference each time, and like me they usually get a room overlooking a garage or the garbage bins.  This time, however, they lucked out and got accommodations on the fourth floor, over the main entrance, with a terrace and to-die-for view.  This room must have been unrented, since they didn't pay a nickel more than I did!  By the way, I think the Grand Hotel has nearly 400 rooms, and no two rooms are decorated the same way.

John and Liz lucked out on their spacious room...

...and especially on this view from their private terrace.
I guess this room normally goes for $300-500/night, or more.

Mackinac Island banned motorized vehicles when early autos scared the horses.  Since then the only motor vehicles allowed are a fire truck, ambulance, and police car — all of which are kept out of sight until needed.  If you have to go somewhere, you go by foot, bicycle, or horse-drawn carriage.

The Grand Hotel's deep red carriages are very distinctive.  The taxis and hotel shuttles are yellow (of course) and go at a furious 3-4 mph rate (rides cost $4.75).  The horses work as stable teams.  This morning I was taken down to the ferry dock in a taxi drawn by (really!) Pete, on the left, and Moss, on the right.

There are some steep hills on the Island.  If bikes go too fast, the police will ticket, and that could cost you up to $100 or more.  BUI (Biking Under the Influence) is also a serious crime.  Mackinac Island's 8.2-mile perimeter road is M-185, the only state highway in Michigan from which all motorized vehicles are banned.

A Grand Hotel carriage waits at the main entrance for
guests wanting to catch a ferry to the mainland.

The village's lakeshore, seen from my departing ferry
this morning.  Note the houses on the bluff over the town.

Yesterday afternoon I took a carriage tour of the island, and saw some places I've never been to before.  One of these is Arch Rock, a limestone arch which is nearing its geological demise, at least as an arch.  Wind, water, and ice have taken their erosive toll.  Before long — say, 20-30 years, a mere moment in geological terms — the arch will collapse.

As our driver took us back down into town, she pointed out a number of "cottages" perched on the bluff over the village.  They were pretty, but to me none seemed very large.  "The average cost of these houses," she said, "is about $15 million."  Location... location... location. •••