Summer – Newly Opened 5/18/2012

So many emotions this week.

I have a confession.  Sometimes when we are home in Georgia during the winter I think, “Do we really want to continue doing this double-nest thing?”  As the years go by – and as we grow older – the 1100-mile car trip becomes harder on our bodies (especially our bones), and the first week of settling in – with unpacking, going off-island to stock the pantry, taking care of the little things that happened over the winter at the condo (this year it was a tub faucet that couldn’t be turned off until the plumber arrived) – seems to take a little longer each year.

After a less than pleasant three-day trip (broken only by the wonderful visit with Ted’s cousin and her husband on the second day), I’ll admit to you that by the time we boarded a Shepler’s Ferry in Mackinac City, we were unbelievably tired and pretty darn grouchy.

And then we pulled up to the Mackinac Island dock, and through the ferry windows we spotted a wonderful group of friends who had taken time out of their busy day to come welcome us back.  Suddenly, the grouchiness disappeared and a grin a mile wide sprouted from my lips.

And then the second thing happened.  As we walked out onto the busy street and loaded onto the taxi, that sweet scent of fudge, mixed with the pungent odor of horse poop, assaulted my nose.  In the first seconds of inhaling this mix of smells, I’m always so taken off guard my first reaction is nearly always, “Ewwww!”  But by the fourth or fifth breath, my nose adjusts, and that mix of smells – found nowhere else in the world – settles into my brain, and my reaction becomes, “Ahhhh – Mackinac!”

Bags waiting to be unpacked, guarded by Maddie.

On our first morning back, we threw open the deck doors (even though it was pretty chilly) and settled outside with our coffee cups to watch the Island wake up.

Maddie and Bear have settled right into their normal Island routine.

The clop-clop of dray horses coming up the hill signaled who I hoped was George making his first run, and it was!

Sweet George – my favorite dray driver. It was a story about George that first drew attention from the general public to Bree’s Blog.

A while later, the first of the school children started riding by on their way to school. They have another week before they’re free for the summer.  I would guess the dressed-up gentleman walking briskly down the hill works at the Grand.

I spent the day unpacking boxes, suitcases,  and tote bags, and just as I was smiling that I was done, the dray pulled up and deposited the four boxes I shipped from Georgia.  Rather than put it off another day, I decided to just “get ‘er done”.  Yeah!!! Unpacking is over!

Late Tuesday afternoon we attended a City Council meeting, then Frankie, Ted and I ate dinner at the Seabiscuit.  The temperature dropped 15 degrees while we were in the restaurant, and it was a chilly ride home.  But we were with Ron, my favorite taxi driver, and we spent the ride catching up on his winter.

On Wednesday, Ted headed back to Mac City to pick up a few bags we left in the truck.  When he got back to the house, he realized he was missing a very important folder.  Panic!  Back down the hill he went, back across the Straits to Mac City, and back to the truck parked in the Shepler lot.  The folder was safe and secure under the seat – right where he had placed it before we left Georgia!  Panic over.

Things You Forget From One Year To The Next

• Forgetting something at the mainland ferry dock means a 20 minute walk down the hill, a 20-minute ferry ride, picking up what you forgot, a probable 30-minute wait for the next ferry over, a 20-minute ferry ride across, and a 20-minute walk up the hill.  Moral of story:  Check everything three times (at least) before getting on the ferry the first time.
• How dry the air is here.  Coming from south Georgia, where going outside is like stepping into a sauna, it takes a few days to remember why lotion is one of the most important things to have in good supply.  We drink tons of water here also to stay good and hydrated.  And (this is just for the girls), bad hair days are almost always caused by static electricity.
  
• How wonderful it is to fall into bed at night, totally exhausted, and drop into the deep sleep of the physically worn out semi-athlete.  No worries about your brain continuing to function as your body strains toward sleepiness.  Head on pillow, covers pulled up – you are out.
• How late the sun sets.

8:30 Wednesday night. The sun is nowhere close to the horizon.

On Wednesday evening I met Jill on her break from the Island Bookstore, and we walked to the Windermere Hotel to join in the celebration of Jeannette Doud’s 92nd birthday.

I’m fairly certain that every resident of Mackinac Island dropped by the Windermere at some time during the party.

Beautiful (inside and out) Jeannette, who writes the Mackinac Island column for the “St. Ignace News” and the “Mackinac Island Town Crier”. She is a walking history book on all things “Mackinac”. A lovely, lovely woman.

So Many New Things!

It will take quite a while to write about all the new things I’m seeing, so I’ll start with just one tonight.  As I walked down and back up the hill yesterday, I noticed several framed paintings sitting in various locations along my route.  Curiosity tugged at me enough to finally walk over to one and check out the story.

The paintings are reproductions of great art treasures sponsored by the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Inside/Out Program and include works by van Gogh and Rembrandt. This one, just outside the entrance to the Grand Hotel’s shade garden, is “Gladioli” by Claude Monet . . .

. . . and this one, outside the Carriage Tours horse barns is “The Trapper’s Return” by George Caleb Bingham.  What a great way to promote art in the community!

A New Blog!

Ever since I started working on The Dog-Eared Page, dedicated to the resident and visiting dogs of Mackinac Island, I’ve been unable to make the page do what I wanted.  When I changed from one dog to another, I lost the original one, and there was no way to archive the pages (in case someone missed one and wanted to go back).  Also, I soon discovered that my readers could not “subscribe” to that page, so you had no way of knowing when a new pooch was added, unless you happened to hit the “Dog-Eared Page” button in the header.  My only solution?  A brand new blog!

So . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (drum roll please) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . introducing the Mackinac Island Dog-Eared Page Blog at http://mackinacislanddogearedpage.wordpress.com .  Please check it out tonight after you finish here.  If you like it, hit the “subscribe” button, and you’re all set to receive notification when a new post is published!  Please make sure you click on the “About the Dog-Eared Page” button in the header for info on the blog.

Random Photos from Our First Week

Lots of brush-cutting up near Fort Mackinac has made for grander views of the walls and blockhouses.

A training cart that will be used to exercise the Grand Hackneys the first few days after their arrival back on the Island.

The new “Three Amigos” – Bear, Maddie, and the Hulk!

One wing of the new Grand Hotel stable. Love, love, love everything about it – especially the colors.

As far as I’ve seen, there is only one lilac tree blooming on the entire island, and it is this one near the new Grand stable. There are perhaps 20 lilac trees in this one location, and all the rest are nowhere near blooming. And yet, here is one – blooming its little heart out.

Tulips at the Grand Hotel – taken from ground level.

What’s Next?

Coming up on Monday?  The story of a special horse’s arrival on the Island, with some pretty fancy friends taking the slow boat over with him . . .

Teddie – finally on the Island with his owner Mary and his proud god-momma.

. . . AND the first Mystery Spot of the new season!

See you then!

P.S.  Have I told you how excited I am to be back here?   I haven’t?  Psst . . . . I’m soooo excited!