A Winter Change Of Pace
By late February in Michigan, winter feels like it will never end. We’ve had months of grey skies, cold temps, dark mornings and very little sunlight. This time of year a change in routine is a welcome relief. For some people that change means a trip south to the sun and sand of Florida. While that sounds okay, I enjoyed a change last week by heading the other direction. A trip north to Mackinac Island was the perfect change of pace. And by change of pace, I mean the pace was SLOW.
Michigan’s Tourist Town Falls Silent
If you’ve only been to Mackinac Island in the summertime with the thousands of visitors walking and riding bikes around the island and crowding into the dozens of bars, restaurants and gift shops, you wouldn’t recognize it in the winter. It’s truly another place. The streets are deserted except for the snowmobiles the locals use to get into town for groceries or to get to their construction job inside one of the closed businesses.
With only one hotel and two small restaurant/bars open during the winter there are almost no tourists on the streets. Some locals will give you a nod of welcome but it seems most of them do not want to encourage tourists in their off-season. They work long, hard days from May to October when the ferries bring boatloads of tourists to the island all day long, so in the winter they want to relax and focus on their own lives.
The Island Is All Yours
In winter the hundreds of bikes and horse-drawn carriages are put away until the next spring. Instead, the island becomes the perfect place for winter walks and snowshoeing. No cars or crowds to watch out for means you can explore trails or just wander among the trees.
Embrace The Solitude
While running at home I usually wear headphones and listen to a podcast or occasionally to music. But there was something about the stillness of winter on Mackinac that made me head out for my morning run without headphones. I didn’t want anything to disrupt the solitude. I often hear professional athletes say “listen to your body.” As I ran alone around the deserted island on snow-covered roads all I could hear was my breathing and my shoes squeaking in the fresh snow.
So, although I didn’t get out of the cold weather, a change is still a change. A few days away from the busyness and routine of daily life is still a refresher, and when it’s in one of the most unique and beautiful places around, it’s hard to top.