Carriage Tour and Fort Mackinac

We found the Carriage Tours office and purchased tickets. Our ride arrived in short order and we wedged ourselves into a row of seats. The first leg of the journey was a trip through the streets of town in a 20-person carriage pulled by two Percherons. We changed vehicles at the midpoint, and entered a 35-person carriage that was pulled by three Belgian draft horses. This leg took us through the woods and cemeteries on the island to see Skull Cave and Arch Rock.





Unfortunately, this trip confirmed that Chris is apparently highly allergic either to horses or to poor jokes told by tourist-trap staff. At least his eye didn’t swell up this time, unlike during our foray into the wilds of Florida last year. At any rate, we chose to disembark at Fort Mackinac.



I have to say that, as historic reconstructions go, this was done well. I was enthralled by the hospital section, which featured three “patients” and an audiovisual presentation featuring the notes from the Fort’s doctor in the late 1800s and then a current medical take on what he was treating and how it might be treated today.





Overall, I really thought that this park was spectacular. I was really impressed with the costumed historical interpreters, too. They—and almost every other park employee with whom we interacted—were friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.





Once we had seen all the buildings in the Fort, we headed back into the heart of town, stopping briefly to see the McGulpin home, notable for the concept of shoving the children upstairs to sleep. I would like to see about incorporating this into our house. I’m sure the wildlife in our attic wouldn’t mind company.

We finished our tour of Mackinac Island by buying fudge (oddly, it was in this shop that we encountered the only surly serviceperson on the Island. I felt like I should be apologizing for spending $20 on fudge!), postcards, and what can most accurately be termed “gewgaws.” We enjoyed some of the fudge while we waited for our ferry to take us back to St. Ignace.

This time, we sailed on the Felicity. The wind had really picked up, and it was brisk up there on top! Chris ended up taking the two boys below to the enclosed seating. I’m not sure whether it was so much the cold that influenced Andy, or whether it was more his fear of losing his authentic Dutch boy/Greek fisherboy/probably-made-in-some-country- that-is-not-Greece-or-Holland cap.