Summer Vacation!

With a touch of history...

Summer is here, and for many Americans, that means it’s time for a vacation!

New Smyrna Beach, FL

Summer vacations can be as simple as a day trip to the beach, or as entailed as an extended holiday in a far off country. But vacations weren’t always as commonplace as they are now.


According to Cindy Sondik Aron’s book Working at Play: A History of Vacations in the United States, Colonial America thought vacations were equivalent to idle time. They believed that work made a person closer to God and so only the lazy took off time from work.

Hot Springs

By the end Eighteenth century, it became fashionable for the wealthy elite in America to take medical vacations. Hot spring resorts were the Victorian’s equivalent to our Disney World. Granted most of the hot springs bathers had no serious medical needs, but being seen at a hot springs resort was the trendy thing to do in that day.

The Arlington Hotel

In 1875, the three-story, one hundred and twenty room hotel, The Arlington opened in Hot Springs, Arizona. The state of the art resort boasted gas lamps in every guest room, a grand court between the structures’ two wings and colonial porches that ran the full length of the building to Hot Springs Mountain. In the late 1880s, approximately a hundred more rooms, a new dining room with electric lights, and another parlor were added.


In 1893, the original building was razed to make way for a new 300-room Spanish Renaissance structure. The new Arlington was referred to as “the most elegant and complete hotel in America” in Charles Cutter’s 1892 Guide Book.

The Ponce de Leon Hotel

Close to the turn of the century, East coast, ocean resorts became popular. Like the hot springs hotels, these catered to the rich and famous Victorian.


The Ponce de León Hotel was an exclusive hotel in St. Augustine, Florida, built by millionaire developer and Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler. The building was completed in 1888 and was the first of its kind constructed entirely of concrete and local coquina stone. The hotel was wired for electricity at the onset, with the power being supplied by D.C. generators from Flagler's friend, Thomas Edison. Henry M. Flagler had to hire a special staff to turn power on and off for his residents who were too afraid to touch the switches. The building and grounds of the hotel are today a part of Flagler College.

By the 1950’s, middle-class America had discovered the advantages of taking time from work to vacation, and theme parks began to grow in popularity. Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio, Six Flags over Georgia, Disneyland California, Disney World in Orlando, and on the west coast of Florida, Busch Gardens, these are just a few of the thrill seekers destinations. 

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Interestingly, 1947, Weeki Wachee State Park in Hernando County Florida, boasted the only mermaid adventure show in America and people flocked to watch the magic of mermaids “dance” underwater.

My family and I just got home from a week trip to our home state, Michigan. We stopped in Sault Saint Marie, Mackinaw Island, and Saint Ignace. We loved every moment and are already planning to return next year. This time we want to travel further into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I can’t wait!



Are you taking a holiday this summer? Someplace new or are you returning to a favorite destination? I’d love hear about your adventures! Will you share your vacation plans with us?



Remember, for safety reasons, never post on any website or social media when you plan to be away from home.

Though vacations have changed through the course of time, one thing has stayed the same . . . we come home refreshed and ready to return to work so we can save our money for the next adventure.

I wish you happy and safe summer adventures, HHH readers!

So How'd We End up with Mackinaw Island? PLUS Giveaway!

by Debbie Lynne Costello

It's great to be back and as I promised to share some more about Mackinac. Mackinac the Island this time instead of the bridge. And no, Mackinac Bridge does not go to the Island it connects the two peninsulas. . As I mentioned last month the Island was named from Indians and called Michillimackinac because they thought the shape of the land resembled a turtle. Later the name was shortened to Mackinac pronounced MackinAW.

By Dehk - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4665317

The straits around Mackinac Island were acquired by the British after the French and Indian war at which time the British built Fort Mackinac on the bluffs of the island to protect themselves against the native tribes and the French-Canadians. The straits and Island continued in Britian's hands through the Revolutionary War and it wasn't until 1783 with The Treaty of Paris that the United States acquired Michigan. However, it would take 13 years an another treaty to get the British to relinquish the territory and leave the soil.

BUT (don't you just hate that word sometimes?) 

that isn' the end of Mackinac's seesaw history because we went to war once again with Britain in 1812. And once again Britain took control of the Island. Try as we may to recapture Mackinac Island, I'm afraid we were unsuccessful. BUT (this is a good but) another treaty is signed, The Treaty of Ghent, and all British leave the Mackinac.

By Mackinac Bridge Authority (Mich) ; Superiorland Library Cooperative (Marquette, Mich) - http://updigit.uproc.lib.mi.us/utils/ajaxhelper/?CISOROOT=macbrdg&CISOPTR=1736&action=2&DMSCALE=150&DMWIDTH=512&DMHEIGHT=512&DMX=512&DMY=512&DMTEXT=&DMROTATE=0, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=112280458  Public domain wiki

The Island was a resort for the wealthy and well-to-do of the Victorian age. They flocked to Mackinac Island in large boats out Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, and Buffalo to get relief from the summers heat and enjoy the cooler weather of local area. The Grand Hotel along with other hotels were built to accommodate the growing number of tourist. Much like today, they loved to shop and bring home souvenirs from their summer get-a-way, listen to music, dance to waltzes, and dine on fine food.

Just before the turn of the century many mid-westerners wanted to spend more than just the weekend on the island so they built cottages along the east and west end bluffs. This encouraged the social life and soon people were doing all kinds of strenuous activities along the shores such as biking, tennis, hiking, and eventually golf.

Like all beautiful areas if not protected they will eventually be over run with people wanting their own little piece of the pie. The United States Government gave protection to Mackinac Island much like that of Yellowstone Park. 

To this day there are no motor vehicles allowed on Mackinac Island (other than those for official use). The only way to get to the island is by boat. People get around the by foot, bicycle, and horse drawn carriage. The Grand Hotel is still available for rooms and the fort still stands sentinel.  

I'm giving away a copy Sundays in Fredericksburg. Ask me a question or tell me something you know about Mackinaw Island to be entered. Giveaway ends August 9th at 12 p.m.

Debbie Lynne Costello is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. She attended Heritage University, where she studied Journalism and worked in the editing department.

She has a short story coming out in Guideposts 2014, Christmas Cup of Cheer. She has completed five full length novels set in Charleston and Savannah areas in the late 19th century along with one Medieval, and is now seeking homes for them.

She and her husband have four children and two grandbabies. They live in upstate South Carolina with their family, dogs, cat, Arabian horses, and miniature donkey.

WEBSITE: www.debbielynnecostello.com 

BLOG:  www.theswordandspirit.blogspot.com 

BLOG: www.fictionaddictionfix.blogspot.com 

Picture Sources: Michigan Military Records, Wikipedia, and pintrest

Building the Mackinac Bridge by Debbie Lynne Costello

MICHIGAN: First I'd like to dispel a common practice for how to say Mackinac. The "ac" on the end of Mackinac is pronounced "aw" Mac-in-aw. The island was named by the natives that lived in the area.

Public domain Wiki

They thought the upper peninsula looked like a turtle so they called it Mitchimakinak which meant "Big turtle". When the French came they used a version of the pronunciation and called it Michilimackinac, however the end was pronounced "aw" by the French. When the British came they heard it pronounced MichilimackinAW. They shortened the name and spelled it how it sounded, Mackinaw. So you will see spellings both ways but regardless of how it is spelled it is always pronounced with the "aw".

 Amazingly, the bridge was envisioned in 1880. In the 19th century the need for Michigan's resources like minerals and timber increased making the area an important transport interchange. The upper and lower peninsulas were separated by water and only accessible by boats and ferries. 1881 saw three railroads reach the straits of Michigan along with a railroad car ferry (a ship designed to carry railway vehicles with one level having railroad tracks).

Mackinac Bridge backers got their encouragement with the dedication of the Brooklyn Bridge in
1883.  A year later, a store owner out of St. Ignace reprinted an artist's conception of the famous New York structure in his advertising and put a caption on it "Proposed bridge across the Straits of Mackinac."

The first meeting of the board of directors of the Grand Hotel at Mackinac Island on July 1, 1888. Cornelius Vanderbilt II (click here and here to read my posts on the Vanderbilts) said: "We now have the largest, well-equipped hotel of its kind in the world for a short season business. Now what we need is a bridge across the Straits." (According to the minutes of the meeting.)

There were some crazy ideas thrown out to connect the two peninsulas. One being a floating tunnel
that was suggested by the 1920 highway commissioner. But despite the decades that passed since the first thoughts of a great bridge to cross the span of the water, in June of 1950 the Mackinac Bridge Authority was appointed. May 7th of 1954 construction started and on November 1st 1957 the bridge saw its first cars. The Mackinac bridge is a five-mile long suspension bridge, and the longest in the western hemisphere.

There are some fantastic facts about the bridge. You can check them out here.

Debbie Lynne Costello is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. She attended Heritage University, where she studied Journalism and worked in the editing department.

She has a short story coming out in Guideposts 2014, Christmas Cup of Cheer. She has completed five full length novels set in Charleston and Savannah areas in the late 19th century along with one Medieval, and is now seeking homes for them.

She and her husband have four children and two grandbabies. They live in upstate South Carolina with their family, dogs, cat, Arabian horses, and miniature donkey.

WEBSITE: www.debbielynnecostello.com BLOG:  www.theswordandspirit.blogspot.com BLOG: www.fictionaddictionfix.blogspot.com 

Pictures courtesy of Wiki.