Tag Archives: Mackinac Island

2013: Inspired

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travellingassassin.mybooksquote

In 2012, I fell in love with Rome after visiting the Colosseum, Pantheon, and the Vatican; soaked up the Ouzo infused coffee and hazelnut chocolate Italians adore. I moved to a remote Scottish Island I didn’t know existed and explored an ancient castle. I moved to London, and rekindled my love of everything British by lining the streets for the Para-Olympic games, then touring the places I didn’t have time to last visit; St Paul’s Cathedral, the British Museum, Postman’s Park and Westminster. I soaked up as much of Glasgow as I could on two long weekends, and smaller Scottish sea-side towns. I travelled across Scotland, England, the US and Italy via train. I spent a month touring some of my favourite places in the US starting in Honolulu, then New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Mackinac Island, Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. I did a quick return trip to Australia, and I am on my way to the East Coast once again to live.

My goals this year are bigger than ever. I know what I want and I have more direction. In one word 2013 will be inspired. The biggest goal on my list is to find a home; as a metaphor, a person or a literal interpretation – something that will ground me for a while and bring me back to earth after spending years in the sky.

I hope 2013 is inspiring for you as well!

What is your biggest goal for 2013?

Labour Day Weekend: Mackinac Island

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I usually work through the Labor Day Weekend, but this year I am a tourist on Mackinac Island. It seemed like a good idea at the time until I walked down Main Street and wanted to bypass my own anti gun laws and shoot myself in the face. Stuck behind a family of three who seemed to take up the side-walk, half the road, and walk incredibly slow and stopping suddenly every three feet, I looked to the sky and envisioned a .45 and the feeling of sweet relief.

 I don’t know what it is about Mackinac. I know it’s beautiful albeit smelly, but it has a way of changing people. Throngs of tourists get off the boat and cannot walk at a normal pace anymore and forget what footpaths are, waitresses spend the season waiting for long weekends so their tables are full of potential tips only to complain about the people when they arrive – they either tip poorly and or it’s not as busy as they thought. Dads and Grandfathers instantly become professors of history and architecture, mothers spend their entire weekend buying souvenirs for every person under 12 they know, even if they haven’t been born or thought of yet, only to return home with no memories of the vacation because they spent the time trapped inside Nephew’s. Kids, well they don’t give a shit as long as they get ice cream, fudge and some type of souvenir at some point.

I spent the weekend on the island, lazing around on a chair in front of Mission Point trying to make some decisions. I fell asleep on my first attempt, got side tracked by frozen yogurt on my second, by a bulldog on my third, but on my fourth I decided what I want – to some extent. I decided upon a bunch of things I didn’t set out to – I want a French style home by the water with large white wooden chairs on the porch, a boat docked on the marina, a big backyard with a vegetable and/or herb garden and fruit trees, a Golden Retriever to walk through the tree-lined streets and to spend afternoons sitting on the porch watching the sun go down with imported red wine from Bordeaux. Then I want a kid whom I can take overseas every summer and have him learn foreign languages and practice it with the locals and soak up the local cuisine and history. I’d have a husband who is my best friend and makes me laugh until I am 80 years old and then refuse too due to lack of bladder control – unless it’s a joke about Depends. This is all very domestic and homey from someone who has spent 12 years living from a suitcase! But now that I know what I want, where is this place? As my friend said, “find the guy and you’ll have the answers.” Hmmm…that sounds suspiciously easy.

How did you spend your Labour Day Weekend? Whats your dream for the future? I am leaving Mackinac Island for Mackinaw City tomorrow for 2 nights before I fly out to London* – do you want anything specific info on Mack City?

*Although I have not brought my ticket to Chicago yet and I leave in 2 two days…I am usually hyper organised. I haven’t arranged accommodation in London either..

A Free Sociology Lesson On Sheplers Ferry

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Sheplers Children Ride Free Labour Day Weekend is a nightmare. Kids love Sheplers (and wear the stickers like Purple Hearts) without riding for free but this weekend it was even worse. Not only were the kids kicking back rent free pondering all the shit they are going to beg and cry for in the coming hours, the parents were unusually happy because they didn’t have to pay. Lovers kissed, wives who forgot which husband they brought were blowing kisses to every second male, mistresses were admiring the boats, boyfriends were posing for selfies with their girlfriend. What this means for me – travelling solo back and forth 6 times in 3 days – is that I’m unusually educated about things I normally don’t care for. I am not sure if what I learnt from the advice-wheeling grandfathers was true and I question how grandfathers know something about everything but now I have a PhD in quantum physics and bridge architecture for the price of a Sheplers return.

Sitting on the top deck of Sheplers approaching the bridge you can see on every male face the same look and you can tell they are thinking 1 of 2 things – If I built that, I would have done this and this, trimmed that, spun that around, shortened that.

 No you wouldn’t have, sit back and relax.

The other guy is just thinking nice job. And while the Frank Llyod Wright wanna be wants to impart his knowledge on everyone around him, his wife (unfortunately) tuned him out years ago and the kids he is with just want the fudge he is saving for the ride home. The second guy is sitting there hoping for some peace and then his kids sense it, and start asking a tonne of questions– which is when I sit back and watch the show.

 Kid: Dad, why is the bridge so long?

Dad: Because that’s how long they wanted it son

Kid: But it looks kinda bent. It’s not straight. Why is the freaking bridge not straight?

Dad: It’s straight. (Faces wife) Honey, we need to get Jack’s eyes tested

Sheplers Captain on speaker: …the bridge bends naturally and was designed this way…

Dad: (Embarrassed and pretends not to hear)

Kid: See, my eyes are fine, the driver just said it’s bent. Maybe we need to check your hearing

Dad: Did the Sheplers Captain build the bridge? He is like 25, how does he know it bends?

Kid: History books

Dad: Here, have some fudge

Wife: (Peers over her iPhone without making eye contact) We were saving that

Dad: (Leans over and whispers) Honey, shut the hell up. We will talk about this when we get home

Kid: If we make it home, maybe the roads are bent out here too

Dad: (Rolls eyes) They aren’t

Kid: How do you know, you thought the bridge was straight. I’m asking the Captain

Dad: (Pissed off) So every question you have in life you’re going to call a Sheplers Captain?

Kid: Maybe, you don’t seem to know the answers

I was afraid at this point some domestic violence was going to take place. That, I didn’t pay for. As I got off the ferry on the Island side, there are three types of people. The ones who work here and want everyone to part like the Red Sea out of their way, the people asking everyone else how they get to the Grand who themselves are looking at maps, and then those who walk out and say, “Holy shit, this place stinks.” As I walk across the road, I can smell it, I can see it, I can hear people complaining about it and then a little potty mouth runs after me…”Ma’am, watch out for the shit. It’s everywhere!” If only he knew.

Did you ride Sheplers this Labor Day Weekend? What did you overhear?

Under The Bridge

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It is so my luck that I find a peaceful place lakeside to sit and think about life’s heaviest issues – love, moving on, marriage – only to realise I am sitting next to someone’s shitty knickers. Either some girl decided to pee herself and leave her knickers on the sand or I was sitting where people were shagging at all hours last night. Either way, I realised I was sitting on someone’s bodily fluids and minding their shitty knickers as I pondered the rest of my life. How ironic. Much like the time I bought a good luck doll that was decapitated within minutes by someones super sized ass.

 I decided to avoid the Labor Day Weekend crowds hustling like gangsters to buy copious amounts of fudge and shirts that read things like: My Anger Management Therapist Pisses Me Off. There is no better place to contemplate life than with the fresh crisp cool breeze touching your face, the sound of seagulls, the feel of sand between your toes, the warm sun on your skin and the smell of caramel popcorn shifting through the air. I sat thinking that maybe it’s time for me to hang up these travelling boots, maybe to set down roots somewhere but I have always been a huge believer in fate. For instance, no matter how hard I try to avoid PA I end up there. Knowing my luck, if I was flying to Vietnam from Moscow the pilot would make an emergency detour to Lake Erie just to piss me off. I explain my life story to people and their reaction is always the same – to laugh and put it down to fate. Even people who don’t believe in fate, believe in fate when they talk to me. But lately I have questioned it and most things I believed in.

Under the Mackinaw Bridge, my feet buried in the sand and smelling of sunscreen; I asked myself some questions I guess we all have to ask at some point that decides a significant proportion of the rest of our life. Where do I want to end up? What do I want to do? When do you know it’s time to walk away – from a person, from a life on the road?  How do you know where to settle down – is it where the universe keeps leading you, or just somewhere you randomly pick? This Labor Day weekend, I am not working for the first time in years so I am devoting the entire weekend to moving on and figuring out the answers to these questions. How do you do this? According to my friend, “stop using your head and follow your heart.” A hard task when you never stay put long enough to listen to it. But as I sat down in my hotel room, I turned on the TV to have the only episode of The Office play which gets me every time. (Jim telling Pam he loves her but she is marrying someone else) I then walked down the street to buy some ice cream only to have a young man start singing as I approached..”and someday it will lead me back to you.” Seriously. This shit happens to me all the time. Random coincidences aside, its time to make a choice but it would be a lot easier to make if I knew what the other person was thinking.

What have you been worrying about lately?

On The Street Where I Live: Michigan Edition

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The last street I lived on was in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan. It was a charming, romantic, leafy and historic road full of trade, medical discoveries, a shooting, and a murder. It reminds me of a particular song by Nat King Cole. I especially love when a place can capture not only your imagination but an entire emotion. And I do love an older tune.

The building I lived in was 120 years old and was previously a hotel. It has been converted into modern accommodation and offices. Two doors to my left are two large buildings that saw the trade of over $2 million dollars worth of fur in the 1880′s – when fur cost 10c each.

Metres away in a hotel that still stands today, a murder took place that has never been solved. A woman staying at the hotel was sexually assaulted and strangled with her own lingerie. Further down the street is the site where a man was accidentally shot in the 1870′s and his bullet wound refused to heal correctly. This wound was then observed by a physician into a portion of what we know today about the human digestive system. At one end of the street is a large park overlooking docking yachts and a bustling downtown. The other end, is a blissful Great Lake, where days are spent watching ferries move back and forth across the straits.

 I fall asleep to the sounds of horse shoes hitting the pavement, as the only form of transportation other than walking or riding a bike. The sun seems to always shine on this street and I often sat by my window and watched it go by. I always find something fascinating about the street where I live.

The street where you live is often the place in the world you spend most of your time but know little about. What has happened on the street where you live?

The Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island Part 1 – Carlton Varney Interiors

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As a fan and critic of the fabulous Carlton Varney I find the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island to be the shopping addicts equivalent of a black Amex. I could spend weeks inside the hotel discovering new things; feeling trapped in a world that sometimes borders on Mad Hatter meets Queen Elizabeth. Is it chic or is it crazy? Whether you love him or hate him, Carlton Varney is one of America’s most famous interior designers and colourful inspirations.

One step in to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island you’ll instantly see Varney’s aesthetic – imaginative and seemingly impossible colour combinations, stark contrasts of colour and texture, the use of bold prints and wall colours. I have written about Carton before, where I mention his deliberate attempt and personal commitment to rejecting all that is drab, impractical and uncomfortable. He is the King of Fuchsia – I always say I love a good fuchsia bathroom even if it does induce a seizure.

I think what most people misinterpret is Varney’s use of contrasts and colour as ‘tacky.’ Granted sometimes it borders on that to some but we have become used to whites and neutrals. Look at most modern designers, any new home – all neutral. We never paint in the colours we love anymore, we have all become practical and drab. When someone shows us a fuchsia wall, we duck for our sunglasses.

Carlton Varney’s vision for the Grand Hotel was just that – grand and he has modelled it into an almost living and breathing personal portfolio. I have always been a fan of Varney’s opulent use of colour in a time where many designers are all about ‘neutrals’ with a ‘pop’ of colour. Modern minimalism is not Varney’s or my own aesthetic. I love modern eclectic, daring, avant garde designs so for the most part I appreciate Varney’s vision. I find the younger generations are enthralled by his eclectic designs and colours but tend to think it’s tacky (which I guess to them is over the top). The mid twenties and up find it inspiring and beautiful. I think it’s a win if your demographic is 20 to death.

I love that you rarely if ever, get a plain neutral wall. (Other than white) In the Grand you will see yellow and white walls in stripes but this is the most muted Varney tends to get. The interiors of this hotel are breath-taking – whether you love them or not. They inspire something in you to go home and change something – to make your own living space more opulent and colourful and I think that’s what makes Carlton one of the best designers. He stays true to his aesthetic and makes you want it too.

Carlton Varney is the president of Dorothy Draper & Co. Inc. (NY) the oldest established interior design firm in the United States. He is also the author of a biography on Dorothy Draper, The Draper Touch – The High Life and High Style of Dorothy Draper‘ and ‘In The Pink-Dorothy Draper – America’s most fabulous Decorator.’ He also released, “Houses in My Heart.” and ‘Mr Color‘.

*All images are mine

Have you been to the Grand Hotel? What did you think of the interior?

The Official Haunted History Tour of Mackinac Island

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 McNally Cottage – the first stop on the Haunted History Tour

Since I started working on Mackinac Island over a year ago, I’ve always wanted to do the Haunted History Tour of Mackinac Island – especially after seeing Mission Point appear on Ghost Hunters.

So you are aware (I wasn’t) the tour is pretty much fleshed out segments of the book Haunts of Mackinac by Todd Clements. If you’ve read it you have pretty much seen the tour but the Guide added his spin on the information and was able to point out the rooms that are haunted at some hotels. Sometimes history is more interesting looking straight at it, right?

St Annes Church and “Madeline’s Curse” was another stop

 The Downtown Tour started at 9pm in front of the Island Bookstore. There were 40 people in my group (sold out) but the Guide made it manageable by sitting us down to tell stories in front of the hotels. They gave us glow sticks and since my friend and I are not Americans we had no idea we needed to “crack” them to make them work so we walked around in the dark wondering why we couldn’t see each other. The only time I’ve ever seen a glow stick was at rave when I was 21. Americans love them – they’d light up Christmas with them if they could.

Our guide did a good job of bringing the haunted history in the book to life by starting at the McNally Cottage opposite Sheplers which is now used as employee housing for Good Fellows and Sheplers, then down to The Murray Hotel, Harbor View, St Anne’s Church, the corner of the Butterfly Museum, Mission House, Mission Point Theatre, The Island House Hotel, Marquette Park and a few others sprinkled in.

The Island House Hotel – One of the most haunted rooms on the island?

 Some interesting things also thrown in: The son of the murder victim from The Murray Hotel took the tour two years ago and appreciated the fact they were still talking about his mothers murder which remains unsolved. (She was strangled, sexually assaulted and killed) Other tidbits include the bed and bed head in the haunted room at The Island House (built 1852) was bolted to the ground and the wall due unexplainable violent “shaking” in the room a man committed suicide in. There have been (apparently) 7 murders on the island and one of the most notable tidbits (for me anyway) was the rarely heard evidence from a police officer about the ghost “Harvey” at Mission Point. The Legend is he was attending Mackinac College (now Mission Point) and he proposed to his girlfriend who quickly rejected it and him quite cruelly in front of their friends. Supposedly he went up behind Mission Point and committed suicide by jumping off the cliff/or hanging himself. A Police Officer from Mackinac Island took the tour a few years ago and told the guide that story was not true and he had the police report to prove it.

The haunted room of The Island House Hotel is the one directly under the cone top roofing (L)

Harvey never jumped off the cliff nor did he hang himself. According to the police report, he was found with two-gun shots to the head. One entered from his chin, exiting the top of his head and then a secondary shot temple to temple. It is debated whether he committed suicide and was instead murdered as he apparently survived after being shot from under the chin through the top of the head. If he did commit suicide he survived the first gun shot and then shot himself again from a different angle. Or he was murdered by being shot twice. A story (unconfirmed) has circled the island that since his girlfriend said no to his proposal; so cruelly and openly, she may have cheated on him and the “other man” killed him. But it is all speculation other than the gunshots on the police report.

The tour ended at Mission Point ticket Office about an hour and a half later after a short preview of what’s in the midnight tour. The downtown tour is $13. They also have a midnight tour which allows a little more freedom to be left alone in the Theatre Harvey apparently haunts.

Have you ever done the tour? What did you think?

The Grand Hotel’s ‘Woods’ Restaurant: Carlton Varney’s German Inspiration

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The Woods restaurant is a local favourite, a islander hang out and a tourist’s missed opportunity. This Grand Hotel owned restaurant is located next to the Stonecliffe Inn far enough away from The Grand and downtown to be ‘out of the way’ but still maintaining the same opulent and striking Carlton Varney interiors the Grand Hotel is known for.

The place is a weird mix of yellow, dark woods, greens and reds but it seems to work. I can’t work out if Carlton decided along a traditional german decoration in the woods and then threw in the fuchsia bathroom to confuse or inspire you. I love a good fuchsia bathroom, I always feel like having some type of seizure when I enter, but my god, is it not the most fabulous colour on a wall?

The bar area is small but is next to one of the oldest original wood bowling alleys in the USA. There is a popcorn machine in the bar area as well as a large TV. The government urges you to use it wisely to re-instil the sense of fear you had lost while vacationing on this idyllic little island.

The restaurant menu is Bavarian style and the appetizers start at $9 for a pretzel basket and end at $15 for a Lump Crab and Lobster Cake. The entrees start at $18 for a Three Cheese Tart and end at $38 for a Dijon and Herb Crusted Lamb Chops. All soups are $7/$9 and salads are $10/11. The desserts are all $9 and consist of 6 options including Gingerbread Cake, White Chocolate Espresso Torte and Toffee Crunch Cheesecake.

 The Jamaican bartender who has been popular with the local residents for years is (every second week) mixing up drinks. If there is one thing this bartender likes more than mixing his signature Long Island Iced Tea is women. So if you see Whaldy behind the bar, tell him His Wife sent you! (It’s a joke) He is, for the most part, a local celebrity. Or so he says/likes to think so.

The Woods is open for Dinner 7 nights a week and while part of the Grand Hotel, does not need the $10 entry fee and is casual attire. The bar is open from 11am and dinner is served from 5:30pm to 10pm. A shuttle to The Woods can be caught from the front porch of the Grand Hotel or in front of Arnold Boat Dock. It costs $5.75 per person each way.

Have you been to The Woods? What was your impression?

How to Get Married on Mackinac Island for Less. Part 1.

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Getting married on the Pink Pony Waterfront Patio…(source: Chippewahotel.com)

Getting married on Mackinac Island is geared towards big groups and the rich but if you are willing to be less traditional, there are some deals. You may not have one of the parents who hire the entire hotel for $1 million, but you really don’t need to. (That seriously happened)

A few people now have asked me how to get married on Mackinac Island without having to sell a few kilogrammes of blood. It is expensive, but there are ways around it.

The Ceremony

The cheapest “traditional” way to get married on Mackinac Island is through Carriage Tours. You can hire a gazebo (min 1 hour) for $150. If you are able to get married during the week, Monday to Friday, they will package together a gazebo and a private horse-drawn carriage for $350. Contact Carriage Tours.

The Carriage that comes with the $350 package (Source: mict.com)

 If you intend on bringing a group of people with you, you may save some money by renting a cottage for 3 nights. McGreevy Cottage caters to 8 people (3 bedrooms) and the $350 night entitles you to the entire cottage. You could get married on the premises in the yard if your into that, and even hold the reception at the same place utilising the private kitchen. Bringing your own Champagne and storing it in the fridge for your private Champagne reception could save you hundreds alone. While Veuve Clicquot is nice, it’s also $100 a bottle if you buy it at The Grand. If you brought and stored your own, you could save hundreds. You can also use the property to get dressed in private and hold the private reception. It books out quickly though. The $350 a night x 3 night minimum = $1050 could be your accommodation, wedding reception and ceremony all in one. If there are three couples, each person could pay the $350 themselves. (One night each)

The reason I got to Mackinac is the water as I am sure most of you do too. So if you want something cheaper, more memorable and intimate do something unusual. Get married on a yacht as it circles the island, ($40 an hour for a private yacht per hour and it holds up to 28 people and comes with a driver.) Get married atop of Sheplers Sunset Cruise as it goes under the bridge. (you can reserve a “group” see Sheplers and get a group discount) You could even be married while parasailing.

(Source: Missionpoint.com)

If your party is larger than 28 people and you need something bigger, try Mission Point. It isn’t in town so offers some extra space and I found that your ceremony, dinner for everyone and arrangements will set you back $2,100.00 for 15 people or less $2,700.00 for 16-20 people $3,200.00 for 21-25 people $3,700.00 for 26-30 people. You still need accommodation but that includes your wedding ceremony in a private gazebo.

Little Stone Church and St Anne’s will set you back around $1500. (Church use only) Here is The Grand, Mission Point Chippewa Hotel/Pink Pony, Iroquois, and the Inn at Stonecliffe Brochures. There are many more hotels on the island but these are some of the most popular.

Accommodation:

As mentioned earlier, McGreevy Cottage is available for rent for $350 night and holds 8 people. There is a 3 night minimum but it is private. You can dress for your big day and celebrate privately with family. Youd be renting the entire 4 bedroom house.

McGreevy Cottage Kitchen (source: McGreevy Cottage)

 If you want to stay in a hotel that’s cheap, most of the hotels are the cheapest outside of June July and August. During these times though, try The Bogan Inn which has rooms starting at around $90. If its you, plus 2 other couples for the weddings for two nights the bill would be roughly $540. If you all stayed one night it would be $370. You could contact the owners here and ask them if its possible to marry on the hotel premises.

If you book in advance, you can get some good deals. Remember that if you are booking for a group of people to ask about group discounts. Use your AAA or military card and scour the net for further mark downs when using the internet to book.

Other Things:

The best thing to do is to buy whatever you can off the island. Whatever is $3 off the island will probably be close to $6 on the island. Bring your wine, champagne, dresses, food. Anything to save some money. Book well in advance, look for packages or group discounts, bring your discount cards and have fun! One last idea, if you have a night or two on the island before you get married, use the post office. Get the stuff you need sent, it might end up being cheaper than buying it on the island. You don’t need a Po Box to get it send, just send it to your hotel or General Delivery at the Post Office and pick it up.

If worse comes to worse, and you can’t afford to stay on the island and get married there try staying at St Ignace and going to the island for the day just to get married and staying at a cheaper hotel. Or get married at home and go to Mackinac for your honeymoon. $800 on Mackinac will hire you a gazebo for one hour to get married, or it can pay for a weeks accommodation at a hotel for your honeymoon.

You could contact the City Hall in Mackinac City, get married there and head over to the Island for a honeymoon. A marriage licence is needed in Michigan if not from here. (Apply in advance).

Whatever you decide to do, have fun! A marriage on the island is always something to remember, but a marriage anywhere is something to remember too. If I had a choice of one day to get married on Mackinac or 6 day honeymoon there for the same price, I’d go the Honeymoon route. Does it really matter where you say, I do as long as you say it and you mean it. Then come to Mackinac and go parasailing to celebrate for 1/10th the price.

The Monopolisation of Mackinac Island. Part II

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Sheplers: Mackinaw City, MI

After the last year or so of litigation over the merger of Star Line and Arnold Ferry and the supposed attempt to monopolise Mackinac Island, it seems the Council has pushed Sheplers into full gear; if you have seen their boats in the last few weeks (or spoke to any of their staff) Sheplers has been riding capacity shipments of people to the island daily.

It wasn’t too long ago that Arnold Ferry Line had more specials and packages online than Sheplers but now it’s the latter who holds the most variety and social interaction and ticket “add-ons”. Sheplers have increased their online presence through their updated and interactive website, a Twitter account as well as a Facebook page which is updated daily with photos, competitions and videos and a recently added ‘Buy Your Ticket’ button. To show Sheplers increased marketing campaign online and their current success in acquiring and interacting with potential and existing consumers compared to Arnold’s; 877 people ‘like’ Arnolds Facebook page and 4172 people ‘like’ Sheplers. (Many of whom are a veritable cheer squad for the ferry line, minus the napkin sized skirts and defensive tackler fantasy, often declaring Sheplers as the only and best ferry line to get to the island).

Sheplers in the Media. (Source: Sheplersferry)

 Sheplers presence on TV has increased with at least two news appearances on morning TV in Michigan. One featured on Memorial Day on Fox 17 in Grand Rapids featuring Chris Shepler (who I am impartial to since he has spent time in Australia and liked it). Sheplers was more recently featured on Michigan This Morning (9&10 News and Fox 32).

Sheplers is also the most family orientated and commercially branded of the Island’s ferry companies and it’s this  ’branding’ of Sheplers which is the most effective part of the company.  From the instantly recognisable logo, their ‘branded dock’ with blue and white awnings that extend into the crew member uniforms. Sheplers then tops it off with a catering to everyone technique, with military, AAA discounts, disabled access, allowing baby strollers, bike holders, overnight parking, allowing leashed dogs on their boats, a café on their dock, an out in the community campaign for trash clean ups and charity work, family atmosphere stemming from the 65-year-old family company, Captain for a day programmes, group discounts, lighthouse tours, contributing profits to the lighthouse conservation, ticket give aways online and a commitment to hiring within Michigan colleges for its staff members.

One has to ask whether this commercial push is in line with the renewed enthusiasm for the company after the Arnold/Star Line merger  to secure consumer loyalty or if it’s a smart business manoeuvre commercially positioning yourself above the competition so you are, in effect, unable to be “pushed out” of the market because you have effectively become the market. It seems since the incident happened Sheplers has taken steroids and has upped the ante and is emerging not only as the most commercial force on the ferry companies (granted most of its contributions other than a dominant online presence has been in development for years) but one that is the most aggressive in attaining loyalty through interaction and branding. I mentioned this to a resident recently who then asked me, “So, you think Sheplers is now doing to Arnolds what they did to them through smart business and marketing – just without the Mayors help?”

 What I think really doesn’t matter but my answer was, “I think their strategy is to increase their visibility and commercialism, capitalise on the merger situation and the general unease felt by the people opposing it and sympathising with Sheplers. They are re-establishing themselves with these guests, and have effectively increased their interaction online this year, (gaining 4172 fans who are now, I suspect loyal customers since 4000 of them have posted personal photos of them on Sheplers) they have introduced an array of packages and add ons for the island re enforcing their relationship with many of the island hotels and businesses and are using this to not only increase business overall, but to cement their place on the island – attracting not only families and groups but a younger crowd including young parents with a child or those families taking their dogs and own bikes. If you look at Sheplers operations it literally has its finger on every segment of the market. Sheplers recent success and seamless branding has been a proverbial giant middle finger – and it was the most effective way to do it.” Here is a video of Chris Shepler’s thank you video on YouTube.

So here are some of Sheplers packages and I answer the question I get asked a lot, “Does it actually save you money or should I purchase the tickets when I get there?”

Here are the biggest savings on Sheplers website.

Mackinac Island Carriage Tour Deal

$41 gets you return trip plus a carriage tour with Sheplers

$42.50 if you bought a discounted return trip and the carriage tour yourself

Sheplers saves you $1.50 per person (even after comparing it to a discounted $19 per person ticket, so really it can save you $4.50)

 Sheplers 2 Day Ferry pack

If you are travelling to the island for 2 days, don’t buy two lots of return tickets, buy this pack. It will save you $7.60 per person. ($36.50 instead of $44)


Arnolds

Arnolds has used the merger with Star Line to offer a“One Ticket, Two Choices” marketing strategy. While it looks convenient on paper to have a choice of two ferries for your ticket, it’s really no different to how it was before except you can choose to go to Arnold or Star line with the same ticket. (I for one don’t even know what Catamaran means, I had to google it) All that matters to me is if I want to go home at 3 there better be a ferry waiting, catamaran or not.

What surprised me the most was Arnold’s package savings. They only have 2 packages but they are able to save you the most money per person in comparison to Sheplers.

Package One on the Arnold site gets you a 1 adult round trip to Mackinac Island, a carriage tour, entry to Wings of Mackinac and Entry to Fort Mackinac for $44. If you brought each thing individually yourself it would be over $60. Arnold’s is saving you $16.50 with this package.

 The second package entitles you to an adult round trip to the island, Fort Mackinac entry and a carriage toour for $49. If you brought all of this individually it would cost you $55. It is a saving of $6.50 by doing package two.

Conclusion

So while I do write about Sheplers and the monopolization of the ferry services on the island, don’t forget this is the reason we were all against it – the right to choose and to keep up competition and price competitiveness. If you need package savings, go to Arnolds. If you need overall helpful service and family orientated business go to Sheplers but be thankful no matter which company you choose, that you still have the choice.

Do you travel to the island exclusively with one ferry company or do you go with whoever has the lowest price?