Friday, August 4th - Depart Flying Cloud Airport, Eden Prairie MN
Arrive Delta County Airport, Escanaba MI
Flight time - about 2 hours 30 minutes
Hotel for 1 night, Quality Inn on Lincoln Road
Being that it was a slow day at work on Friday for me, and with vacation on the horizon, I was chomping at the bit to get outta
I should add here, by the way, that having a kid and wanting to get out on vacation ASAP after work forces you to be a VERY organized mom. The night before, I had all our items for the trip neatly stacked just off our kitchen (where the garage entrance is) so my husband could quickly grab everything and go as soon as he was done with work the next day. This plan worked beautifully; as I was heading out of daycare and to the airport, my husband was already there and beginning to load Bubba up for our trip.
Before we knew it, the plane was fully checked and ready to go! Bon Voyage!
Part of my advance packing Thursday night included arranging a handful of snacks, cups of milk, and dinner in a mini cooler. While obviously us adults could deal with a slightly late dinner after landing in Escanaba, for a 15 month old that is a bit hard to do, particularly when your dinner time is usually 4:30 ... or 5pm at the very latest. I actually didn't mind having to haul along a cooler since eating is easily a 20-30 minute endeavor for my little boy, and equates to a significant amount of mid flight entertainment. #killingthismomthing
Aside from dinner on board, I was a little challenged with keeping my son happy on this first leg of our trip due to the extended duration of our flight and the general timing (at the half way point of our flight, it was bedtime for him). I had hoped that maybe he would doze for the second half of the trip and leave me with some time to unwind, but no dice. Instead, I ended up with a somewhat cranky toddler that I was trying desperately to keep entertained for the last hour of our flight.
While I had anticipated needing some mid flight diversions, and had packed plenty of toys and books, trying to subdue a tired toddler wasn't something I had anticipated. Then, add to that some minor turbulence for the last 45 minutes of the flight due to some surrounding inclement weather.
I mean ... it looked cool to see it rain from a distance mid-air, but it was bumpy to go by, unfortunately.
End result: I'm not proud to admit that after turning sideways for too long trying to keep my son happy, rather than facing forward to best manage my sea sickness during minor turbulence, I became too sick and had to throw in the towel. For the last 20 minutes of our flight all I could do was hold my son's hand, take deep breaths, and lay back with my eyes closed.
He cried some, but at least I didn't puke. WINNING!
Once on the ground, and our luggage unloaded, we were all exponentially happier. To add to our improved situation, the airport had a courtesy car we could borrow for local transport (rather than trying to hail a taxi in a small town ... which doesn't always end up working out). Plus, there was a Wendy's nearby. So, shortly after landing we had food in hand and were on our way to our hotel for the night.
Which, I should mention, the hotel was clean and had friendly staff ... but man was it a blast from the past.
Also, I have to admit, I was a little taken aback when the staff greeted us at check in by asking us how many bags of Moose Poop we wanted.
I'm sorry, what?
Apparently, in the UP, Moose Poop is this:
Ok, ok - dark chocolate over pecans IS pretty tasty but ... maybe not the best opening line for tourists passing through your town, visiting your hotel for the first time. LOL!
After we checked into the hotel, our evening in Escanaba essentially entailed eating our Wendy's and Moose Poop in our room and calling it a night. Since the time change caused us to lose an hour, it was almost 9pm by the time we got to our room, and we were all wiped from traveling too. Our next morning was equally uneventful, as we simply ate the free provided hot breakfast that was included with our room, and then we took off back to the airport.
Oh, wait. We did make one stop to gas up the courtesy car before we left.
Me "Jesus, we need gas. Christ, I mean Krist, fill our tank."
My friend, after being texted this photo "Jesus take the wheel!"
I know. I'm a nerd. But you have to admit it was pretty funny.
Saturday, August 5th - Depart Delta County Airport, Escanaba MI
Arrive Mackinac Island Airport, Mackinac Island MI
Flight time - about 30 minutes
Flying early in the morning has its benefits. While the trade off is you have to get up on a Saturday at 6am, the plus is that the air is typically very smooth.
Having my own natural alarm clock these days (thanks little dude), I don't have much choice on what time I wake up anymore ... so may as well benefit from being up and ready to go! Around 8am, with full bellies thanks to the hotel breakfast, and a full tank of gas thanks to
With Escanaba in the UP of MI, our flight this time was very short. I think it was about 20-30 minutes total. Soon enough, we were here:
Mackinac Island, by the way, was a totally new experience for me. And to be honest, I had no idea it existed. When I learned more about it, I was curious to see what an island that outlawed cars over 100 years ago looked like ... and I was quite surprised.
Um .. horse drawn taxis? OK, I guess if you outlaw cars you need some sort of transport! LOL!
Despite the novelty of a horse drawn taxi service, since it was still early in the morning and we figured there wasn't much open on the island yet, we opted to walk into the "downtown" area. Bonus: we saved the $7 or so per person for the ride.
The walk from the airport to downtown rang in at a little over a mile, was beautifully green, and also amazingly peaceful. Sometimes it felt like you were in a fairy tale.
As you neared closer to town, it was even more beautiful.
Somewhere around what I estimated to be the halfway point of our walk (last photo above), we came upon the iconic Grand Hotel. Not knowing that the side street leading past the hotel was private, we tried to walk through to take in the views of what appeared to be a nearby park. Whoops. By simply turning towards this street, not even setting foot on it, we immediately realized this was not allowed.
Two staff members, who were incredibly kind and well spoken, graciously asked us if we were staying at the hotel. Since obviously we were not, they continued on stating that we were welcome to tour the grounds on foot ourselves ... for a meager $10 fee per person.
Um ... $30 for the three of us to walk down a single city block? No thanks. LOL!
But, the staff was kind enough to offer (without our asking) to take a family photo, and allowed me to take a few photos from the sidewalk as well.
I particularly liked their dress code sign, if you couldn't tell.
By the way, after spending some time downtown later that day, I can't blame the Grand Hotel for trying to keep the tourists out of their private property. I was amazed by the flood of tourists that came in on the ferry ... it seemed like non stop, and it was literally droves of folks. So I can understand wanting to avoid that volume of traffic at a resort where people are residing (even if it is temporarily).
I guess what I'm saying is ... I don't mind the ban from the property ... heh.
Once we passed the Grand Hotel, we began to enter into the "neighborhood" of Mackinac Island, which was filled with beautiful Victorian style homes with immaculate gardening. Seriously, every house we passed was like a page out of Better Homes & Gardens. I was amazed.
The things that impress you in your mid to late 30s. Heh. #gettingtobeagrandma
Not much beyond the houses, we finally hit the true downtown area, which included a quaint shopping district, a marina, and stunning lake views (of course).
Since we didn't have any kind of agenda, and being somewhat limited having a kid in a stroller, while in downtown Mackinac we spent our time window shopping, buying fudge, and roaming about in public green spaces like you see in the last photo above. My son was particularly upset just after taking that picture, by the way, because we wouldn't let him swim. In an area with rolling tides. On a very rocky shoreline. With what appeared to be a deep drop off. In zero degree temperature water. And where a large sign was posted reading "DANGER: NO SWIMMING".
Yeah, seems like a safe place for toddlers to swim. *sarcasm* Good thing I'm the one in charge here.
By the time 11 o'clock was rolling around, it was obvious our son was hungry ... as were literally hundreds of tourists who were filling every possible brunch hot spot in the entire downtown area. After trying and striking out at a few interesting looking options, we finally settled on a non-descript place that had just opened for lunch service and was still entirely empty. I don't recall the name of the place, and we only had simple lunch stuff (salads, sandwiches), so I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it anyway. But the service was good. By the way, I have a feeling any restaurant you choose in that area would be fine, so I wouldn't fret over where to eat if you visit.
With lunch winding down, my husband and I hit a bit of an impasse: nap time was nearing for our son, and we had no hotel secured until our next stop later that day (Canada). We debated renting some bikes and a burly stroller to ride the 8 mile trial that circumferences the island, in hopes that our son might nap during the ride. But, in balancing that against the growing swarm of tourists who were taking over the island as each ferry arrived, we decided that we didn't want to battle the crowds as they continued to grow ... and we had likely seen the highlights of the island, anyway. Figuring we could always come back another time, and knowing we had a long afternoon ahead of us with our flight into Canada / possible customs inspection, we decided to head back to the airport and prepare to depart.
Once back at the airport, my husband and I were shocked to see how many planes had arrived since we went downtown. In particular, we were amazed by the ... type ... of planes on the runway. Let's just say, no one who had arrived was hurting for money. You know it's impressive when even some of the other pilots are drooling over the planes parked. One guy in particular wouldn't let his group leave until he saw a particularly fancy jet take off - LOL!
In fact, I think it was that same guy who later, after watching the jet leave, was talking about staying at the Grand Hotel. His quote was something to the effect of "Yeah, we could stay there again. It was nice. But then you have to dress up and that's such a pain in the ass."
I was trying to hold back my snickers so hard that I almost snorted at that one.
Anyway! Finally our customs paperwork and flight plan were in order, so we loaded up in the plane Canada bound.
Luckily for me, my little boy was so exhausted from his morning that he immediately fell asleep. And ... maybe I did for a minute or two, too.
Which explains why I didn't get to sing "Oh CANADA!!!" as we flew over the international boundary. Damn it.
More to come on Canada soon!
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