I have had a ridiculous and funny couple of days.

[coribelle26]

H and I decided to go on a mini-vacation this month, and thanks to a facebook deal we ended up at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.  (cleo29 especially will appreciate this, I think.)  If you haven't heard of it, it's this huge old resort that opened in the late 1800s, on an island between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan that doesn't allow any vehicles.  The island itself is really cute and the scenery is beautiful, but staying at this particular hotel was a TRIP.

Our theory is that staying at the Grand Hotel is one of the very last things people check off their bucket list, because we were the only ones there under 75.  The dining room was like heaven's waiting room and the dancing in the ballroom reminded me of the Haunted Mansion at Disney World.  The whole experience was like being on the Titanic.  All in all, we had a lot of fun just rolling with it but were eyed with undisguised suspicion the whole time, lol! 

Here's a couple of pictures:

Our extremely floral room:


[Insert joke about Danny riding his tricycle around the corner here]:


The extremely floral dining room:


Looking up from the croquet and bocce courts on the lawn (right?!?!):


In other news I survived a 9 mile hilly bike ride, so I'm pretty pleased with myself.

[walterismydog]

That hallway is INTENSE.

[Deleted]

that wallpaper border in the hallway is special.

[coribelle26]

OH! I forgot to mention that about every 10 feet in the hallway there is another portrait of Jane Seymour as her "Somewhere In Time" character.

Fun fact, did you know that there is a group called INSITE, which is the "International Network of Somewhere In Time Enthusiasts?" BECAUSE THERE IS.

[annyong]

Aww, I love mackinac island! It's so beautiful. Glad you had fun! (And yes, the Grand Hotel is very special.)

[Yankees21]

I love Mackinac Island! That hotel is hilarious though.

[ooglie26]

I've actually been talking to my H about a weekend (or weeklong) vacation there. One of my former co-workers took his family there this summer, they loved it.

[coribelle26]

Sept 25, 2013 10:28:25 GMT -5 @scottydeux said:

Omg, I love Mackinac Island. Now I want to watch Somewhere In Time. Very cool!

They have a copy of the DVD in every room!

[coribelle26]

Sept 25, 2013 10:41:50 GMT -5 Lucy Honeychurch said:

This is hilarious and now I want to go. The decor is killing me. It's like Dirty Dancing up in there.

That is EXACTLY what we said!  "It's summer camp for rich old white people!  It's Dirty Dancing!"

[coribelle26]

The pool was open but they stop heating it after Labor Day, so there was nooo way we were going in. What weird snake thing?

And I swear to god we saw one family with children, one couple about our age checking in the day we left, and then EVERYONE else was of the blue-haired set. (It may be that we went during the frugal off-season with others on a fixed income, lol.)

[aprilsails]

I think it's probably more oldies now that the families with young kids are back in school.

I stayed there in 2001 when I was 16 and a crewmember on a Tall Ship. There were definitely some young families around but a gaggle of fifteen 14 - 19 year olds did stand out in the crowd. We stopped in there because some movie crew wanted shots of a Tall Ship sailing around the island and then they paid for our accomodations for the night.

[coribelle26]

Well that actually looks really fun! No that was definitely not still in the pool when we looked at it.

You should go! There is a ton of stuff to do on the island and I really do think the hotel would be fun for kids. The three we saw seemed to be enjoying themselves.

For what it's worth I think Murdick's has the best fudge, though Joann's has more unique flavors.

[peachdragon]

My husband's old company used to take the whole company up there every year for a conference. Yeah, the decor is very jarring. And the whole place smells like lavender all the time.

[coribelle26]

Oh! I forgot to mention that the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference checked out the day we checked in. So, sadly, we just missed Karl Rove.

[cleo29]

I love it! H and I want to take there girls to Mackinac Island.

Also,  I remember that Blue used to dream of going to this hotel because that movie, Somewhere In Time with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour was filmed there.

[nomad100]

We were just on the Island in July. Though we didn't stay at the Grand Hotel. High season was too expensinve, though I would love to go in the Fall when the leaves are turning.

I love it there though DH says once every 5 years is enough for him and he was only there for the first time this summer (party pooper). He didn't love the crowds on main street and it was so hot when we were there it was miserable to be outdoors.