The family (minus my hard working brother-in-law Tobie) piled into a borrowed minivan for the classic family vacation. Long road trips are how the Reardons have always done it: Illinois to Colorado, Florida, wherever. I put in my share during college too and I’ve never lost the love of the open road.
We headed north through Wisconsin across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and down the Mackinac Bridge—the third largest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge and nearby Mackinac Island (pronounced “Mackinaw”) are at the border between Lakes Michigan and Ontario. The island has been a tourist destination since the late 1800’s.
The area was of strategic importance during colonial times. The French originally built fort Mackinac as a trading hub on the Michigan mainland. They surrendered it to the British after the French and Indian War who then moved it to the more defensible island only to hand it over to the newborn United States. The first land battle of the War of 1810 was a British and Indian attack on the fort. The fifty-some US troops surrendered to the 400 attackers. The fort did not return to US possession until after that war.
My favorite story from its history was an Indian attack on the original fort. The French had recently ceded control to the British who were not as sophisticated in their dealings with the Indians. Rather than sending gifts and traders directly to the tribes as the French had done they required everyone to come to the fort. The Indians took affront to the changes and concocted a plan to force the British out. They gathered outside of the front gate for a game similar to modern day Lacrosse, but had the women watching on the sidelines conceal weapons in their belongings. Their signal was hitting the ball over the wall. The players rushed through the gate seemingly to retrieve it, but grabbed their weapons as they passed the women. They quickly captured the fort. When the defeated British returned a few years later to reestablish a trading presence they wisely restored the French policies.
Although the history was fascinating it was really only scenery behind the time spent with the family. We enjoyed bike rides around the island, sunsets on the lake shore, good dinners, and late nights around the camp fire, but mostly we enjoyed each others company. You really don’t need any other entertainment when you’ve got a baby around. Lily always commanded our attention (in fact, she usually demanded it).
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