The historic Grand Hotel opened in 1887 on Michigan’s Mackinac Island, primarily as a summer retreat for vacationers who arrived by steamer. The hotel boasted 385 guest rooms, each with unique decorations. Six U.S. First Ladies have been involved with decorating the rooms that bear their names: Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Roslyn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush and Jacqueline Kennedy.
     The front porch, spanning 660 feet is the longest of any hotel in the world, becoming well-known as a showplace for meetings and promenades. Today, the colorful flowers on the porch include some 2,500 geraniums in 260 planter boxes. Pristine white rocking chairs on the porch afford great views of the Mackinac Bridge that spans the Straits of Mackinac to connect Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas and of the horse-drawn carriages that transport guests to and from the hotel.
     The Grand Hotel is perhaps best known for the 1980 motion picture Somewhere In Time, starring the late Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour and Christopher Plummer, filmed there in 1979. Since then, a movie fan club meets there for a weekend every October. This National Landmark is open to the public for self-guided tours. Highlights include shops on the lower level and the view from the Cupola Bar at the top of the building.