Victory I Great Lakes Cruise: Mackinac Island

Courtesy of Google Maps

By GERRY BARKER
North Palm Beach Life
Photos by Gerry and Pamela Barker

Try to imagine a place with less than 600 year-round residents that hosts over 1.2 million visitors over a six-month period. Welcome to Mackinac island. Located between Michigan's Upper and Lower Penisulars on Lake Huron, Victory  I is docked here on Day Eight of our Great Lakes cruise.

This longtime vacation mecca is open May-October, and we are here at the very start of the tourist season. Wind chills are in the 30s as winter isn't quite ready to let go, so bundling up is the order of the day. There are no motor coaches in sight, not only because of the logistics of getting here, but also because motorized vehicles are banned.

Not to worry. Horse and carriages are at the ready to take us on a tour of the island that measures a mere eight miles in circumference. As the nation's second national park, over 80 percent of the land's natural beauty is preserved . During season, some 600 horses take the place of Uber.

Our tour makes stops at Fort Mackinac, established in 1780 and manned by both British and American forces. Along with sweeping views of the island, it also features a Tea Room with a roaring, most welcome, fire. The island's crown jewel is the Grand Hotel, with the world's longest front porch. This is where they filmed the 1980 movie, "Somewhere in Time." It is grand indeed.  

If you love fudge, you've come to the right place. It's reported that over a dozen fudge shops here use 10 tons of Michigan sugar every week. It's easy to see why visitors flock to this charming Great Lakes enclave.

​Take a look here:

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