This October I visited my Uncle Tom and Aunt Cherry who live in Michigan, where they manage a thriving wedding venue called The Little Red Barn of Nunica. Fall was just starting as the leaves were a few days short of turning full red-orange, matching the pumpkin patch palette of this side of the United States. They organized a memorable day trip to Mackinac Island for me.

 

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Northern Michigan is sometimes referred to as the Hamptons of the Midwest, with Mackinac Island as one of their top vacation spots. Nunica, Michigan, is about a four-hour drive to Mackinaw City, where you’ll find the ferry dock to Mackinac Island. Because The Little Red Barn of Nunica has its own private airfield called Cherry Field (yes, named after my aunt) they decided to just fly me to Mackinac via Tom’s private Cessna plane.

Getting to Mackinac Island

The most common way to visit this famous island is by driving to the port cities—either Mackinaw City or St. Ignace—and then taking a 15-minute ferry boat to Mackinac Island. If you own a private boat, you can dock in Mackinac Island State Harbor’s public marina with 80 slips or book a private boat slip. There’s also the Mackinac Island Airport, where Fresh Air Aviation offers charter air service to and from St. Ignace, which takes about 7 minutes one-way. In our case, we flew in with our own private plane, operated by family friend and pilot Josh Baxter with my uncle, Tom Schmidt, as co-pilot.

As the old saying goes, “Getting there is half the fun.” It’s been years since I was a passenger on a Cessna plane. No longer as anxious or nauseous as my first time back in 2010, I enjoyed the bird’s eye view of Michigan’s lakes and trees that have started turning. A quick stopover in Cadillac City, where we refueled the Cessna and checked out the high-end private jets, made the little kid in me giddy.

Time Travel to Mackinac Island

As we entered the airzone of Mackinac Island, I spotted their white, gray, and brick-tinged roofs from above. After we landed and parked our plane, I was relieved that I knew nothing much about this place, not even the quickie Wiki. As a solo traveler, I like researching my locations beforehand, but because this was a tour organized by my Michigan family, I did almost zero prep because I wanted to experience everything with fresh eyes.

When our horse-drawn carriage arrived to take us to the main town, I got my first fun fact about Mackinac Island—that their streets have been car-free for 100 years, which helps preserve the island’s historic vibe and environmental cause. “Horse is king,” as they say here. As our carriage clip-clopped to the main town, I watched people get around through carriages, bikes, or by foot.

If not for fellow vacationers whipping out their iPhones to document their trip and the modern, casual garb we were all dressed in, I would have thought I fell asleep on the plane and woke up in another era, like my plots of TV shows and films of decades past.

The Grand Hotel

Speaking of time travel, one of the highlights of Mackinac Island is the Grand Hotel. This historic hotel and coastal resort, constructed in the late 19th century, has kept its old-worldly vibe, making visitors feel like they’ve time-traveled to a bygone era.

Film buffs may recognize this hotel as the backdrop and setting of Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour’s romantic-fantasy film, Somewhere in Time, which was released in 1980 but set in 1912. There are rooms dedicated to memorabilia and photographs of that classic movie. And because so many fans of the film flock to this hotel and spend hours wandering the halls, they’ve imposed an entrance fee of $12 per person who is not a checked-in guest of the Grand Hotel.

That’s a reasonable charge, as I enjoyed exploring the historic hotel—their ice cream and chocolate shops, the decked-out hallways, the museum-like rooms dedicated to Somewhere in Time (I adored Christopher Reeve as a child of the ’80s), the quaint tea rooms, and the porch, which they advertise as the largest in the world. As a former theater kid, I realize in hindsight that I should’ve worn something dressier—but not entirely costumey—for more postcard-worthy photos of myself with this backdrop.

Things to Do in Mackinac Island

Many visitors spend at least a night in the Grand Hotel or the other accommodations around Mackinac Island, so as not to rush the many things they can do. For my group of four, a day trip to Mackinac Island was enough. Including our two-way flight, we squeezed in as many activities as we could on that sunny day.

We had lunch at The Pink Pony, the pink-accented, nautical-themed bar-restaurant in the Chippewa Hotel. I shopped for fudge, chocolates, and souvenirs on the busy Main Street, which is full of touristy shops and hotels. We purchased entrance tickets to explore the Grand Hotel, with a break at Sadie’s Ice Cream Parlor by the entrance.

As recommended by Captain Baxter, I had the most glorious ice cream of my US trip (aside from Norm’s Ice Cream)—the Mackinac Island Peanut Butter Fudge. Imagine the creamiest, milkiest vanilla ice cream laced with chocolate fudge and chunks of what looked like small chocolate Kisses, but once you bite into each melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chunk, it explodes with velvety peanut butter fudge that will make your inner child swoon with happiness. I still dream of that ice cream to this day.

A pay-per-ride horse-drawn carriage took us around town to see the beautiful heritage homes adorned with gardens of colorful flowers as well as the shops that blended well with the historic structures. What also pleasantly surprised me was when I found out that this island isn’t just a tourist spot. It’s a fully functional residential area where you’ll find schools, libraries, museums, chapels, and shops for their residents and workers.

We watched as other tourists go about the other activities we didn’t have time to do, such as going on a guided bike tour and exploring the musuems, cafés, and harbor.

I wish I had a few extra days to rent a bike and immerse in the life of this island, but I was grateful for my one short day here. With a tummy full of peanut butter ice cream, I headed back with my group via carriage to the airport, and we flew back to Nunica come sunset.

If you find yourself exploring the state of Michigan, add Mackinac Island to your bucket list.