Regardless of the difference in spelling, I was made aware before our trip to Mackinac Island that Mackinaw and Mackinac are pronounced the same.

We took a late morning Shepler’s Hydro-Ferry from Mackinaw City to Mackinac Island. It was a cool (temp sat at 57 most of the day), grey, breezy day. Little did I know that Fred and I would freeze sitting in the last row of the back of the ferry. Hydro-Ferry was a quick 18 minute ride across the Straits of Mackinaw, but lots of wind! Fred was not so pleased with the wind!

Once arriving on the Island, we first set out to find a spot for Fred to enter the water. First stop was Windermere Point, where it was so windy and the current quite strong, that Fred only got to go as far in as his ankles, as I wouldn’t let go of his leash. Add one to the list – Straits of Mackinaw.

At this same spot, we had a good view of Round Island Lighthouse.

Also, this spot marks the end of the Chicago-Mackinaw Sailboat Race.

While walking around town, my favorite thing of note was the Public Library. We went in and snapped a quick photo. As a kid I spent many hours in our local pubic library and many of you know my dad made his career as a school librarian.

Next stop was Arch Rock. We had a bit of a walk to get there and saw many beautiful hotels, homes and parks along the way. Fort Mackinac was open to the public but they have regular rifle and cannon exhibits and I think Fred wouldn’t have been a fan of that. In fact, later in the day we could hear them being fired off and I was right. 

While walking to Arch Rock, Fred had an opportunity to swim in Lake Huron. We found a good beach entrance for him to swim for some toys, but in general the Lake was very angry, as seen by the spray in the photo.

It is a climb up 207 wooden steps to Arch Rock. Climbs like this are much easier when you have Fred leading the way. I could have leant him out for hire for quite a few others to make the climb. 

Dwight Wood Spring sits right next to the stairs up to Arch Rock. A family built a nice sitting area around the spring. With a little help getting up there, Fred was able to partake in the cool drink.

After getting some lunch in town, we stopped by Sanders Fudge shop before boarding the ferry back to Mackinaw City. More people loving on Fred and the fudge shop was actually dog friendly… and they too insisted that he have his own ice cream cone!  Me, I had chocolate covered marshmallows and pretzels.

Back on the ferry, we chose a lower level indoor spot. With masks on (federal transportation laws), I realized that now I was slightly seasick but that wound up being OK. At least we weren’t freezing anymore! 

Back in Mackinaw City, Fred swam one more time, at the Top of the Mitt. And we took a tour of the Old Mackinaw Point Lighthouse… that too was dog friendly!