• Friday-What'sUP May 10 - 03:47 pm

Cheryl Armstrong, along with her sister Pennie and several other ladies had a girl's weekend in St. Ignace. And in order to get there, they had to cross the connection between where they live (the Lower Peninsula) and where they were going (the Upper Peninsula). The Mackinac Bridge is a sight to see every time you come to cross it. Some love it, some fear it and others just plain don't like making the crossing, but for those heading to the U.P., it is the gateway to get there.

While the ladies were UP North, they made a day trip over to Mackinac Island to do some exploring over there. Heading over to the Island in early May like this, you avoid the crowds that populate the place during the summer months. And like the Mackinac Bridge, the Island has a magic all its own and is an adventure to visit, each and every time you travel over there.

i knew those pictures looked familiar!! Nice, Cheryl! I have pictures almost identical to those, and you just never get tired of seeing them. Love that place!!

Very nice...almost looks like summertime.

Nice to visit when it isn't so crowded!

Have some pictures with people sitting illegaly on the arch!

The Mighty Mac! Heading to the UP from Detroit, we start to
get excited when we pass Gaylord and are looking for our
first Bridge sighting. We go around a slow curve and all of a
sudden, there it is! Back in 2000, I was lucky enough to
have the opportunity to climb to the very top of the north
tower, an amazing experience.
Thanks for the great pics today.

Love that place! We always visited in September, so it was crowded as usual. Took a horses & buggy tour once. Beautiful island!

Marilynn...I know exactly what you mean about "The Slow Curve". It's always a highlight for me, as well.

Was wondering....are the lilacs in bloom on the island yet? Or does that happen in June? In southern Ohio, mine are blooming now.

I love Mackinac Island!!! Great pics!

I've always wondered about the different spellings of Mackinac and Mackinaw in reference to the bridge, island and city. What's up with all that; why not a single spelling?

David
The area known as "Michilimakinac to was originally called MICHINNIMAKINONG by the Indians who were here when the French arrived from the North in 1715. The French corrupted the “n” sound with an “I”. (The Indian vocabulary did not contain an “I”.) They also replaced the soft “sh” sound with the “ch”. The ending was heard and pronounced as “aw” by the French, but in their spelling it became the “ac”.

The British, who came from the South and defeated the French, heard the term pronounced as “w” and also spelled it that way in English. Thus you will see on the map that Mackinaw City is in the Southern Peninsula and that all other names ending with the “ac” spelling, with the exception of Fort Michilimackinac, are in the Northern Peninsula.

What's the difference in spelling?
Purely linguistic, one is French, the other English. They are both pronounced the same.
Sort of like people's confusion between Ojibway and Chippewa. They're the same Indian tribe; Ojibway is French, Chippewa is English

Thanks for sharing the nice pics, Cheryl. We have always loved vacationing in the Straits area and no visit there is complete without a visit to Mackinaw Island. Likewise, no visit to the island is comlete without eating the to-die-for fudge.
I agree with you, Les - what difference does spelling make? It sounds the same :°)

Hi
Just this week at work I explained that Mackinac was pronounced Mackinaw to a co-worker who is from India originally (he knew to say UP, though).

There are similar pronunciation issues with a nearby island, Bois Blanc. People reading a map will pronounce it "boys blank" but as a kid I always heard the locals pronounce it as "bob low", which is again probably a corruption of the French pronunciation bwa blonc (my guess at their pronunciation).

I love both Mackinac Island + the Bridge. I just recently started a subscription to the Mackinac Island Town Crier, and I'm hoping to do my 5th Bridge Walk this Labor Day.

A sight for sore eyes! I'm hoping to make my first trip up there since moving down to CO from the UP in 08. Being in OH now it's a little more feasible. Both the bridge and the island hold many precious memories and it's always a joy to see them.