The pinnacle of our summer and now a six-year tradition, our visit to Mackinac Island commences when we board the ferry in St. Ignace (we cross the Mackinac Bridge for fun), a component of the trip I convinced Brett was important in creating that “far away charm.”

“Seems like a lot of effort to get there,” he mentioned as we passed our bags to the ferry staff and confirmed they’d be delivered to our hotel (by horse and carriage, of course).

“It wouldn’t be so special if it was easy,” I reminded him.

I can’t help but write about Mackinac as anything but a persuasive essay. There are these corners of the island where the magic of summer feels so intoxicating, I want to bottle it up and give it away to the people I love.

I’ve shared many posts about Mackinac Island in the summer here over the years, but if you’re new, here’s my tour guide summary:

– Mackinac Island is a small island (3.8 square miles) in Lake Huron, located between Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas.

– The island was a pivotal center of commerce during the Great Lakes fur trade leading to the establishment of Fort Mackinac on the island during the American Revolutionary War. Two battles were also fought there during the War of 1812.

– Incredible efforts have been made to preserve and restore the historical integrity of the island, and it is listed as a National Historic Landmark. You can definitely feel that in every corner of the island. Motor vehicles are banned on the island (with the exception of an ambulance and fire truck I believe); so horses, bikes and boats make up all transportation. More than eighty percent of the island is also preserved as Mackinac Island State Park.

– The most famous structure on the island is The Grand Hotel, a historic coastal resort with the largest porch in the world. The film Somewhere in Time was filmed there, and many U.S. presidents and dignitaries have stayed there. All hotel renovations have preserved the history and story of the hotel, and while it costs $10 simply to walk inside, it’s worth it to sit on the porch with a drink or explore the ball rooms, libraries and restaurants–like stepping into a movie. Conde Nast Traveler “Gold Lists” the Grand Hotel as one of “The Best Places to Stay in the Whole World” and it’s been noted as one of the top 100 hotels in the world by Travel & Leisure magazine.

And now that the informational part of this travel guide is through, I’ll gush about why I really love the island. You’ll find the majority of tourists walking about Main Street during the day which, yes, offers taverns and fudge shops, a charming grocery store, gifts from local artists, carriage tours, bike rentals and enchanting views of the bay; but the real magic of the island can be found beyond the lively tourist stretch in the quieter corners of the island–the library, the Grand Hotel lawn, the hill on Marquette Park, Mission Point or my favorite–the side streets and trails behind the main stage, where cottages are lined up with flowers spilling over window boxes and the most inviting front porches you’ve ever seen.

I like how many families you see here–everywhere you look: kids pedaling behind their moms and dads in a trail of bikes, happy babies being pushed in strollers, toddlers entranced by horses and the taste of their very first fudge.

We walk all day on the island.

We walk, but no one complains because there’s so much beauty to take in while we walk and because our walk rhythm makes room for breaks–

Walk, walk, fudge.

Walk, walk, fly a kite.

Walk, walk, putt-putt.

Walk, walk, tavern.

If you are Dash, every step of your walk includes horse research.

This includes studying their every move–noting their color, their size, the sound of their clip-clop; taking pictures of them; asking carriage drivers for their names; leaning over to take a closer look at their droppings.

We topped last year’s record for horse names collected–115 this year. Dash learned how to record the names himself this year (thank God because that was a lot of writing) with the talk-to-text notes feature on the phone. His final list revealed his precious interpretations of the names he heard including “Dilbert & Adorable” for the horse duo Wilbur & Orville and my personal favorite, “Bowls & Rice” for Rolls and Royce.

This year we stayed at Mission Point which is located at the far end of the island and offers some of the most beautiful views of Lake Huron. We had so much fun exploring the grounds and found so many hidden nooks–libraries, hidden hallways and this mammoth empty sitting room where Lainey put on her own show.

Other favorites–our walk to the library (stopping at the toy store to pick up a new kite to fly on the neighboring lawn):

Sunset at the playground behind the little public school on the lake:

Our serendipitous timing of walking by the old church on Main Street as the 11:00 evening service was beginning–I heard voices singing and saw the light behind those stained glass windows and couldn’t walk in fast enough. Brett laughed and walked back to the hotel, but my cousin and I sat in one of the back pews through the sweetest choruses while Nella fell asleep in my lap.

The best part, by far, of our island stay this year though was a secret of the island I cannot believe I waited six years to discover–Woods, a Hansel & Gretyl-ish tavern tucked in the woods far from the populated part of the island. It took a 30-minute carriage ride to get there–an enchanting experience in itself as our horses carried us along the lake shore through wooded paths where hidden cottages emerged with their glorious summer charm and the setting sun put on a show. I could not stop with the “Oh my Gods,” and I heard Brett whisper from the back of the carriage, “Well, this did it for me. This is everything.”

And then, Woods appeared…

…and when we walked in, my “Oh my Gods” turned into “Holy Craps” because my enthusiasm can best be expressed by only the classiest of exclamations.

There’s a one-lane bowling alley in the back of the tavern–so old, you have to walk down and reset the pins yourself, the kids’ favorite part.

So there’s my nugget of Mackinac tourism advice…Woods, Woods, Woods. You can’t visit the island without an enchanting escape to Woods.

The rest fills in nicely–ice cream at Sadie’s, fudge at Murdick’s, lunch at The Pink Pony.

Let the kids make pretend calls from the red phone booth on the Grand Hotel Lawn.

Stop at all the open grass to sit and drink it all in…

Take pictures with your camera to remember what you might otherwise forget.

Take pictures with your heart to preserve the rest (don’t worry, it will keep).

(Dash figured out an entertaining way to fill the time while we wait for the ferry)

And every year as the ferry pulls away, I whisper so many thank yous–to the island and its magic and for our family and another year of sweet summer memories together.

I’m back. After eight days, 37 hours total driving time and 2100 miles traveled, we’ve reached our summer destination or Northern Michigan. Moral of the story: IT IS WORTH EVERY DAMN MILE TRAVELED. Given the circumstances, the very mediocre standards I set before the trip and the things we packed to make the car part fun, the kids were absolute troopers, the very best road warriors.

(Two seconds before photo snapped: “Dash, car seat clip! Scoot it up! The Internet is watching. Get into formation!” Just kidding.)

Before I share the road stops, here’s a little video I put together of our trip. I’ve been promising to share a tutorial on how to make these (they really are quite easy and quick to put together!). That’s way overdue, but I’ll at least tell you the one thing you can do on any vacation or experience you want to later put into video is TAKE LOTS OF VIDEO CLIPS. Short ones. 5-10 seconds long. Film the details, anything you want to remember. I find I like our family videos better when there are lots of shorter clips in them vs. long footage of one thing. Then I just dump them all into video software, trim the clips, add dissolve transitions and insert songs. Wait, did that sound like Martha Stewart saying “It’s so easy! All you need to do is grind your wheat, add these 19 ingredients you’ll never find anywhere, layer it in a special pan using a unique method you’ll never master, bake it in an expensive specialty oven, and Voila! You did it!” Because it’s not. Promise it’s easy. I usually use Windows Live Movie Maker on my computer at home, but I have a Mac for the road, so I figured out how to work iMovie for these on the road.

Songs: Holiday Road from National Lampoon’s Vacation Soundtrack, Classical Gas by Mason Williams, Let Go by Frou Frou and the Main Title from Cider House Rules Soundtrack (also known as the Pure Michigan commercial song).

Brett and I watched this yesterday, and when it ended, he added,  “In a few years, we’re going to watch this and cry.” It’s quite possible he meant from the memory of being trapped in the car with kids for so long, but I did not ask him to clarify because sentimental memories is the way I’d like to keep this.

Alright, let’s get to the good part.

Our first major stop was Chattanooga, Tennessee. We both fell in love with Chattanooga years ago, and out of all the places I try and lure Brett to (he loves his Florida), Chattanooga is one with pull. “I could absolutely live here,” is how he put it, and he doesn’t say that about anywhere but home. I found an Airbnb–wait for it–above a coffee shop on Main Street, and it was nothing short of magic. Brett stepped in first with our bags and hollered back to me, “Oh my God, this has your name all over it. You’re never going to want to leave.” And he was right. Several of you asked about the link, and I’m reluctantly giving it to you because, so help me God if I try and book this place again and it’s all booked up. Here.

The floors, the light, the view, the little hobbit door that goes to the rooftop terrace…ridiculously delightful.

And the best part was waking up early and creeping downstairs to the coffee shop (Mean Mug) for coffee and breakfast–in our pajamas.

On our last night there, my friend Tali came over at sunset for wine on the terrace while the kids watched a movie, and I added “rooftop terrace” to my dream life.

We had several things on our list of things to do and see in Chattanooga, but we loved our place and the neighborhood it was in so much, we kept our explorations pretty close. We could easily walk to the old Chattanooga Choo Choo, enjoyed dinner across the street from our condo at FEED, walked the bridge across the river, explored the shops and restaurants in the river district (cute bookstore Winder Binder, Clumpies for ice cream) and let the kids play in the little creeks built into the sidewalks by the aquarium (we do this every year, and they love it).

Chattanooga, you charmed us.

After Chattanooga, we took a detour from our normal route and headed to Muscatine, Iowa for the Hampton Family Reunion which turned out to be such a meaningful experience we will never forget. Brett’s dad has been studying his genealogy for the past several years, sometimes spending 20+ hours a week tracing Hampton family ancestors and their stories. A few years ago, he traveled to Muscatine, Iowa where he knew the earliest Hamptons had settled, in search of a family cemetery he believed was hidden on some property there. With his siblings, he wandered the area until he found it and sat on the steps of the home there until the owner came back. With her permission, he returned with family to restore the cemetery, renting machinery, clearing trees, erecting a gate, cleaning weathered tombstones and planting new ones for those buried who didn’t have them. We gathered together there on the morning of the 4th for a little ceremony–honoring stories and family and how we belong to each other.

We also got to enjoy a steamboat cruise of the Mississippi River, a fireworks show and some good ol’ small town treasures like a soap box derby race and putting pennies on the train tracks and waiting for them to get flattened (it worked!).

Our last stop before we landed at my dad’s was New Buffalo, Michigan where we stayed with our friends for a couple nights and began the Michigan transformation–campfires and lake swims.

And Nella got to spend time with her buddy, Grace. I love seeing them together.

In other summer news, Dash fell in love with a cicada.

Summer feels alive and well, and we are so happy to be in Michigan (and so happy Brett got to tag along this year!). More soon!