Weekend Trip to Mackinac Island, Michigan

This trip was so much fun!

We ended up flying with our Vans RV-4. It was a really fun flight! We took off at Beach City on the grass strip on a Thursday late afternoon. Trying to hurry because there were storms moving in.

Beach City Airport

The sky was breathtaking in my opinion! I love storms, and if you know me you'll know that I do. So we only packed backpacks and enough just for the weekend. Which has been a learning curve for me, because I tend to OVERPACK like by a lot, but Mike has definitely gotten me to change that.

We took off and headed south for a bit to get around the storms moving in. And wow, was it beautiful from the sky.

Sky Views

Passing around the storm line

Mike and I just love flying and we feel completely blessed beyond words to be able to. This has been Mike's dream since he was a little amish boy growing up with rc planes and dreaming to fly someday. How cool is that. He works hard at anything he starts and definitely encourages me to do the same.

The flight took us about 3 hours - we always stop for fuel and stretch out time. Because we never like to rush, that way we have time to land at other little airports and experience more of the trip in between home and our destination.

Airport stop on the way.

We stopped here to get some fuel and use the restroom and then we always look around. Sometimes there are little paths to hike or they are close to a lake. Or most importantly they have snacks - haha.

This view was absolutely breathtaking!

I would have to say the views from the plane definitely beat the ones on the ground most of the time. Especially when it gets close to sunset time.

Mackinac Bridge at dusk.

We ended up landing basically at dark. It was still light enough to take some beautiful pictures of the bridge. And then the next photo you can see the runway lights where we will land on the island.

Look for the runway lights, Island airport.

We landed at the airport at 10pm right on the dot. Then we have to tie down the plane and make sure everything is secure before we leave the airport. Usually if you land in the daytime, you can have the airport staff fill your fuel levels. But since it was dark we decided to wait until we leave again.

Entrance at the airport.

We landed and it was definitely colder than home, so we put on some extra layers we had and headed for our hotel. So there are no cars on the island - only horse drawn transportation and bicycles. Well since we got in so late, we decided to walk to the hotel. It was a bit scary at first but then it was relaxing - everything was so quiet and peaceful with the absence of vehicles.

We stayed at the Inn at Rockcliffe. Below is a picture in the daylight. It was stunning and very historic. I love history, so this was really intriguing to me.

The Inn at Stonecliffe

This was an estate. They were actually getting ready to have a wedding there that weekend, which was super cool, but we didn't stay that long to see it.

Streets of Mackinac Island

Bicycles lined the streets in the main part of town and horse drawn transportation was coming and going.

There were so many little shops to go through and markets. And my favorite - FUDGE shops. Mackinac is known for their fudge - so well of course we ate some.

Mackinac Island

We rented a tandem bike from our hotel. And well neither Mike or me have ever ridden one, so that was and entertaining first for us. But it was super fun!

Our means of transportation for the next 2 days.

This was actually so much fun to only get around on a bike. It definitely made you slow down your pace in everything - because well you can only go so fast. And the tandem was so much fun and romantic in a way too.

The sky in this picture though. WOW

There were tulips everywhere and it was so pretty!

Rocky coastline and of course selfies.

Those blue hues had my heart! So pretty!

This was Arch Rock from the road below - later we hiked up to the actual look out point.

We ended up sitting on the shore skipping rocks for like 45 minutes it was hilarious. And well we had to be competitive and see whose could go the furthest. Mike won. haha

Fort Holmes

This was the Governor's Summer home. Very beautiful historic home.

We ate lunch at this amazing place called Pink Pony. I definitely recommend! For all the guac lovers out there - Theirs is homemade daily and completely amazing!!!

Rocky coastline surround most of the island and gives it a northern coastal feel for sure.

The water was absolutely stunning!

Of course Mike had to be that guy. And this is also why I love him! What you can't see is how he got onto that tree. #treemonkey

This was Arch Rock from the lookout point you can hike to. I mean just look at the water though. So pretty.

All the trees 🌲

All the tulips 🌷

Horse Transportation

This was so neat to just see horses and bicycles.

The Boardwalk

Just us loving the getaway time we had!

Ah Fudge 😄

This was really neat. We actually got to watch this fudge maker through the whole process of making a loaf of fudge and it was so cool. There is definitely a lot more involved than you think or well that I thought. If you have the chance make sure you watch this sometime and hint they sometimes give you a warm piece of fresh fudge for free! Yes please!

This was the sunset from the Inns grounds where we stayed at. You could hike down this path to the top of a rock to get this view. Even though the clouds were in front of the sun it was still beautiful.

Breakfast with a view. Our Inn where we stayed included a continental breakfast which was super nice!

Heading back to the airport to head home.

Just Mike and I drooling over here at this stunning aircraft. #someday

View from just after takeoff with the island below us.

Here on the left side of the island is where the main town is. You can bike around the entire island - which comes to about an 8 mile ride. You can also bike through the island, there are a lot of trails and roadways to use and explore.

Flying above the clouds on the way home.

Selfie Time

This was such a fun little weekend getaway. It was the perfect amount of time to spend on the island. We basically got to everything in two days. I mean you can stay longer but if you are looking for a fun little getaway this would be a great pick.

If you don't fly in you can always take the ferry from the main town. There are lots of great restaurants and things to see and do. Everything feels very relaxed. Also pack accordingly haha because the jacket you see me wearing above was bought on the island - cause it was a bit chilly riding bikes in Michigan at that time.

Hope you guys enjoyed this post.

It's been a minute since I got a post up and so glad to finish this one for ya.