Taxi ride to the Grand Hotel 
The Grand
The Grand Hotel Dining Room (a Grand Lunch at the Grand Buffet)
Porch View Left
Porch View Right
View from the porch
Our ride back to town awaitsHaving done some chores (laundry, boat maintenance) earlier in the morning, we took an 11:30 a.m. ferry to Mackinac. The racing boats had completely evacuated the harbor, but some of the ferry dock space was now occupied by a small American Caribbean Cruise Line ship, the Grande Mariner with 100 passengers aboard.
Today the town was really crowded with bicyclers, people horse-back riding, and the regular horse-drawn buggies as well as pedestrians. We surveyed the scene for awhile, and then George summoned a taxi (also horse-drawn) which took us up to the Grand Hotel. Upon entering we were greeted by a concierge who advised us that the fee was $10.00 per person to tour the hotel and its grounds, but that fee could be used to off-set the cost of lunch in the Dining Room which was $40.00 per person. Since this was our plan, we then made our way to the next level to the enormous Dining Room over-looking the famous football- field long porch with a stunning view of the water.
The buffet lunch was indeed lavish with many choices of fruits, salads, shrimp, oysters, cold meats, breads, and prime rib, fish, chicken, pasta entrees and potato and vegetable accompaniments. Following the tables filled with these items, came the sumptuous dessert tables. Needless to say, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in a delightful atmosphere, and decided that considering that there was no additional tax or tipping allowed, the price was quite reasonable for the caliber of food, ambience, and service we received.
We next ventured out onto the porch to sit in the sunshine on two of the hundreds of rockers placed out there, and conversed about the numerous friends we have who would have really enjoyed being here with us. We returned to town via the elegant Grand Hotel carriage to do some shopping and then took the ferry to St. Ignace after having had a special day on Mackinac.
Today the town was really crowded with bicyclers, people horse-back riding, and the regular horse-drawn buggies as well as pedestrians. We surveyed the scene for awhile, and then George summoned a taxi (also horse-drawn) which took us up to the Grand Hotel. Upon entering we were greeted by a concierge who advised us that the fee was $10.00 per person to tour the hotel and its grounds, but that fee could be used to off-set the cost of lunch in the Dining Room which was $40.00 per person. Since this was our plan, we then made our way to the next level to the enormous Dining Room over-looking the famous football- field long porch with a stunning view of the water.
The buffet lunch was indeed lavish with many choices of fruits, salads, shrimp, oysters, cold meats, breads, and prime rib, fish, chicken, pasta entrees and potato and vegetable accompaniments. Following the tables filled with these items, came the sumptuous dessert tables. Needless to say, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in a delightful atmosphere, and decided that considering that there was no additional tax or tipping allowed, the price was quite reasonable for the caliber of food, ambience, and service we received.
We next ventured out onto the porch to sit in the sunshine on two of the hundreds of rockers placed out there, and conversed about the numerous friends we have who would have really enjoyed being here with us. We returned to town via the elegant Grand Hotel carriage to do some shopping and then took the ferry to St. Ignace after having had a special day on Mackinac.
What a beautiful hotel and nice carriage ride.
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