There is very little vinyl siding on the Island, if there is its the kind made to look like cedar shake. All new construction must be of victorian style. Yes there are condos showing up here and there but, you make it sound like there a walmart and mcdonalds there? The island is well worth the trip and does have all the charm and character from the turn of century.

You're not looking. I did see vinyl siding (with damaged architectural features) on MANY old buildings on Mackinac Island. I'm guessing that only a few buildings there are defined as "historic".

Nice article about Mackinac Island. Just wanted to clarify the vinyl siding comment. All of the historic buildings are wood sided. In the 1960's a few houses creeped in with alumninum siding but the City doesn't permit vinyl siding on anything. The things that changed since we were all kids is that the buildings are now being resorted to their old colors. Back during the depression no one could afford to paint with anything but whitewash, so the old white washed buildings of old are now being brought back to their former glory. There are a few new hotels and shops downtown due to the fire in the late 1980's and that's about all that is new.
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www.mackinacisland.org

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From our house in Ann Arbor, it took a week to drive there, but we went via Chicago and Minneapolis, and stopped to visit relatives. We parked the car in Mackinaw City and took the ferry to the island.

There is an old British fort on the island (Fort Mackinac), with many historic buildings, and a reconstructed-from-scratch Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City.

How long did it take you to get there, and by what means of transportation?

My wife is a big fan of Somewhere In Time, and I like historic resorts. But the island seems far out of the way.

Any War of 1812 relics? I believe the island changed hands several times.

Yes, we had lunch at the Grand Hotel. More about this soon.

Most of us only know Mackinac Island from the film "Somewhere in Time." It's disappointing to hear that it's not nearly as authentically historic as portrayed. I've never been that far north in Michigan. I recall visiting Cape Cod, MA in the mid '90s and it didn't seem nearly as historic as made out to be, seemingly more suburban and "faux" historic. We did visit Nantucket, and it has a beautiful old town and very well restored, and I recommend visiting there. Did you stop in at the 'Grand Hotel' made famous in the aforementioned film ?