Here at East of Allen, we occasionally post on our travels. Generally it involves baseball, like our California League series or roadtrip to the Field of Dreams. But, our travels include much more than just baseball. Today we go to Michigan.
While we enjoyed many areas of the state, Mackinac Island will stick with me. Horseless carriages (meaning cars) are not allowed on the island. Yeah, it’s quaint and touristy.
But it was also unexpectedly settling. The island world is different. No cars on the street, no engines, no gas stations, parking lots or garages. You quickly realize that there are only two ways to get around — you walk or you ride in something pulled by a horse. Life slows down. Your world is smaller but close by.
We stayed two nights on the Island’s Main Street. I can still hear the clop clop clop of the horses’ hooves on pavement. That steady clopping somehow synchs up with my insides and says, “that’s your natural pace.”
Mackinac Island relies on horses and, when you are there, you do too. During the summer, about 600 horses live and work on the island. And, if you ask the drivers, each horse has its own personality. They are everywhere and fun to be around.
And, of course, this being a summer trip there was baseball. We stopped in Midland, Michigan to catch the Great Lakes Loons game against the Lansing Lugnuts. Both teams are in the High A Midwest League. Midland is home to Dow Chemical and the Loons play at the very nice Dow Diamond.
The Loons are in the Dodgers’ minor league system and we saw a few potential future Dodgers as they trounced the Lugnuts. Loons fans do a little dance called the Funky Feather on every Loons home run.
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Mackinac Island was certainly memorable and the Loons game is something any self-respecting Dodger fan should do. Other Michigan sights we enjoyed were the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, Traverse City and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. The state is beautiful. However, there are drawbacks such as Michigan’s famous biting flies called midges or no-see-ums. We ran into swarms of these pesky flies at the ferry docks and along the Lake Michigan shoreline. I would definitely return to see more of Michigan but would probably pick a time to avoid the midges.
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