This Winterless Wonderland

Mackinac Island, like much of Michigan, is looking Winterless due to the warm temperatures. These first photos are of a sidetrack between the bike rack and the school's door. Both girls wanted to play in this tree.





After getting Kaya to her classroom, Jade and I ran errands. We picked up the mail from our PO Box and then picked up a few groceries at Doud's Market. Jade helped push the cart!


There is a path cleared near the sidewalk that is easier for biking. There's even less ice and slush today, which directly correlates with more pictures taken!


The afternoon sky was lovely today!


Mission Point Resort!


I love this place!


There is more snow left here than in most spots. If all the streets looked like this snowmobiles could manage.


My happy little helper! (I have to put most groceries in the back of the burley or she will "help" open groceries!)


It was pretty warm and we probably didn't need to wear snowpants. I figure if I don't wear them I'll probably fall biking and wish for the extra padding. I haven't had any problems with that this winter, thank goodness! (Last winter, I learned the hard way how important yak trax are!) An accidental picture:


Trepidation.


The sky was beautiful! This was around 3:00pm.


So little snow! So lovely a sky!


To end, here are a few of my previous shots edited a smidge for fun:

Location:Mackinac Island

Silly January!

We received a couple of large bags of fruit for Christmas. What a good idea! The girls enjoying apples & oranges this morning:


"Monkey see, monkey do" very much applies to this little sis!


The road and sidewalks are completely blocked this week where the Bicycle Inn is being built. This means a longer route to school. Ug. I suppose detours are to be expected for construction, it just feels weird for the situation to apply to bikes.


Yesterday, my bike was the only one in the school racks. However, today is a different story. I'm definitely not the only one! This warm weather is unreal!


Silly January! Tricks are for kids! Both my grown up and elementary expectations of winter are not being fulfilled. (How do you tell a month "uncle?") I hear we're due for snow Thursday!

Location:Mackinac Island

Not much snow

Will there be much snow left on Mackinac Island after my week away? The answer: not much snow. On the ferry ride we passed a spot in the straits with ice chunks. A year ago there'd have been ice for the ferry to break through.





Not much ice:


Some snow! Those still using snowmobiles will take what's available.


You can tell where the sun doesn't shine as much!


Slushy:


I don't have the snowmobile out. I'm biking through the icy slush for now. I have to walk the bike half the time, but it's faster than walking to the school and back!


There aren't shots highlighting the iciest parts because, well, I'm working really hard not to fall during those points. Yak trax are a must; I wore through last year's pair of ice grippies, so I inducted a brand new pair today!


The view near the school is gorgeous. It's also really windy. I'm staying in better shape this winter (and it has nothing to do with a resolution!)


This is why I'm not currently snowmobiling. Many do, but I only have one season under my belt. Ours is a 97 Polaris- I'm afraid to be rough on it! There's not much snow.


A delayed/ accidental picture:


Here is an edited/enhanced version of a previous picture for fun (I play with photos to share on Instagram):


I hear we may get snow Thursday! Until then, I'll be getting a crazy bike workout in twice a day and wearing my beloved yak trax!

Location:Mackinac Island, MI

Will there be snow be left?

Tomorrow I return to Mackinac Island. We had a wonderful visit with my family the past week! Home will be good for the girls- they are tuckered out from all the excitement of visiting! Last weekend we drove through a blizzard, but tonight's roads were great. It hit 50 degrees in my hometown of Whitehall and the snow disappeared. I was surprised to see snow in the UP still and wonder if I'll see snowmobiles out on Mackinac Island tomorrow.


(This Fisher Price little people snowmobile has been in my Grandma's toy closet as long as I can remember. After last winter on Mackinac Island, I see it a little differently!)

Location:Cedarville, MI

The Season and the Finish Line

Here is an old post that's been held hostage in my blogging app on my phone since it glitched in October: The weekend before Halloween is the last hurrah of Mackinac Island's tourist season. (It's technically open year-round, but most hotels & businesses close for winter.) That Saturday began with a wonderful sunrise! Mission Point has the refreshment tables set and awaiting the Great Turtle Race!








Lots of bananas for runners after the race! (Literally thousands of bananas!)


Yours truly was runner #1950 in the 5.7 Mile Run! I hadn't raced since high school, in 2002- so 9 years dormant.


The starting line was in front of the Straits Lodge (where I lived for over a year).


Not exactly encouraging, but I thought it was funny! (However, I did choose to pass this shirt.)


Over half way done! I didn't take many pics during the race because I was, well, racing.


I took this accidentally after taking the photo above- I like it better!


I finished the race! My original goal was under 75 minutes since I expected to walk a bit- I hadn't trained much. My final time was 58:14!!! Everybody received a lovely medal.


My name! It's toward the bottom and for some reason my town is blank. It would be fun to see "Mackinac Island" there.


Another big event on the final weekend is trick or treating downtown. By the time we walked the girls there, our mini Minnie Mouse fell asleep.


Big sister preps for her first trick or treat of the year. We started at Ryba's Fudge.


Too cute!


She asked permission to look at herself in the lobby of the Iriquois.





Doud's had a Detroit Lion pass out treats!


Twin chicks receive candy from Professor Harry's Old Time photos.


The Island House looked spookily awesome!


This Mackinac mommy wore a Mickey Mouse hat. Don't sleeping children look sweet?


To end the day, I did a Haunted History Tour for Haunts of Mackinac. Here is a coworker's great firebird costume she made herself:


And Todd Clements himself, author of "Haunts of Mackinac" went all out too! (Wonderful book and tours!)

A Dutch Date: Chinese Food, Ice Sculptures, and Ice Cream

Tonight my grandparents watched our girls so we could have a date! We did things we can't do on Mackinac Island: Chinese cuisine, ice sculptures, and Cold Stone Creamery! We went to the China Inn in Holland. I ordered the Moo Goo Gai Pan. (And egg drop soup, crab rangoons, an egg roll, jasmine tea, and a fortune cookie that informed me I will accomplish my goal in two months.) By the time I got to my entree most ended up in a takeout container.


Downtown Holland had an Ice Sculpture exhibition. Here is a block of ice before touched by an artist.


Unicorn!


An artist at work:


A marlin:


This bird was exquisite, but I didn't get a picture that does it justice. Amazing what can be done with a block of ice!


Cold Stone Creamery!!! It honestly had been about three years since I had the privilege of visiting one. I was so pumped!


Berry Berry Good!


God loves me! (And so does my husband! And my grandparents!)

Location:Holland, MI

A Snowboarding Snowman on Mackinac

My husband snapped this picture last Friday on Mackinac Island. This family built a snowman near Mission Point Resort and then decided they wanted to bring it back with them. So they did! Awesome! Hope this photo makes you happy too!

Location:Mackinac Island