Things take longer to get to Mackinac Island that they do to other places. Take these refrigerated groceries for instance. They traveled by truck to St. Ignace. Then, just like tourists, they had to ride on a boat to get over to the island. (The photo below actually shows the delivery trucks heading back to the mainland. The morning freight boat often arrives before dawn.)
Once the groceries are on the island, they get loaded onto horse-drawn drays and delivered to individual businesses. (Sometimes, large items, such as the coolers pictured above, have to be delivered by forklift.
All this extra travel helps explain why prices on Mackinac are higher than they are on the mainland. Every island business has to pay two additional delivery charges, on top of regular delivery fees. Thankfully, that isn't the case for UPS or Amazon delivery, at least for individuals. For us, "quick" Amazon shipping is four days, but I can't complain. I've lived on Mackinac Island long enough to remember the days before we had Amazon. Four to six days is still faster than having to go over to the mainland to pick something up!




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