In the beginning...

It has been a long time since I’ve written, so excuse me if I’m rusty! I suddenly find myself with a lot of extra time on my hands, so I figured this was a good time to share with you a little bit about our new lives on beautiful Mackinac Island.

So, to bring you up to date… I took a job at a beautiful hotel on Mackinac Island, called The Inn at Stonecliffe. Beautiful doesn’t quite do it justice. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my life working in the Marriott world, but I was very bored…. I wanted something outside the box, and did I ever get it!

The Inn at Stonecliffe... isn't it gorgeous!

 

I have always been a huge Mackinac Island fan… As far as I can remember, we have come up here every single year of my life, at least once.

This photo is of my very sassy and stylish mom, my older sister Barb, me and my baby sister Krissy. I totally look like a boy. I know this was prior to 1979 because I eventually broke my arm wearing that shirt, and they ripped the sleeve to put the cast on. We are on the north end of the bridge

 

 

Then, once I had my own child, I wanted her to know and love this place as much as I do. When she was 4, I packed the car up, strapped her into her car seat and headed north. I had prepared little envelopes, each with a different photo of something Mackinac… the bridge, a ferry, a horse and carriage, the Fort, a butterfly…. And every half hour on the drive up, Grace got to open a new envelope. It made the trip go quicker and by the time we got up here, she was so excited to see all of the things that were in the pictures!

As the years progressed, we continued our yearly visits, and eventually, my nephew Connor joined us.

Here are a few photos from those trips…

I just love these kids:)

 

 

So, flash forward a few years. I can hardly believe that they call this place work.

 

 

 

 

I enrolled Grace in Mackinac Island School… she is in 8^th grade, and there are about 80 kids in K-12 at her school. She LOVES it! We will update you on the amazing things she experiences, as well as some of the stuff that is a little less than desirable (weather).

 

 

The playground, yard and amazing view at Mackinac Island School.

One of my friends ran into Grace riding her bike home from school one day, and sent me this picture. Grace has to ride her bike  in the rain or shine and fog and wind. I cannot believe that she has not complained once. I would have begged my mom to let me stay home on the colder rainy days for sure! Once it snows, I'll drive her to school every day on a snow mobile.

But mostly, I thought I'd start this blog up because I get so many questions about what life is like living here. People ask about everything from groceries to transportation to trash removal. I’ll do my best to answer your questions and I’ll also post many pictures. I'm still learning the tricks of living here. I'm still exploring different paths, and meeting new people every day.  I am not even close to being one of the lucky people who can call this place their permanent home... I am only borrowing it for now. Maybe someday:)

As of right now, we are committed to staying until December 20, the beginning of winter break. Maybe we will stay longer, maybe not. Stay tunedJ