Tourist Etiquette

Hack · 05-29-2011, 04:47 PM

I grew up in northern Michigan, in the heart of the tourist trap area, about an hour south of Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island, etc. We call tourists in that part of the state "fudgies" because they are all toting bags of fudge from the fudge shops that abound in that part of the state. A lot of my friends in college worked on Mackinac Island, where no cars are allowed. You get around by foot, bike or horse-drawn carriages. I remember they all loved the first two weeks on the island, but by the end of the first month, they all called it "Mack-atraz." We could always pick out tourists from "downstate," aka the greater Detroit area. One of my favorite encounters was once when my dad and I were driving somewhere, and we got stuck behind some guy towing his huge boat. That was fine, except he didn't raise the boat motor before he left, and his propellor was hitting the asphalt and throwing sparks as we drove north on US-23. Gotta be from Detroit, my dad said. When we got close enough while passing him, we could read the boat's name and port location on the back. Grosse Pointe (high-rent area of southeast MI). Sure enough.

That said, Michigan is a beautiful place to visit anytime of year. Check it out:

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05-29-2011, 04:47 PM	#37
Hack Just a guy. How Do You Identify?: Just a guy Preferred Pronoun?: male Relationship Status: Sparkle's consort Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: MA Posts: 1,458 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 807 Thanked 3,776 Times in 958 Posts Rep Power: 21474853	I grew up in northern Michigan, in the heart of the tourist trap area, about an hour south of Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island, etc. We call tourists in that part of the state "fudgies" because they are all toting bags of fudge from the fudge shops that abound in that part of the state. A lot of my friends in college worked on Mackinac Island, where no cars are allowed. You get around by foot, bike or horse-drawn carriages. I remember they all loved the first two weeks on the island, but by the end of the first month, they all called it "Mack-atraz." We could always pick out tourists from "downstate," aka the greater Detroit area. One of my favorite encounters was once when my dad and I were driving somewhere, and we got stuck behind some guy towing his huge boat. That was fine, except he didn't raise the boat motor before he left, and his propellor was hitting the asphalt and throwing sparks as we drove north on US-23. Gotta be from Detroit, my dad said. When we got close enough while passing him, we could read the boat's name and port location on the back. Grosse Pointe (high-rent area of southeast MI). Sure enough. That said, Michigan is a beautiful place to visit anytime of year. Check it out: