Oh Mackinac Island

How I love thee.

Brandon and I got up early Thursday morning to make the 50 minute drive to Mackinac City to catch the ferry to the island. It was a cool, dreary morning and ride over on the ferry. I was almost in tears since I had envisioned a beautiful day on the island.
We got off the ferry, and I tried to focus on the good - the smell of horses ad fudge.
We rode our bikes over to our B and B to drop off our luggage. While we were there, the hostess gave us free passes to the Butterfly House and to the Grand Hotel. Things were already looking up. We decided to go to the Butterfly House first since it was indoors and warm.
We had not been here before, and I knew Maisie was going to study butterflies at school,  so I took lots of pictures. Here is a sampling:

 

When we left the Butterfly House, the sun was trying to come out from behind the clouds. I was in awe on my bike ride to the Grand. The sun was coming out, and I was right where I wanted to be. I was almost in tears for the gift God had given me.
See that smile? It was genuine; I was standing next to a lilac bush since it was lilac festival on the island.

 We ate lunch inside at the Grand sitting next to a window where we could see the pretty view and people watch. Here is a common sight.

 We spent a little time on the porch but not very long since we  had other things we wanted to do.

 We unloaded our bikes and headed for some riding adventures.

After lunch we rode the eight miles around the island. It's always a pretty ride. Even though we had been here before and stopped at the same scenic views, I never tire of them.

 Arch Rock. We climbed a couple hundred stairs to get to the top.

 Another pretty view along the route.

 

 After our pretty flat ride around the island, we decided to venture into the inner trails which are anything but flat. We rode up the big hill next to the hotel and I just made it up. A Jamaican said to me. "You go girl," as I slowly peddled by. Made my trip up the hill worth it just to hear him say that with his accent.

We rode around on some back streets and came across some horses, so I had to stop and pet them.

 This horse nibbled Brandon and his things like he was a goat.

 

This picture makes me laugh, just like it looks like the horse is doing. :)

 We rode several more miles up and down and all around. It was so peaceful and quiet. By the end of the 20 miles, my legs were tired, and my bum was really sore.
I must have pictures of this journey on my phone...

These pictures are as we came back into town.

 A glimpse of downtown.

 We love to see the different (and large) homes around the island.

We went back to the B and B to clean up a little and decide where to eat dinner. We chose a good place and enjoyed our meal. We then walked around downtown looking for souvenirs and fudge.  We then went back to our room where to relaxed for while by reading books or checking emails. 

We went out around 9:45 with the hopes of seeing a good sunset. There was no sunset, but we did discover a beautiful, full moon!

Good night Mackinac.

Weds pictures part two

Pardon me while I figure I how to use the blogger app from my iPad. I was hoping to upload these pictures to my original post, but it created a new one.  These pictures are from our walk through town. It never really felt like we were in town; it was quiet and peaceful walking along this river. In fact, we came across this young deer.  The last picture was taken at the boat docks on the bay.  We got quite a kick out of that door.  

Tuesday on our Own

I am so thankful for parents who love to be grandparents and invest in their grand daughters. I am thankful my girls love to spend time with their Grandmom and Pops. And I am really thankful to get away with Brandon for three days knowing everyone was happy.  My mom and I kept calling it a Win-Win.

Brandon and I went to Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast with dad and the girls. Again, mom had meetings.  From there we drove north about 5 hours to Sleeping Bears Dunes in Michigan. I had planned this vacation many months ago, and as much as I had dreamed about going someplace a little more "glamorous," this is what worked for us, and we loved it.

 We started at the park with the seven mile scenic drive.

 Sight number one was this covered bridge.

 Stop two was Bear Lake

 Our favorite stop on the drive was an overlook of Lake Michigan at the top of a really tall sand dune. The picture doesn't show justice on high up we are or how steep the hill was.

 It was a bit cloudy and hazy, but I loved the different shades of blue in the water. Brandon asked me if this gave me my Caribbean fix. :)

 Brandon must always take a picture of our vehicle on our trip.

 After the drive, we went to the dune climb. We climbed up, up, up on really soft, fine sand. We'd never done anything like this before, and we loved it. 

 This picture looks like a puzzle to me.

 From our dune climb, we drove a bit to a trail head that took us to another beautiful overlook. I could have spent a lot of time here; it was so peaceful and quiet. Again, we were way above the water with sand dunes going down.

After the beach view, we walked among the trees and mosquitoes.

See how happy we are? :)

 After we left the park, we drove to Traverse City for dinner. We found (thanks to Trip Advisor) a local restaurant that we loved. The setting was beautiful, and the food was delicious.

From our view we could see this sailboat.

 We left Traverse City at dusk and drove an hour north to Petoskey. Along the way, we pulled over for an amazing sunset.

Day one was fun and fast. We thoroughly enjoyed being together in God's beautiful creation!

Monday Family Pictures

We had family pictures on Monday night. This was probably the easiest we've ever had it. The girls did great!  I haven't seen the official pictures yet, but here are some glimpses from my phone.

Vacation

We left early June for our family vacation. I was ready to get away, and the girls were as thrilled as always to go to Grandmom and Pops's house.  We got a late start on the road due to a new bike rack and having to load that.  The girls were great travelers despite the rain. We pulled into their drive at 12:15 am.  And my dad was sitting in the driveway waiting for us! Isn't that just the sweetest thing?

We all went to church together on Sunday. Sadie cracked me up; as we sang some new to us songs, she looked at me and asked,"Is this Spanish?" 

That afternoon we made a trip to the mall and then to Dicks. The girls were troopers as we shopped.  Riding the carousal always helps.  

Monday was a fun day, but we missed having mom with us. She had to go to meetings all day. Dad and the five of us made a full day of running errands. The first thing we did was so special to me.  He took us to a music store where he could test Analise on different instruments to see how she did.  How many kids get this experience?  It was so funny and yet so sweet at the same time. We learned that Analise has some options on what she could play. She did well with the reed; she was a natural with the trumpet.  She also did really well with percussion. She is not a natural flute player. I told my dad later that I have seen him coach volleyball for many years, but I never got to see him teach an instrument. Not many men can do both!  Thanks dad for taking the time to work with her; I have it treasured in my heart.

 

 And while we shopped at Kohls, Pops had the girls pose so cute: