The wheels on the bike go round and round

Today we head to Mackinaw Island.  After eating breakfast, and loading the bikes we head out. Our cabin is less than a mile from the ferry dock.  We will be taking the Star Line Ferry to/from.  It will be a short trip, 18 minutes, and MUCH smoother than if we had taken it  the day before.

Once on the insland, Vince heads over to rent a bike.  The girls get their bikes ready and soon we are off.  We decide to do the loop around the insland before hitting any of the stores.  It is a great day to ride.   A slight breeze and a little cool. The trail around the island is paved.  You are always within a few yards of the shore. The water is very blue.  There is little to no traffic on the trail again making for  a great ride.

We stopped at The British Landing for a quick water and snack break.  There is a nice view of the bridge.

We headed then to the Grand Hotel but could not get in. Apparently there was a convention going on.  So we headed over to Fort Mackinac.  We toured the fort and watched the rifle and cannon demos. It also provided a beautiful view of the city below. 

We finish the 8 mile loop and park our bikes near the library.  There are more folks but still not enough to declare what I would call 'crowded'.  There are huge kites in the sky, folks walking and biking, and you can hear the clop clop of the horse drawn carts.

Now it is time for the real reason to visit: Fudge.  It seems every other store sells fudge. We decide on Ryba's and Joann's since both have won awards and both come recommended.  Both are excellent.  I think it took longer to decide what flavors to buy vs riding around the  island.

We also did a lot of window shopping picking up a few hoodies, post-cards, and other things, It was near 6PM now and time to head back.  The ride back was a bit cooler as the sun was starting to go down and the wind was picking up.  When we got to the dock we loaded the bikes back onto the van and headed to the cabin.

Note to future visitors: If you ever want to do dinner in Mackinaw City you must do it before 8PM.  All the resurants and stores close at 8PM.  If we didn't wind down at the cabin we might have made it.  We decided to hit and IGA for a loaf of bread and eat down our supplies which was probably the wise choice anyway.