WEBVTT
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I'm Johnny Mack and travel is back. Today's episode is
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powered by AI. You come in with the spray on
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your cheeks and the hum of the engines under your shoes.
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The fairies are swift and frequent from Mackinaw City and
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Saint Ignace, and you feel it the moment the hull
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picks up speed and the line of the shoreline slips behind.
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If you're driving north, you park at the mainland dock,
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tag your luggage with your hotel's name, and watch the
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cheerful clamoring of hand carts line up for the next run.
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Tickets are easy to grab online or at the window,
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and early runs are quieter on peak days, later fairies
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brim with day trippers and families wrangling strollers and candy
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craving kids. If you catch a departure that sweeps under
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the Mackinac Bridge, watch for the steel work floating by
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overhead like a moving lattice, and then turn back into
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the wind. The ride tends to be brisk and a
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little colder than it looks. A light jacket makes you
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the smart one, especially in the shoulder seasons of May
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in October, when the breeze comes off the straits with
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a cool bite. You hear it before you reach it,
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the flat chime of a ship's horn, the shuffle of
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hoofs on the docks, the chat if people shifting forward
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is the island's harbor widens into view. The island is
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right there, with its white facades and candy stripes, with
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the flag above the hilltop fort with the long dock
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jutting into water, the color of a glass bottle in sunlight.
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You step down with everyone, and the first thing that
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hits you is the absence of engines. There are no
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cars on this island. There are horses and bicycles and
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the sound of wood wagon wheels. There are bell men
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in brimmed caps who know where your bag is going.
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There are maps on stands. There's the comfortable knowledge that
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everything you need is within a scenic walk or a
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quiet pedal. The pinch point is timing. If you want
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to do the full circle of the island and a
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few of the interior highlights and a museum or two,
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you give yourself one night, minimum two. If you want
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to breathe. Day trips are fine and fun. Slowly is better.
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The waterfront greets you with a main street of ornate
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balconies and awnings that look like they've been waiting since
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the eighteen eighties for you to stroll under them. You're
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beside the harbor, and the water's right there, so clear
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it turns small stones into paper weights and gives the
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pilings an emerald fringe. Shops line the street in close,
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cheerful ranks. People drift in sandals and linen, trailing dogs
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and kids in matching sweatshirts. You follow the sidewalk past
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storefronts trimmed like pastries, pass luggage carts rattling to the
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big hotels, past racks of bicycles painted beach colors, Past
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your first whiff of chocolate and caramel being worked on
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marble in an open window. You don't have to be
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all fudge all day, but it's hard to ignore the smell.
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Save that for later. Keep to the harbor, and you
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come to Marquette Park. On the lawn below the fort.
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Sit a minute if you need a breather. The grass
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slopes up in a wide green fan, and above it,
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the stone walls of Fort Mackinac look down like the
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island's ozone set of eyebrows. The waterline curves toward the marina.
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Farther east, clapboard cottages and a white steeple mark the
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Mission District. Quiet and historic, with picket fences and a
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handful of inviting porches. If you need supplies. Dowd's Market
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is just up from the park. It's been here under
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one family longer than most of us have been alive,
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and it has the essentials for a picnic. Crusty bread,
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local cheese, cold drinks, fruit you can eat right away.
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It's always a good idea to pick up water and
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snack it insurance before you head away from downtown. You
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don't really settle into Mackanac until you get on a bicycle.
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You rent on the main drag, no problem. You can
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get a single speed cruiser, a geared hybrid, a tandem.
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If you want to match energy, child trailers or tag alongs.
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You can bring your own bike on the ferry for
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a small fee too. The right around the island is
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officially M one to eighty five, one of the only
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state highways in the country where the only traffic is
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human powered or horse drawn. It's about eight miles, mostly flat,
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close to the lake the whole way, and you can
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do it in an hour with resolver three. If you
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take your time. If you only do one thing here,
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do that loop at least. Once head east, the lake
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settles out into clear bands of aquamarine and deeper ink,
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and you coastpass the trimmed hedges of the mission area,
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where white clappered houses front tidy lawns. You'll see a
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sign for Arch Rock soon enough, and you'll hear the
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creak of carriages ahead of you on the pavement as
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the road begins to tilt gently upward and away from
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the immediate shore. There's a pull off on the lakeside
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road at the base of the cliff, where hundreds of
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steps lead up through cedar shade to the arch itself.
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If you're up for stairs, stash your bike, take a
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breath and head up. If you'd prefer a gentler grade,
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keep pedaling to the carriage road that climbs to the
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top and approach the archs from above. You'll come back
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to it on the north side about halfway round. British
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Landing spreads a small beach of pale pebbles into the
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water and offers a chance to stock up restrooms, a
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few snacks, A standing lineup of bikes with sandcaked on
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their tires and view straight across the straits. It's an
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ideal place for a pause. In the afternoons. The bridge
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lines up westward and stands in the distance with a
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long armed posture that fills the horizon. From there, the
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road bends toward the setting sun, and if you're making
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the loop late in the day, you get the light
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on your shoulder and the water shining through sprays of grass.
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The island's interior is another world and worth the climb.
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From several points around the loop, especially in the east
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and center, sign roads and crushed gravel lanes peel off
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into maple and beech and pine. The carriage roads are
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broad and well graded, originally designed for four wheels and
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a gentle pull. You share them with commercial carriages on
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set roots and with riders who notice slow on corner.
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The rhythm changes in the trees, Ferns line the ditches,
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and sunlight falls and slow wide stripes. Follow huron or
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a rifle range or garrison road up toward the fort,
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or choose a more meandering route toward the center. You'll
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find limestone outcrops tucked among the leaves and the hum
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of crickets in summer. The middle of the island holds
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big pieces of story in the ground. Sugar Loaf is
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a monolith dropped from the cliffs at the last of
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the ice age, a tall, pale pillar rising from the
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forest floor. You can lean a hand against cool stone
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and feel the texture weathered by centuries. A little farther,
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Skull Cave is a shallow chamber and a bluff with
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a name that hints at a more complicated past, and
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you can step gently to the mouth and look into
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a shadow that looks back. You can climb to fort
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homes for views that take the roof off of the scene.
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The hill isn't long, but it's steady, and at the
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top the reconstructed earthworks form a low ring around a
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parade of sky. From the ramparts you can see the
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mainland to the north, the long draw of the bridge
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to the west. The blue sheets of open water in
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every direction bring a windbreaker up here. Even on mild days,
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it's breezier than you think. If you close your eyes
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in the p lines below, you catch the smell that
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lets you guess why people once made their fortunes moving
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first through these waters, and why ships still ride the
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currents here day and night. When you're ready to understand
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the island beyond its breezy postcard angles, you climb the
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hill into Fort mackinac. It's a short but serious climb
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from the park, past a white church and up a
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set of steps that deliver you right into the eighteenth century.
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The British moved here in the seventeen to eighties from
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the mainland fort across the straits, trading a wooden palisade
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for stone walls and a commanding view. The uniforms and
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the drill on the parade ground tell you how the
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place worked when a garrison made its routines here with
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cannon at the ready and a bugle cutting the air.
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You want to time your visit for the musket and
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cannon demonstrations. If you can. They echo right down into
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town and across the water. Inside the walls, you wander
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past tidy officers, quarters that look across the bay, and
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barracks that feel full of footsteps even when they're empty.
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Exhibits peelback layers of the fur trade, of medical history
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of the long arc from a British outpost to an
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American post that saw its own war and peace. The
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War of eighteen twelve is not just a date. Here
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you can stand on the bluff and picture the fighting
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at the island center, and then walk an easy path
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to the battle fields, interpretive signs to ground yourself in it.
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A small cafe within the fort gives you a seat
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with a view down to the harbor, where the funnel
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of a ferry pullsyv across the water. Your ticket can
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cover other historic buildings in town too, the clappered storefront
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where a doctor once studied digestion, the homes of the
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early town, the spaces that made a post into a community.
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Together they add up to a sense of how this
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place has been layered and edited over time, and how
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the absence of cars is only part of what makes
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it feel like time is on your side. Back at
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Arch Rock, you stop in front of a structure that
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manages to feel delicate and solid at once. The limestone
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arch frames the lake like a window, and the water
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below glows with color and good light. It's taller than
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it looks in pictures, and when you stand at the fence,
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just to step back from the edge, you can look
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through and see a small piece of forever it's fragile too,
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held together by the stubbornness of stone and the pull
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of its own weight. And you understand the fences and
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the signs that keep you on the right side of care.
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If you came up the steps, your thigh muscles sing
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in a friendly way. If you came by the carriage road,
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you feel the anti climax of the easy approach. Either way,
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linger a minute. The cedars here keep the air cool
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even in high summer, and the breeze carries a scent
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that's part lake, part leaf. Bring a sip of water
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to savor the paws. If you like quiet, try it early.
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If you like lively, show up in the midday and
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share a marvel with strangers. The island's natural landscape keep
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surprising you as you ride and walk. Just off the
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east bluff, the Pontiac Trail gives you a suspended feeling,
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a cliff edge path with railings and a long slide
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of water below. In spring, the wood surprise you with trillium,
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and in fall the maples burn with color that feels
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painted on. In midsummer, the hum under the trees is
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loud with insects, and on the water, loons and mergansers
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leave small wakes under the cliffs. The beaches are not
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sandy in the classic sense, think pebbles, rounded stones, and
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flashes of polished white rock, but they invite you in
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for a cold wade. Water shoes make that more comfortable,
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and a towel in your bag lets you commit without hesitation.
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When the lake looks irresistible. At some point during your day,
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appetite rises. There's no shortage of places. The trick is
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to match your mood to the meal. Mackinac makes much
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of its sweets, and the shops that line Main Street
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have windows where you can watch paddles working in copper
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kettles and long bars of confection being turned in folded.
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Try a small box and move on. You'll be happier
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if you plan the rest of your eating around the
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lake and the people who bring the fish in from it.
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Look for whitefish done simply, sometimes grilled, and sometimes lightly
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fried or smoked. Whitefish in a spread with crackers and
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lemon a cup of chowder on a breezy porch hits
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a very particular spot. If you want something quick and
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picnic ready, dowd sandwiches travel well to Marquette park or
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any bench that looks inviting. There are full dining rooms
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with lake views and dress codes, and there are low
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key pubs where the talk is easy and locals lean
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on the bar. If you want a signature experience and
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you're willing to plan ahead, the grand Veranda on the
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West Bluff offers menus that match the view in The
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hotel's long standing tradition asks you to trade your travel
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clothes for something more formal. In the evening, if you
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like a plate of nachos and a view of the
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harbor in the casual style, several spots right on the
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water set you up with a perch and the sound
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of halliards clicking on masts. Coffee shops stay busy in
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the mornings. Bakery's good work makes an early fairy arrival
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feel like perfect timing. Whatever you choose, think about reservations
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for prime dinner hours In July and August, shoulder seasons
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run on shorter hours. A late lunch early in the
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week can feel like a secret. When you've explored the
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waterfront and circled the island, look for the quiet that
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often means heading up and away. The West Bluff hosts
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a row of summer cottages, grand houses and soft colors
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with porches and flags that sit along a road that
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feels like stepping onto a summer postcard from one hundred
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years ago. You can walk there from downtown in minutes.
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The view back down to the bay is wide and calm,
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and the gardens are planted to be admired. Behind the bluff,
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a neighborhood of footpaths and little roads weaves through an
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old annex development where the noise of downtown doesn't reach.
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It's an easy place to lose your annoyance and find
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your pace for a meet up with Sunset. Follow the