Our Vacation to Michigan

Slowly, I am getting back into some sort of a routine after being on vacation.

It has been nice to take a blogging break 

and not have to worry about getting a post written every day.

I haven't written a book review for a few weeks and I have enjoyed that break as well.

But, I do have several that I need to write and will be doing that next week.

You will see me slowly coming back to life here on the blog, 

but I'll be sporadic until school starts. 

I don't want to miss out on the rest of our summer with the kids. 

It's gone by so fast. 

So, until then, here are some photos 

from our recent family vacation through the state of Michigan.

We started in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and then went on to Green Bay.

From there we moved on up to the UP (Upper Peninsula) of the state of Michigan.

This is such a beautiful part of our great country

 and we only saw a small piece of it.

We began in Munising, then meandered over to 

Mackinaw City and visited Mackinac Island as well.

From there we went back down to the lower part of Michigan

and stayed in Traverse City, my favorite place on the trip.

We then worked our way back home 

by driving along the western border and along Lake Michigan, 

staying for a night in St Joseph/Benton Harbor. 

I hope some of the photos I am sharing 

capture some of the amazing beauty we saw in Michigan.

We did "speed zoo" at the Milwaukee Zoo 

since we didn't get there until 2:45 and they close at 5. 

But we saw everything we wanted to see 

and even got to see them feed the elephants. 

I actually recommend it, 

because the zoo wasn't as busy at this time of day. 

I always love how the peacocks are just walking around

and especially love to be treated to their beautiful

array of feathers. 

 

Even though we are Minnesota Vikings fans, 

we still thought a tour of Lambeau Field would be pretty neat. 

The Green Bay Packers organization has a really nice tour. 

I learned a lot about the history of their organization, 

the team, their coaching staff, and their stadium. 

We took the Champion Tour, which was a bit more expensive,

but we were able to see areas of the stadium

not on the regular tour.

The Munising, Michigan area is known for the 

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

It really is quite beautiful. We didn't hike out to see it closer

 because it was quite chilly when we were there. 

Just 49 degrees and rainy.

But we took the trail to the overlook area and then

saw more while on a boat tour.  

Also near here is The Big Springs. 

It is a natural spring, always at 45 degrees.

The colors here were amazing. 

We took the ferry to Mackinac Island and eh....

it was just OK for our family.

Very commercialized and expensive. 

But we can say we were there and 

the Grand Hotel is truly amazing to look at. 

(We didn't pay the $10/person to go inside)

Several people told us to be sure to visit the 

Sleeping Bear Dunes.

They are west of Traverse City.

I highly recommend it. 

Really a neat experience.

Our favorite stop was in Traverse City. 

Great beaches and really nice community with something for everyone. 

Beach time was a blast.

We had to try a Michigan Pasty. 

We found some at the Bear Trap Inn near Munising in Shingleton. 

They are handmade every morning by a "grandma" and were quite good.

There are different variations of the inside ingredients 

and some come with a gravy.

Ours had potatoes, carrots, onions and ground beef inside. 

I had to visit a bookstore on the trip and 

this one in Munising beckoned me to come on in.

Falling Rock Cafe and Bookstore offers coffee, sandwiches,

 books from local authors and a large used books selection.

I picked up a used Laurie Notaro book 

and a book from local author Ellen Airgood,

 titled PRAIRIE EVERS. 

It's one both my daughter and I can enjoy!

I loved the patrons wall of coffee mugs.  

This is our first look at the Mackinac Bridge. 

A 5 mile bridge that connects the UP to the lower part of the state. 

I'm not a fan of bridges.

Let me rephrase that, I really dislike bridges.

So, this was tough for me. 

I cried the first time we crossed it.

I nearly hyperventilated the second time. 

The third and fourth time I tried to keep my breathing more controlled. 

I survived. 

But, I am certainly glad I didn't have to DRIVE myself across it. 

We went ziplining at Mystery Spot in St. Ignace, Michigan.

Fun. 

The kids loved it. 

I was just glad to be on solid ground when we were done.

The guy had to push me off for the first line because I was too scared to jump.

So many cherry stands and markets. 

We saw orchards of cherry trees everywhere we went. 

Very sweet and delicious!

Of course, I got lots of reading in. 

I finished three books 

and all of my magazines that I took on the trip. 

We had lots of ice cream, 

which if you know my mom, 

is a required part of any vacation.

Who am I kidding?

It's a required part of everyday, according to my mom!  

There were ice cream shops, fudge shops and popcorn shops 

on nearly every single corner of every town we visited.

I won't forget these views or 

the memories made with our kids on this trip.

Many people have asked us why we chose to travel to Michigan

and I think these photos say it all.