The only cars allowed on the entire island are ambulances, And 80% of the island is a state park. Since it's in the middle of a great lake there is virtually no noise, light, or air pollution. You can see just about every star at night.
Did I mention 80% of it is a state park?
interesting. i went there with my grandma when i was like 14 or 15 for the day, but i didnt find it as magical as you. maybe if i had gone earlier in my childhood it would have been... or because my grandma annoys me really easily.
she lived in Arizona and was visiting some family in Canada and it was close to go to Mackinaw island as we were living in sault ste marie. we took the ferry there and we biked around the island, went swimming, bought some fudge. it was pretty fun but i remember seeing too many other families and tourists there for it to be truly idyllic, for me. it felt too commercialized for an island on lake huron, in my opinion.
as for my happiest place in my travels, its a conundrum.
in some way, it could be at the bay of fires in Tasmania, dropping really beautiful acid at our camping spot by the beach with about 15 people who had all been travelling together after a festival. it was summer and everybody was enjoying the ocean. that place was really beautiful, we saw a few dolphins after as the sun was setting surfacing near the rocks we were on. that was a happy place, i have an extremely positive feeling about that day and spot.
in another way, waiting for a train in the forest outside of a small northern Ontario town on my birthday and a nice string of 48 buckets rolling up infront of where i was sleeping near to the tracks was a happy place. the best birthday gift ive considered.
it may have also been in sen monorom, in the mondulkiri province of Cambodia. i felt as though that community was really beautiful, (as a landmass and as a culture) and thus, i could see myself living there. i owe a big thanks rock and Erika, the Swedish couple that i met when i went to their restaurant for dinner. i spent a lot of days with them, teaching me various things such as making delicious space cakes or various uses of bamboo for fishing, cooking, building. id go with them to the local markets every few days, buying food for their restaurant, bargaining in Khmer for meat, vegetables, etc. they invited me to come to a khmers birthday party with them and i saw how everybody in the family pooled together the few dollars they made that day and bought heaps of food and drink for everyone to enjoy together, and eachothers company. they seemed truly happy, and it rubbed off on me.