clip, clop

My favorite place in the whole world is Mackinac Island, Michigan, a tiny picturesque island in Lake Huron. While the island and Grand Hotel were the setting for "Somewhere in Time" and "This Time for Keeps", it has been attracting visitors for well over 130 years. Lilacs and fudge not withstanding, the most famous thing about Mackinac Island is that it does not allow any sort of motorized vehicle. The 3 modes of transportation on the island are bikes, horses and your feet. This adds to the charm. However, waking up to the sound of clip clop, clip clop under your window as the horses pulling the drays and carriages pass by is initially a bit jolting but once you get used to it, the sound is quite soothing. At night, you can hear the clip clops in the distance echoing across the island.

Shortly after Thanksgiving while sitting on my front porch, I was sure I was having a Mackinac flashback as I heard the faint clip clop, clip clop coming from a couple of blocks away. It turns out that the historic district has nightly carriage rides from mid-November thru early January as part of the holiday festivities. As there isn't much traffic in my neighborhood, the evening is punctuated with this delightful sound for hours on end.

I won't have much longer to listen to the clip clop of the carriages but you can bet I'll be out on my front porch, on my white rocker, surrounded by red geraniums for the next few evenings.

Kathy