by Eleanor S. Morris

Up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula on an island near where two of the GreatLakes meet there's a Grand Hotel--yes, that's the name--with claims to being "America's Summer Place." Whether it's your honeymoon, a special anniversary, or just time for a wonderful relaxing adventure, the Grand Hotel presents the ambiance of another, gentler, more gracious time.

Turn back the clock here on Mackinac Island (pronounced Mackinaw) and enjoy the hotel's well-practiced hospitality and charm: Grand Hotel has been America's Summer Place since 1887. Gaze over blue Lake Huron while rocking away in one of the white rockers on the famous front porch--the longest in the world at 660 feet long. Play croquet or lawn bowling on the beautifully landscaped grounds. Go for a carriage ride in a carriage "with the fringe on top" (no motors are permitted on the island) and return in time for Afternoon Tea. This is a treat featuring imported tea and champagne, finger sandwiches and often a concert performance.

Every one of the hotels' 381 rooms is appointed differently, all done by a well-known American designer. If you have a room at the front of the hotelalong the carriage drive, you might be lulled to sleep by the clip-clop of horses hoofs as guests arrive or depart for island adventures.

The hotel provides golf, tennis, swimming, hiking through the woodlands of the green woodlands, horseback riding. Also massage and exercise in the weight room.

You can hire a carriage or a bicycle and go down to the village. There you might be tempted by the world-famous fudge sold in the fudge shops along Main Street. (People who come regularly to Mackinac are called "fudgies" by the locals. But that's how good the fudge really is.) You can also shop for antiques and curios while you're there, and then amble over to the ferry dock and watch the ferries come in.

Because, that's the main way to arrive on the island, via Arnold Ferries from the mainland at Mackinaw City or St. Ignace (leaving your car behind in a safe car park). The scenic 15-minute ferry ride is part of the fun. But a different part of the adventure could be a small plane ride instead, from Pellston Airport to the Mackinac Island airstrip. Either way, a horse carriage will be waiting to take you to the Grand Hotel.

Two interesting carriage-ride outings on the island are the Wings Of Mackinac Butterfly Conservatory and historic Fort Mackinac. The fort was constructed by British soldiers during the American Revolution, a sentinel on the Straits of Mackinac for 115 years. Today the original restored fort is a National Historic landmark, and you can trace the footprints of British and American troops, explore the historic as a "military court martial."

As for the Wings of Mackinac, it's a treat to enter the hothouse and watch beautiful colored butterflies in flight all around you. Exotic butterflies from around the world, Zebra Longwing, Sleepy Orange, Red Spotted Purple, just might alight on a leaf right before your eyes.

Long as the front porch is, that's how long the dining room is. The Grand Luncheon Buffet stretches out like miles of tempting foods. Come nightfall, enjoy European and American cuisine there, followed by music and dancing in the Parlor. There's live music for dancing also in the Terrace Room, Cupola Bar or the Jockey Club on the hotel grounds at the Grand Stand. And every night after dinner, demitasse is served formally in the Parlor.

The Jockey Bar also offers lighter fare for dining, as does the Pool Grill, Fort Mackinac Tea Room, Carleton's Tea Store or Woods, a carriage-ride into the forest some distance from the hotel. Carleton's Tea Shop also sells special confections and gifts.

Mackinac Island Carriage Tours take you down historic Market Street with its 19th-century cottages, to an authentic blacksmith shop, to picturesque Surrey Hills, and a scenic drive to Arch Rock on Lake Huron. If you're thinking of tying your wedding knot on this nostalgic island (call Ken Hayward, Sales Director, 517/349-4600), Carriage Tours offers a choice of wedding carriages. Two old-fashioned choices are either a landau or a victoria, and located at Surrey Hills is a charming gazebo for a wedding site.

The season is from May through October, lots of time to enjoy this calm feeling of old-world ambiance, the serenity and charm of an earlier time. Contact the hotel at www.grandhotel.com or 1-800-334-7263.