Mackinac Island on July 5

We decided to go to Mackinac Island the day after our country celebrates Independence Day.  I expected it to be busy on that day and it was...Busy and HOT!

It was so busy at the island docks ( 9:30 am) that our ferry needed to kill a quarter hour before the docks were available, so we got a little extra ride under the Mackinac Bridge.

It was a gorgeous morning for a boat ride.  The ferry ride is usually 16 minutes--ours was doubled due to the congestion on the island as everyone was trying to leave after the July 4 festivities.

We did not mind.  In fact I loved it! I have only been under the bridge once before and it was at night during the fireworks so I have never really seen this underside view.

 

For those who have never heard of Mackinac Island, it is an historic island in Michigan with a population of less than 500 full-time residents. During the summer tourist season there could be up to 15,000 people per day.  I think there were at least that many last Friday!

For well over 100 years, the island has had an ordinance banning automobiles. There are three ways to get around the island – bicycle, horse or your own two feet.

Most tourists choose bikes--they can bring their own over on the ferry or rent a bicycle when they arrive.  There are bikes EVERYWHERE on the island.

 

I hate to ride a bike, so we chose a combination of walking and a two-hour  tour in a horse-drawn carriage.

 

 

 

  I wanted to peek into some backyard gardens of the local residents, so we bypassed the downtown area and walked down some residential streets where I snapped a few garden photos.  The peonies were huge! This one must have supports hidden among the massive amount of flowers.

 

 

 

Look way to the back.  See the old trunk planted with yellow begonias?

 

Here are a couple of the huge planters hanging all over the island.  I like the purple, pink with a pop of orange color combination.

Here is a more subdued color scheme.

 

I thought the two big rocks were a nice focal point for this small border.

 

A couple of sidewalk borders:

Oh, by the way, Mackinac Island is a very pricey place to live. It would be rare to find anything for under 1 million dollars.  Amazing, considering these are only summer vacation homes!

 

 

I do love the island colors on some of the old houses on Mackinac Island--like these two on the main road:

 

A bed and breakfast garden:

 

Nice allium in this garden!

 

 

 

This old home has some very tall white Valerian....my mother-in-law gave me some Valerian from her mother's garden. We call it "Sweet Annie".  It is a very old fragrant herb.

 

 

Nice foxglove. I wish I could grow it like that!

Did you notice how the color of the flowers match the bicycle color?  I wonder if it was planned.

 

This post is getting quite long.  I will stop here and continue on my next post.

 

  I have a lot of new flowers blooming in my own garden. I will show you those later in the week.

 

I hope your holiday weekend was wonderful!