Gardens, Gates and Welcoming Cottages

Ya'll are in for some reruns...only the best, of course.

From last summer's files are some particularly yummy eye candy...taken on Mackinac Island...

so feast your eyes, I know I did.

I am going to be extra busy in the next three weeks,

until my daughter's visit, her shower, and my niece's wedding, I'm going to be runnin' like a chicken with my head cut off....

(Do you say that, too?!)

By the way, chickens, with their heads cut off, DO RUN.

It's not pretty and that's how I'm going to be looking the next couple weeks, so bear with me, and stick around, I'll be back!

Feast your eyes on this gorgeous scenery on Mackinac Island....like this robin's egg blue home....

It's hard to take a bad picture there, unless there's fog or rain, and even then it's pretty awesome.

What are you up to this last month of summer?

(BOO HOO!)

SCENIC SUNDAYS: From the Island Fort looking to Mackinac Bridge

Taken last summer on Mackinac Island, the bridge always looks hazy from far away, making for postcard qualities in even a simple shot taken quickly.

Mackinac Island: Getting There's Half the Fun!

Even the first weekend of September you can see the fall color starting here on the shore of the island. The little chubby lighthouse in the background is the "Round Island Lighthouse".
Click on any photo for a better view.

All day long, seven days a week and until nine p.m., these hydro ferry boats schlep people back and forth from the island. It's not a cheap trip, it was about $79 for the three of us, and it's more if you take your own bikes up to the island, but to rent bikes, it's $5 an hour per bike....so beware if you're planning a trip to research the costs associated with an island that is only foot or bike or horse for transportation.

This plume is typical of these big boats that transport people and their stuff to the island for a day trip or for a complete vacation. Kids are thrilled and I have to admit, I run for the top deck when we get on, I love the wind in my hair and the sea spray!

See the freighter in the harbor?

Can one ever be near the water, without trying to skip a few stones? Or taking off the shoes and wading in?

Sunny streets with people in the open air, walking, biking or horse-riding or being pulled in carriages.

The fort sits high above the town on a limestone stone bluff and beckons from the days of the fur traders. Not many important battles took place here.

And off, in the far, far distance, you can see the Mighty Mackinac in the sunny haze.

A view of the town's dock from up on top of the big hill at Fort Mackinac.

And, a parting shot of the Mackinac bridge as we leave the island to head for the car.
For the kids....head over to YOUTUBE and watch Mike Rowe, of DIRTY JOBS paint inside the massive columns on the spans of this bridge.

I hope you enjoyed the photos I've shared with you of our quick summer trip we took on Labor Day weekend. If you ever have the chance, Michigan does have its share of divine places to visit as a tourist.

Mackinac Island Cottages

One week ago today, we visited this gorgeous spot.
It's taken me a while to get the photos loaded and edited to share with you.
Remember that you can click on any photo to enlarge.
I have more from the island to show you, but today we'll concentrate on some of the architecture of these beautiful homes on this historic island.
Pictured above is
the harbor at Mackinac Island, MI
this island is in Lake Huron and is on
the register of National Historic Landmarks.
More than 80% of the island is a State Park.

The portico of the Governor's mansion, owned by the state, here for the use of the sitting governor. It's a big, beautiful home on a very nice lot with a view of Lake Huron and the Mackinac Bridge.

A nice little perk for the governor to entertain friends and family and perhaps use for business occasionally.

The back view of the grounds of the Governor's mansion.

Enjoy wandering through town, and let's look at some of the homes and gardens along the way...

A Mackinac Island "garage"...there is a ban on almost all motor vehicles (except for emergency vehicles and such) and the island is just under 4 square miles. Therefore, bikes and horses and carriages are the main modes of transportation here, only adding to the charm (but the romanticism of the horses and carriages quickly fades when you catch a whiff of the odor of the horse manure on main street mixed with the smell of fresh fudge: it can be quite nauseating at times until the clean-up man comes by!).

I wanted you to see some of the beauty and charm and detail of these cottages on the island, there are only a few pictured here...I could have taken hundreds of pictures but had to watch where I was walking, or be trampled or run down by a biker!

What a color combination! I love it!

Have you seen the movie "Somewhere in Time"? It's an old classic romantic time travel movie, (1980) and stars Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. Part of the movie was filmed here on the island, and the movie story line takes place on the island in the old Grand Hotel. If you're able to get it from Netflix, you'd enjoy it, I think.

I remember going to see "Somewhere in Time" with my husband before we got married...it wasn't exclusively a "chick flick" because he even enjoyed it! We honeymooned nearby after the wedding and visited the island.

Most of the cottages with this view also have beachfront access that lies across the road from their homes with this incredible view or one very much like it.

Oooh...la la!

On up the rocky hill...overlooking the water, the cottages just keep going!

A little hot dog stand sits near the water...

A zoom shot of the granddaddy of them all: The Grand Hotel!