Somewhere in Time Mackinac Island | a 7 Image Story
Somewhere in Time Mackinac Island | a 7 Image Story Mackinac Island takes us back to an era where life moved a bit slower; a time when horses were the fastest way to travel over the ground. The island does not allow motor vehicles except for a couple of emergency vehicles. Most people arrive and leave by boat; just like a hundred years ago. The island does allow small planes to land at the airport. To get around the island, you have several choices; walk, ride a bike, ride a horse, or ride in a horse-drawn carriage, a surrey with fringe on top.
The island has been the main site for several movies including “Somewhere in Time” where many Mackinac Island workers and residents were cast in the film. About half of the movie was filmed inside Grand Hotel or on its grounds. Each October, the Grand Hotel hosts a Somewhere in Time Weekend for the film’s fans.
Somewhere in Time is also well known for its soundtrack; a musical score composed by John Barry.
In 1980, a young playwright, Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) becomes so obsessed with the portrait of a beautiful turn-of-the-century stage actress, Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour), that he travels back in time to find her and fall in love. Collier learns she was at the Grand Hotel in 1912. He travels to the Grand Hotel and through hypnosis, he travels back in time to have a love affair with her. Although they appear destined to be together, a love affair, somewhere in time, gets complicated.
The Round Island Light, also known as the “Old Round Island Point Lighthouse” and sometimes referred to as the Mackinac Island Lighthouse, is almost as famous as Mackinac Island itself. It was constructed in 1895 and located on the western shore of Round Island. Located on the Straits of Mackinac, just across from Mackinac Island, it is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. Thousands of tourists pass within a half mile of the 123 year old lighthouse on ferries each day during the summer season. Certainly in 1980, Richard Collier saw the old lighthouse and in 1912, Elise McKenna saw the new lighthouse on their journeys to the island’s Grand Hotel.
Close your eyes and you can almost imagine Richard Collier and Elise McKenna, taking a stroll or riding in a surrey, and passing by this Little Stone Church. Maybe, they even talked of marrying in the church, which is only a short walk from the Grand Hotel. Continuing your ride in the surrey-with-the-fringe-on-top, the Grand Hotel with the world’s longest porch, comes into view as you ride up the hill. Since 1887 the Grand Hotel has hosted guests to old-world hospitality. Continuing the horse-drawn carriage ride past the Grand Hotel and farther up the hill, several grand old homes come into view. Imagine Richard Collier and Elise McKenna riding along as they think about their first home together. Then, riding inland through the back country, it looks much the same as it did over a hundred years ago. The ride brings out the romantic in all of us. Richard and Elise may have spent long hours wandering through the countryside. Finally, the carriage ride draws close to its end. After boarding the boat back to reality, we catch a last glimpse of the Grand Hotel; much as it looked back in 1912 to Elise and in 1980 to Richard. It remains; somewhere in time.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Somewhere in Time Mackinac Island.
Click any image below for a slide show!
