Mackinaw City (alternate title: why you should never head North after October)

Not all family vacation are meant to be a success.  I would definitely chalk our beginning of November jaunt to Mackinaw City as one of those failures.  We made a last minute decision to head north for the weekend, booking a hotel with an indoor waterpark in Mackinaw City on Saturday night, and hoping to get over to the island on Sunday morning.  I did some research ahead of time, noting the weather forecast was favorable (liars), and though a lot of shops were closed for the season, there was still enough to do and the ferries were in service.

 

Let me tell you where I went wrong:

 

• It is not warm there, not even a little bit
• Nothing is open after mid-October, not even for a little while
• It is cold there, and often snows
• The ferries do not run from Mackinaw City after October 31, not even a little bit - instead, you have to cross the bridge and catch a ride to the island from St. Ignace
• It is not warm 
 

Our family roadtrip came just a couple of days after Hannah & Grandma's car accident, so, if nothing else, a full uninterrupted weekend with the girls was much appreciated.  We headed north Saturday morning.  It was an uneventful trip, though the sight of snow near Kalkaska was alarming.  We settled into the hotel and enjoyed the waterpark and facilities.  The weather was HORRIBLE, so venturing out was not appealing.  We did go out for a pizza dinner (one of the only open restaurants around) but immediately returned to the warmth of our hotel room. 

 

 

Waterpark fun (fun fact: waterparks steam camera lenses)

All the best pool hustlers wear footed pajamas

Hannah has a slight advantage at air hockey

The next morning did not bring the break in weather that I was counting on, and the wind was howling.  Not only did we not want to take a ferry across the choppy waters, we didn't even want to drive over the bridge in those conditions.  Instead we cut our losses and headed home after breakfast and a quick trip to the waterpark.  We attempted to stop off in Gaylord for a quick adventure at a rumored-to-be-awesome playground there, but the weather was actually WORSE as we headed south.  Go figure.

Not my brightest idea for an adventure.  Lesson learned:  if feeling the need for a late fall escape, head SOUTH.  Until next time, Mackinaw.