Day 2 - Mackinac Island Adventures

 

    We went to Mackinac Island. It was really cold. The butterfly house was really cool and warm. A butterfly landed on Alaina. We walked around the shops and bought stuff. We rode a carriage, and the horses Chuck and Doc were really cute. We saw Arch Rock. We saw Fort Mackinac and watched them blow a canon. Most of us got hot chocolate and skipped the rifle demonstration. We went to more shops and bought more stuff like fudge, stickers, clothing, and gifts. We rode the ferry back. It was freezing if you rode on top. We watched the boat workers in their short sleeves and shorts being all warm where you steer the boat. Once we got back we ate Mexican food. Alaina bought a big rubber chicken. We went back to the hotel and went swimming.

- Echo and Vita

Mr. Schneck's notes:

Only a few brave souls rode the top of the ferry in the cold, but we got to see the Mackinaw bridge from underneath. We enjoyed the Original Butterfly House with a lot of beautiful butterflies as well as an insect and small animal and insect "zoo". Draft horses Chuck and Doc with their driver Jamie gave us a great tour of some island sites, including the Grand Hotel and Arch Rock. They dropped us at Fort Mackinac where we pretty much had the fort to ourselves. We learned a lot about the history of the island from the carriage tour and the fort tour, were able to see a cannon and a rifle demonstration, and do some downtown shopping before heading back to the mainland. We ate some great Mexican food at El Zarape. We planned to go to the Headlands Dark Sky Park for some stargazing, but the sky was clouded over, so we called it an early night with a quick visit to the "Mac-a-tron" robot made out of auto, machine, and bridge parts (see below) and some swimming. Heading over the Big Mac to the U.P. tomorrow. Pray for us!