Bring fruit and cheese, and, while listening to the soft, distant clomp of horses' hooves, peacefully enjoy the deep blue of Lakes Michigan and Huron, while 1,000-foot freighters coast through the narrow straits under the Mackinac Bridge and past the old Round Island Lighthouse. At 7 p.m. the island has its one movie, shown just once. The theater reflects the Great North, with pine logs 2 feet in diameter forming the theater's cathedral ceiling. Balcony seats are prime. Get there early.
Features generally are new releases.
A beach campfire overlooking the Mackinac Bridge roasts hot dogs and marshmallows better than you have ever tasted before. At the north end of the boardwalk of the island's main thoroughfare and below the sandstone cave known as Devil's Kitchen, many fine spots are ideally situated for the occasion. A fire permit is required and can be obtained from the local fire department on Market Street, one block north of the main thoroughfare. You can get picnic accouterments at Doud's, the island's only grocery, across from the Visitor's Center at the southern end of town. While cooking a hot dog, watch freighters cruising past a few hundred yards offshore and ferries flitting back and forth.