Overnight accommodations for this event can be made at the Grand Hotel (1-800-33-GRAND), which is offering a special price of $215.00 a night per room (taxes and luggage fees not included). This rate is for the room only - A continental breakfast WILL NOT be included. Also, be aware that this rate is ONLY for rooms in the back of the hotel. If you prefer a lake-view room, the Grand will charge you an additional $50.00 per night. Many rooms at the Grand are furnished with two beds (and can accommodate up to four people). If you book a room at the Grand via the reservation line, you must mention that you are part of the geocaching group to get the above listed rate. If you book via the Grand Hotel website, use "GEOCACHING" as the promo code. There will also be a baggage handling fee of $10.00 per person. Please be aware that your credit card is charged at the time that you make your reservation. In addition, the Grand will not provide refunds for any room cancellations made less than 10 days before the event.

We strongly encourage attendees to stay at the Grand Hotel. The hotel has been quite generous to us for the past fifteen years, and they've done a wonderful job providing us with a group room and refreshments for everyone.

There are two ferry lines taking tourists to the island (Shepler's and Star Line). Ferries leave from both Mackinaw City and St. Ignace. Please check their respective schedules for departure times. Also, please be aware that there are parking fees at the ferry docks. The rates vary depending on whether or not you park on-site, or in a secured parking area. If you are purchasing Star Line tickets online, the promo code for the discount is GEOCACHE2022.

A few island restaurants will be open for both lunch and dinner. Expect to spend around $13.00 -$18.00 per person for lunch, and about $18.00 -$28.00 per person for dinner (depending on what you order). You may also pick up munchies/salads/sandwiches at Doud's Market, which is located on Main Street at the east end of town. In addition, "The Broken Spoke" (on Main Street) will be opening early for breakfast on Friday and Saturday morning (beginning at 8:00 am).

I highly recommend bringing your own bike, if at all possible. The ferries charge a fee ($13.00 to $16.00 per bike, depending on the ferry company) to bring your bike over to the island. There is a "parking lot" for bikes right across from the Grand, so your bikes can be parked there in the evening. Bike locks are strongly recommended.

The Grand will be providing us with the Frank J. Kelly Conference Room for our event, which will be open all day Friday and Saturday, and part of Sunday morning. The Frank J. Kelly Conference Room is on the lower level of the hotel and can be reached by entering the lower lobby of the hotel. This is the same group room as last year, and it is located near the hotel gift shop. Once you go past the lower lobby check-in desk, turn to your left and you will find our room. We will have a sign up identifying our group. We will have coffee, ice tea, and lemonade available on Friday and Saturday. There will also be cupcakes and other munchies available on Saturday for our attendees. As is our tradition, all attendees will be given a ticket when they sign the event log. This ticket will be used to pick a prize out of our group room. No raffle will be involved in an attempt to reduce a mass gathering of attendees. Our big raffle drawing this year will be a Bucket raffle. You will be able to purchase your tickets all day Friday and Saturday. Tickets will cost $2.00 each, or 3 for $5.00. Proceeds will be used to help offset the costs of hosting the event. You will put your name and phone number on each ticket, and place it in the container in front of the prize that you would like to win. The drawing will be held back at the Grand (Frank J. Kelly Conference Room) at 7:00 pm on Saturday evening. You DO NOT need to be present at the time of the drawing to win (we will call you), but you will need to be somewhere on the island so that we can get your prize to you before we all leave the island.

If you have any questions about the event, or the island itself, please feel free to e-mail me at madelyn@tmrl.net. Looking forward to seeing you all on the island at the end of April!