De Grand Hotel

Ever visited Mackinac Island? If so, you'll agree that it's a kinder, slower pace there. Friendly and stately, it's one of the largest destinations where travel is done strictly by foot, bicycle, or horse-drawn carriage. No motorized vehicles are allowed.

So last week, we were heading to the Island--and the Grand Hotel specifically--for a wonderful marriage conference. And here's the husband waiting very patiently to board the ferry.

In case you're wondering what he's thinking, I'll take a guess: "There she goes again, snapping my picture for her blog. Maybe if I act like a statue she'll snap a photo of the boat or something, anything else. Rrrrr....maybe not..."

As for me, I was just happy to be headed to one of my all-time favorite places:

Due to some pretty amazing October squalls, the 15-minute ferry ride looked like a car wash, with waves crashin' and splashin' against the windowed walls. Check out the mini-prism on the left.

Happily, snappily, we arrived on the Island, where we promptly hiked the back way to the Grand Hotel. Actually, we didn't have a clue where we were going, but after one island-dweller with a completely straight face insisted we needed to take a boat down to Chicago and then over to Detroit, before returning to find the hotel, we discovered we could hoof it there by walking through the lawn of the Island School. After cresting the hill beyond the school, the hotel soon came into view.

Pretty grand, isn't it? For all of you who appreciate history:

It's quite a breathtaking place, really. But since it was made in oh, 1887, specifically, it does have a few quirks. One of them was our room, which happened to have two full beds and a really strange slope that moved dramatically downward from the windows to the entry door. You actually walked up to get to the other side of the room. Which meant David almost fell out of bed that night, when he began to roll toward the door. Thankfully, he managed to keep himself from falling overboard...er, overbed.

All in all, we had a great stay...complete with a fancy-shmancy dinner in the hotel dining room. Here's me, smiling real big after tasting some exquisite creme brulee.

Oh, and here's a photo of my shrimp and scallops appetizer. Not a lot of food on a plate, but it was delicious nonetheless. And they make up for it with an incredible amount of silverware. Four spoons and five forks, for pete's sakes! 

We leave you with one more photo of The Grand Hotel courtyard, where Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour fall in love in the movie "Somewhere in Time." But before we do that, for any couples who could use an inspiring romantic getaway, we highly recommend the Celebrate Marriage conference, with our friends Jay and Laura Laffoon, held at Mackinaw six times a year. It's money incredibly well spent as you make this memory together. Cheers!