Several times lately I’ve mentioned the “turn-around” at the end of the Grand Hotel porch, so I thought today I’d explain what I’m talking about for those who might not know.
When we take a taxi to the Village, and there are people on the same taxi going to the Grand Hotel, the “Grand” folks are dropped off first.
On this particular day, the other passengers have been dropped off at the Grand portico, and we're now traveling west down the length of the porch. There was a wedding party on the porch, and this little boy seemed to be having a better time watching the horses than being at the party.
At the end of the porch is this circular drive where the taxis make the 360 degree turn. Otherwise, they'd have to travel up the West Bluff, turn right, then right again to take the road behind the West Bluff to run into Cadotte again - a MUCH longer route. This is where you can get really wet if it's storming and the wind is blowing sideways off Lake Huron.
We've made the turn . . .
. . . and now we're traveling back down the length of the porch - west to east this time - until we hit Cadotte and turned left for the Village. If the portico happened to be blocked by side-by-side carriages, we'd have to stop and wait for one of them to move. That's when the horses sometimes decide to "sample" the floral goodies in the flower beds!
George - making the trek up the hill to the recycling plant in a misty rain last week.
While Jill and I were checking out the Maritime Academy training ship on Saturday, we peeked inside the Arnold dock warehouse and found these two antique bikes leaning against a wall.
The Raymond Castleberry family from Georgia. Ted, Raymond's father (also Raymond), and I worked together in a middle school in Albany, GA "back in the day". Raymond (the son) and his family - wife Karen and precious little girls Emma and Ava - called us from the Carriage Museum this morning, then came over and spent some time with us at the condo. So good to hear those Georgia accents, and Maddie and Bear just loved having little folks to play with! They were staying at the Grand with other family members, and enjoying Mackinac's awesome weather this week.
Bree's Mackinac Island Blog 
Was on that very porch today!
Never get tired of seeing pictures of the Grand Hotel. The geraniums look beautiful as always. We’ve seen George each time we’ve been on the island. Never fail to give a friendly nod hello. 🙂
The Grand always looks so “grand”, so white, so clean, so perfect! The flowers so beautiful.
Beautiful pictures as always. 🙂
I never get tired of Grand photos either…thanks very much!
Thank you for the pictures of the Grand porch. We stood there and watched the horses have their snack of beatiful flowers. No one seems to concerned that they do this It seems they might have been planted for this purpose. They are so beautiful to watch. Thanks again!
One summer I worked in the yard of that lovely brown & yellow West Bluff cottage. Seeing it in your photo pulls on my heartstrings. 🙂 Thank you for your photos.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Mackinac Island. It was a pleasure to meet y’all and see your beautiful home. The girls had a great time playing with Maddie and Bear. Every time we went for a walk by the Carriage House Museum, they would remember . . . “that’s where we played with the doggies!” Thank you for your hospitality and we’ll be sure to give you a call the next time we’re on the island!