We found a wine tasting shop for an Upper Peninsula winery, sampled some excellent wines, and bought some to take home. Other than riding snowmobiles and hunting moose, I imagine that beer and wine consumption is a common wintertime activity in the U.P. [Michigan’s Upper Peninsula].

There is ferry service to Mackinac Island from either Mackinac City or St. Ignace, which is on the other end of the five-mile suspension bridge to the U.P. I wanted to cross the Straights of Mackinac for the experience and also to say that I had been to the U.P., so we ventured to St. Ignace. We made the quick ferry trip to the island and then rode our bikes to Grand Hotel. Unless one goes by horse-drawn carriage or walks, a bike is needed to get around the island. No cars are allowed.

It is amazing how quiet a place can be when no cars are present. Clip clopping of hooves is about all we heard on our ride to the largest summertime hotel in the world. Staying there, while expensive, was alone worth the trip. The service and the food were unmatched, and the 19th- century ambience made for a unique experience. Mackinac is one of those places that is uniquely American, like New York, New Orleans, or San Francisco. I felt a sense of history and gentleness that I have not found at other destinations.

The lectures usually finished at lunchtime, and my wife and I spent afternoons touring the island on our bikes. Most of the island is state park with dense forest and stunning rock formations. On rides to the steep and secluded interior of the island, if we stopped, the only sound we could hear was our own hearts beating.

They have been doing it for 40 years, and MCEP put on a superb event. The speakers at the conference were all top shelf, and I took home useful information to improve my practice. More important, I took with me a reminder of why we do what we do and how important it is to sharpen the saw. Going to a conference is not a luxury or an extravagance. Sure, you can read this stuff, but you can’t interact with other emergency physicians and learn from experts who gather important concepts in a format that brings clarity to murky issues.

Meetings such as this are an important part of personal and professional development. They are good for us and good for our patients.