Mackinac Island is the furthest north we’ve ever lived. Lucas has had a little more trouble than I have adapting to the cool northern Michigan spring. He keeps saying that his body is acclimated to more tropical climates. Good thing we packed his flannel-lined jeans!
This northern latitude means that spring is very delayed compared even to SE Michigan. When we moved up at the end of April, many trees were still bare. While this was a little shocking at first, it has meant that we have witnessed spring blooming up close. One of the coolest displays was the Grand Hotel’s Secret Garden, which our co-workers taught us about. I also really appreciated the Island House Hotel’s tulips, they were huge!
Another advantage of living this far north is clear, dark skies. In mid May, we were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights for the first time (I know, I know, for this solar storm, we could have seen it as far south as the Carolinas but just let us have this one). The first night with clear-ish skies and a high chance of solar activity had us hiking up to the top of Fort Holmes, one of the highest points on the island, at 11 p.m. We went with a small group of new friends from the state park. While it was beautiful up there, we didn’t have much luck with the lights. The solar forecast held strong for the next night, so, again, we hiked up the hill as the sun set. This time, our late-night efforts were gloriously rewarded. We had a beautiful show over Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It was amazing to see the bright waves and bursts of light. To have our first Northern Lights experience on top of Mackinac Island was a magical experience.
Even though May was much colder on the island compared to SE Michigan, some of our lovely friends and family braved the trip to see our new home. Our first visitors were Liz, Kurt and Hazel. We had a fantastic time exploring the island with them, including hiking on our new favorite trail – the Tranquil Bluff Trail.
My parents visited next. They have been visiting Mackinac Island for years but really enjoyed seeing it from an island employee’s perspective. They also brought up the last of our luggage that we couldn’t fit in the VW. The most important piece of gear they brought for us was our “weddings and funeral” kit, a standard bit of gear for any cruising sailor. This kit contains formal attire for, you guessed it, weddings or funerals. We didn’t want to bring these items on Alaya but we wanted to be prepared if formal attire was required on short notice. My parents were kind enough to store this kit for us over the winter and I’m grateful we hadn’t needed it until now. It is now our “Grand Nights” kit but more on that later.
In between visits from friends and family, we continued to learn our full-time jobs at the fort, as well as our work on Sip ‘N Sail. I went out on a few more cruises to get my serving sea legs (so far, I haven’t spilled a single drink on a customer!) and Lucas started putting together a maintenance program with Taylor, who manages the company. Lucas also got set-up with his third gig – arcade machine technician! He was hired in May to work a few hours each week at the island’s new arcade. If machines are broken, he is called to fix them. If they aren’t broken, they want him to play the games anyway to make sure they are working properly. Paid to play an unlimited number of arcade games? 10-year-old Lucas’ dream has officially come true.
The last bits of May Mackinac magic were very personal. In early May, I celebrated my half-life anniversary with Lucas. Since we started dating at 17, I have now officially spent more than half of my life with this wonderful guy. It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come together since that first date seeing Snakes on a Plane and talking about Kwame Kilpatrick. A few weeks later, Lucas and I celebrated 10 years of marriage. We, being the traditionalists that we are, marked this milestone with Lucas going on another epic grocery quest solo to the mainland while I worked a shift in the visitor center. Don’t worry, we had a celebratory beer at the Pink Pony that evening. All joking aside, it has been an amazing 10 years and we are lucky enough that we get to celebrate our love everyday! I can’t wait to see what happens in our next 10 years together!
Awesome adventures, Emily!