We have had an amazing two days in the Upper Peninsula.  It was so nice to stay two days in one place.  Yesterday started with a ferry ride from St. Ignace to Mackinac Island.  As you may know Mackinac Island is accessed only by ferries or personal boats. There are no cars allowed on the island; however they do allow 1 police car, a fire truck or two and an aid car.  I have never seen so many bikes in one place...as that is how the residents get around and it is a great way to see the island.  The area is very walkable, but a carriage tour is a one time must do.  The tour is very informative and very extensive...lasting about 2 hours.  We also took advantage of touring The Grand Hotel.  It is GRAND! So very lovely...beautiful grounds, interior and exterior.  It is decidedly for the upper crust to stay there...upwards of $350.00 a night.  We also enjoyed walking around town, eating at a local restaurant and visiting the local Starbucks.  It rained on and off so we were glad to have our jackets.  Next time we will visit the fort...we just ran out of time.  We headed back across the lake to our hotel after a great day.  Later that evening we took a drive across the Mackinac Bridge to Mackinac City...wow it was quite different than where we were staying.  We decided we were on the quiet side where the other side was very touristy and very busy with lots of restaurants and shops.  We will go back again someday!
This morning we had planned to stop at a craft fair but with the rain decided to forgo that for a quick stop in Mackinac City.  We walked around a bit and grabbed a coffee and then were on our way.  It was good we didn't stay there too long  because there was much more fun to be had down the road.  I checked my "quilt app" and found the town of Gaylord...a little Swiss village...so walked around there, got gas and traveled down the road.  As we were driving I happened to notice several large Billboards about Bonner's Christmas Village...largest Christmas store in the world in Frankenmuth, MI.  We just had to stop!  It was truly amazing...the founders are devout Christians and they have beautiful displays as well as an astounding selection of ornaments and other Christmas items.  Right next door is a huge hotel and an even larger indoor water park that puts Great Wolf Lodge to shame.