Day 24- Marquette to Ann Arbor

Started today's drive in a foggy rain as we left Marquette around 9:30. Not much going on except some beautiful scenery for the first 2 hours until we hit St. Ignace by the Mackinaw Island Bridge.

We ate lunch at a place called Clyde's Drive-IN, which is an absolute must if you ever have reason to cross the mackinaw Bridge. It is on the north side of the bridge and has the best hamburgers I have had in a long time along with some awesome onion rings. It was an old place that literally just had a Waffle House style grilll with a giant tub of raw meat beside it and she patted your burger as you ordered.

From there, we crossed the bridge- little shaky I might add- and headed to Ann Arbor. We suffered a few disappointing moments on the drive as we missed the only viable putt-putt course in the northern half of Michigan and then to our great dismay, Storybook Land was closed until 2011 (although we did take some pictures of the outside).

We rolled into Ann Arbor around 6:00- first daylight arrival of the trip- and had a nice pizza dinner with the Powers family.

Only negative is the heat, as it is 90 degrees with no air conditioning. However, we don't plan on sitting much so all will be good.

Link To Today's Pictures:

July 6

Day 23- Last Day in Marquette

The weather finally broke and was 70 and rainy most of the day. Not much activity today, although we did spend the morning at the Upper Peninsula Childrens Museum. The kids had a great time and enjoyed running through the various systems of the human body. Emma was most taken with the hairstyling center and Jake, of course, could not be peeled away from the trains.

After the museum, we went downtown for a great lunch at a local Irish pub and some shopping. Marquette is one of those classic little downtown areas with neat little shops and things to see. Bought a few knick-knacks and some stuff for thee kids.

The evening wrapped up with a trip to Jilbert's, the local dairy, for some fresh ice cream and a viewing of the massive cow statues. They were a little disturbing, as they were so life like that they had veins in the utters.

Back on the road tomorrow as we head to Ann Arbor for some R & R with old friends.

Link To Today's Pictures:

July 5

Day 22- Independence Day

Happy 4th of July everyone!!!

It was another scorcher here in Marquette as it was over 90. I know this doesn't sound that bad to you southern folks, but nobody has air conditioning here.

Unfortunately, Dane took a Zyrtec which knocked him out for five hours and wasted a large portion of the day. Once awakened from his slumber, we went to a really neat place called Lakenenland. This is a park designed by a metal sculpture artist. Not knowing what to expect, we were blown away by the skill and creative nature of the artist. The comical part was that the artist has been in a long standing feud with the town council. The park is open to all citizens, with the exception of town council members, who will be charged with trespassing. At first we thought this was a joke, then we saw the official trespassing signs and court order... too funny.

We wrapped up the day with beautiful fireworks over the south harbor of Marquette. We took a bit of a long distance approach and the kids really enjoyed the reflections off the water without quite so much noise. Marquette doesn't get dark until almost 11:00, so both kids passed out before we got home, which was only one mile.

Link to Today's Pictures:

July 4

Day 21- July 4th Parade and Lake Superior Swimming (BRRRRR!!!!!!)

Things got off to a pretty slow start this morning as we lounged around and ate a late breakfast. Dane and Jerry took the kids back up to the park in an attempt to run them ragged (IT WORKED!).

After a quick lunch we all headed downtown to check out the Marquette 4th of July Parade- even though it was the 3rd. The parade was great and the kids got tons of candy, but it was very hot. 90+ degrees and a high humidity. This is not what I signed up for; it was actually cooler in Charlotte today.

In order to cool off, we headed down to the lower harbor to get some swimming in. Jake and Emma jumped right in again like it was nothing. Dane swam for a little while, but even he thought it was a little cold. It is a really neat beach, because it doesn't get any deeper than three feet for at least 100 yards. On the upside, nobody sank their boat today.

The night ended with a great dinner by Liz and a competitive series of washers. Liz and Heather dominated with a 6-1 record, while Jen and Dane managed to go 3-3 and give Liz and Heather their only loss. Unfortunately, Gail and Jerry failed to win a single contest.

Kids are excited for more fun and fireworks tomorrow!

Link To Today's Pictures:

July 3

Day 20- Alpacas, Lake Superior and the Food Fest

Things picked back up today. We still slept in, but once everyone was up and running we went to see a friend of Aunt Liz who works at a local alpaca farms (Avalon Alpaca Farms). These were some of the cutest animals we have seen on the trip. They were very friendly and polite, but the were also very shy. The kids really enjoyed getting to pet and hold the baby alpaca who was only one week old. Unlike the llama, these guys were not aggressive at all.

After a quick break for naps we headed down to "look" at the beach. As soon as we got there, both Emma and Jake ran straight into the freezing cold water and became a complete mess. It is amazing how they seem to have no temperature gauge. As they continued to play, the real excitement began. Several sailboats had been running through the lower harbor, when Liz suddenly noticed that one of the boats seemed to be leaning over extremely steeply.  She brought our attention to it, and as we all watched, we noticed that the boat seemed to be in trouble.  All of a sudden, the boat looked as though it was doing a "wheelie" --  the stern was in the water, and then it started to sink.  Jerry called 911 and alerted the coast guard.  It took the coast guard about 7 minutes to get out on the water.  Good thing that there were a few other boats out there to help them.  When the coast guard got there, they hooked the boat up and towed it in to the harbor.  Once in the harbor, the fire department was there and a large crane as well.  It took awhile, but they finally got the boat up and the water pumped out of it.  We took lots of pictures and videos(although the videos are too large for me to upload them...  anybody know how to do it??)

Once the boat excitement was over, we could focus on the "International Food Fest". We didn't really sample any of the food, but the kids had a great time on all the inflatable rides and playing the games. Emma won an inflatable penguin and Jake won a couple of small finger puppets. After a few hours, we headed back and everyone  is exhausted, so it is off to bed.

Fourth of July Parade tomorrow (yes- I know it is the 3rd) along with some swimming on the beach. It is so relaxing and nice up here.

Link to Today's Pictures:

July 2

Day 19 - Rest in Marquette

Today we did basically nothing- and it was wonderful. We slept in until almost 9:30 and things got slower form there. The highlights of the day were Dane's trip to the grocery store and Jen taking the kids down the street to the local park. We wrapped up the evening with a nice fire in the back yard to roast marshmallows. We also got to enjoy some fresh Whitefish straight form Lake Superior.

Back to all the fun tomorrow.

Day 18- Driving to Marquette, Michigan

Time to head on to Michigan. We started out with a great breakfast with Betsy and the kids before hitting the road north. We made one quick stop in Rush City to see the Walleye Capitol of the World and then headed on to Duluth, MN.

Duluth is a great little city on the coast of Lake Superior in Northern Minnesota. We had a blast here and got to see some really neat things. The focal point of town in a lift bridge the goes up and down as the HUGE tankers take iron ore in and out of the harbor. The kids really enjoyed the moving bridge and boats until one of them fired off their horn and scared them both to death.

From there, we rented a single surry (family bike) and road around the lakefront looking at trains, lighthouses, and just lots of neat things along the coast. Contrary to appearance, the bike was a pretty good workout. It was so nice to have to put jackets on Jen and the kids since it was pretty cool. There was so much more to do in Duluth (a zoo, aquarium, museums, etc) but alas we ran out of time and needed to head to Marquette.

The final stop of the day came just short of Marquette in Ishpeming, MI at a place called Da'Yoopers Tourist Trap. All I can say about this place is wow! I would have to say that it may be the long lost northern cousin of Hillbilly Hot Dogs. We got to see all the nonsense outside, but unfortunately, the store itself was closed. However, it is only 10 minutes down the road, so I may return.

On a final note, one of the highlights of the day was watching to Bald Eagles on the side of the road. Nature really is wonderful up here.

Link to Today's Pictures:

June 30