I’m natively from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but for five years, my husband and I lived in southwest Michigan. My husband has family that live in the area, and Fernando and I were newly engaged when we first settled in the Kalamazoo area in 2009. I started attending Western Michigan University in 2011 for my master’s degree, and we got married that same year in the fall. As a graduate student, you’re limited with time off because of academic commitments, but we didn’t mind delaying our honeymoon at all. 

I was exploring honeymoon locations and discovered one that we didn’t have to even board a plane for—and was a beautiful drive “up north,” as Michiganders call it. 

It was none other than lovely Mackinac Island! When I would talk to my friends and colleagues about this place, their faces would light up and they’d share such wonderful stories of being in a place where “time slowed way down.” It is pronounced Mac-ih-naw. 

Mackinac Island is a shortened version of the Native American name, Michilimackinac. The Anishinabek word means “place of the great turtle,” because with its limestone bluffs, the island looks like a giant turtle rising out of the water. There are many turtle influences here on the island, and you can see a few neat places to visit here. 

Fast forward 11.5 years later; we had another opportunity to visit this enchanting place—and this time, with our 6-year-old daughter, Maya! My husband’s niece was getting married in Kalamazoo, so we decided to build some time around when the wedding was and visit two places that our daughter has never been to that we thought she would absolutely love: Frankenmuth…and of course, Mackinac Island!

After spending time in Frankenmuth (read my review here!), we excitedly began our trek to the Mackinaw City to board a ferry boat to Mackinac Island! It was another three-hour drive plus an estimated 18-minute ferry boat ride to get us to the island. There are no cars allowed on Mackinac Island, so there are only a few ways to get around: walking, horse carriages, or bicycles. The pace of the island seems very slow…maybe because nobody is really in a hurry. There’s no city-life, Broadway shows, or cars buzzing around. Everybody comes here to get away from the fast-paced world…and hopefully to unplug as well. It’s the easiest place to relax, and quite enchanting. 

For our honeymoon, we’d bought a romantic package at the Island House Hotel that included ferry tickets, lunch at Mary’s Bistro, a private horse-drawn carriage ride, champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, breakfast and dinner in their 1852 Grille Room, and 2 pounds of the island’s famous fudge. It was an amazing deal. 

This time, we bought our own Starline [now called Mackinac Island Ferry Company] tickets. There are lots of options for the ferry tickets, including visiting the island daily, bringing bicycles instead of renting them, roundtrip, and even options that include parking. We decided to choose a roundtrip option that included covered, secured parking, since we were going to spend a few days on the island. 

We also chose to stay at the Murray Hotel. This hotel was literally across the street from the Star Line ferry boat dock and is situated along the main street. This is where all the hustle bustle of the town occurs, from horse-drawn carriage rides, bicycles everywhere, and people enjoying the beauty of the island. The Murray Hotel also has its own fudge shop inside, which offers deals for hotel guests. There’s also a restaurant inside the hotel called Amigo Burrito. We got settled and refreshed before heading out to enjoy some of the beauty and fun of the island. 

Our daughter couldn’t wait to start exploring, especially since she is fascinated with horses…which are literally everywhere on the island. A fun fact that we learned on our own carriage tour is that there are over 600 horses on Mackinac Island during the season. Guests can also rent their own carriages, go on a horse-drawn carriage tour, and even go horseback riding on the island. For those who enjoy horses and want to have an experience on Mackinac Island, check out this great horse resource. These horses are majestic to watch, as they are very large breeds of horses, including Percheron, Standardbred, and Belgian. There are saddle horses too, that include Quarter horses, Appaloosas, and a mix of multiple breeds. Every time you see the horses standing idle, you can’t help but want to go touch their noses and pet them. 

Our carriage tour took us all over the island and past Arch Rock, the cemetery, and even The Grand Hotel, which has the longest porch in the world! There is an admission fee of around $10 to enter the Grand Hotel. They offer a daily tea service and there’s a lookout point as well. The Grand Hotel looks like a little White House when approaching or leaving. Six U.S. Presidents have even visited the hotel, and the famous movie, Somewhere in Time, with actors Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeves, was filmed here. After our honeymoon, my husband bought the movie and had it shipped to our home before we got back from our honeymoon! Such a romantic gesture! The Grand Hotel is an attraction all on its own. 

After our carriage tour ended at the Grand Hotel, we decided to walk down by the marina, located on Lake Huron, and take some beautiful pictures. The sun worked in our favor. 

We captured some nice family photos before continuing our walk along Main Street and decided it would be nice to visit the Butterfly House, which we’d previously visited on our honeymoon. It’s a lovely walk to get to the butterfly house as you pass Fort Mackinac and the marina with the boats in the docks, the Victorian houses, and the many bed-and-breakfasts along the way. Our daughter loved the butterflies and eventually got a few of them to land on her! We all did at one point. The butterfly house is a place where you feel a sense of calm and a peaceful atmosphere. 

After the Butterfly House, we decided to keep walking further toward Mission Point Resort to a place called Bistro on the Greens for lunch. The cool thing about this place is that you can play mini golf here, too, and that’s exactly what we did. When my husband and I were here on our honeymoon, we did the same thing, so it was nostalgic to do this again and this time with our daughter. It was a fun afternoon! 

We decided to head back to town since Maya wanted to go swimming at the hotel. We then took a little siesta before heading out to dinner, where we stopped at a place called Winchester’s. I had the most flavorful dish that I can’t recommend enough: the black angus sirloin tips. It came with veggies and rice pilaf. My husband had their buffalo chicken, bacon, and ranch flatbread, and our daughter had something similary to what my husband had. The neat thing about Winchester’s was the live piano entertainment. Such a great atmosphere! It was a very enjoyable place to have dinner. 

After dinner (and being that it was summer), Maya wanted ice cream—and right next to Winchester’s was Sadie’s Ice Cream Parlor. There are ice cream and fudge shops all over the island. The fudge is unbelievably tasty and enjoyable. You’ll buy some to bring home…and hope it makes it with you! I bought several pounds of fudge and gave some to my parents for watching our cat, Zorro, while we were away on this vacation. 

The following day, we decided it would be fun to try something new to all of us on the island: renting bicycles. The island is 8.2 miles in perimeter, but flat so it’s an easy-going ride. There are many lookout points and places you’ll want to stop. Across the street from our hotel was a rental place for bikes; it wasn’t as expensive as I thought (thankfully). You can learn more about biking the island here. To avoid paying rental fees, many people bring their bikes with them to the island, but we did not, since we were on an extended, multi-city trip to Michigan. The bike ride took us awhile because of the many picture stops, but it was well-worth it! The island is so beautiful, and we saw things we didn’t see on our honeymoon the first time! The bike ride felt great, and I recommend doing this if you ever visit the island. The bike rentals also supply you with water bottles, too. 

On our honeymoon, we had a fabulous couples massage at the Lilac Tree Spa. For anyone wanting to get in some spa time, that is a wonderful way to truly relax and enjoy some wellness while on the island. It would make a wonderful, after-bike-ride treat so you can soothe any sore muscles. 

Later that day, we had an early dinner at a restaurant called Horn’s Bar and Restaurant. This place had Mexican food and while it was ok, it was not our favorite place to eat on the island. We then got ice cream at Moomer’s before heading on a walk past the marina to go to the Island House Hotel to sit outside by the chimineas. Our daughter played with the big anchor and took pictures of us as we reminisced about sitting outside by the chimineas on our last day of our honeymoon. We remember sitting next to a couple who were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary; they told us to always make time for each other and that life goes by incredibly fast. We vowed that night that we’d like to come back for our 25th wedding anniversary—and what a treat that we got to return sooner, one month shy of our 12th wedding anniversary. 

Our daughter made an instant friend with another child coloring, while my husband and I just sat in comfortable silence and took it all in: the way the sunset glowed over the sky, the marina looking so beautiful with its sailboats floating peacefully, and what a glorious few days we’d enjoyed together! We then talked as a family that if we ever had another child, we’d like to come back so they could experience the beauty and peacefulness of this magical island that sits atop the lower peninsula of the state of Michigan and in the Straits of Mackinac…and pretty darn close to Canada. 

Before our 12th wedding anniversary in September, we got the best news of all—we are expecting another baby that will be due in May! We are very overjoyed. As I wrote this article, sharing pictures and nostalgia with my husband and daughter, we all feel a sense of anticipation as we know that one day, we will be back to this incredible place that put a timestamp on our hearts. Thank you, Mackinac Island [and Frankenmuth, too!]—we look forward to seeing you again one day soon! 

Stasia Lopez is the Global Education Editor for Wandering Educators and is also a Faculty Instructor and Director of Career Development at the University of Pittsburgh. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC),for a class on "The Job Search.” She also serves as the Co-President of the Career Counselors’ Consortium. She graduated with her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Western Michigan University and earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Robert Morris University. Stasia is passionate about international education, travel, college to career topics, and loves working on a college campus. She’s lived in four different U.S. states (Florida, Michigan, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania) and also studied and lived abroad in Rome, Italy. Stasia lives in the Pittsburgh area with her husband, children, and fluffy, black cat.