Family Vacation 2013 (Warning..very long)

It was impromptu, last minute, thrown together on a whim.  It was AWESOME.  Andy decided he was taking the week of July 4th off from work.  I figured we would spend a few days at the North House, and come back to Saint Joe for a relaxing week.  Andy came up with other plans.

At first it was going to be a road trip to Niagara Falls, but taking the long way was our only option (due to my lack of a passport to get thru Canada) and it seemed like it would eat up to much of our time.  On to Plan B. 

We left Saturday morning and decided to go spend 2 days in Sanford- mowing and plumbing (and some Kah-Ray-zEE Jeep driving) were the big projects.

On Monday morning we headed North over the Big Mack. 

We drove up to Tahquamenon Falls, near Grand Marais.  We had no idea where we were sleeping that night.  Our plan was to find a State Forest camp ground and pray there was space.  Luck was on our side!  We hit Tahquamenon State Forest first and sure enough, there was plenty of space.  We got a beautiful spot on the Tahquamenon River. 

Our view from the campsite

 The norm for the U.P. in July is ticks, mosquitoes, and the worst...black flies.  Those things will take a chunk out of you and they are relentless!  Fortunately for us, things had been pretty dry and the only thing "bugging" us were the mosquitoes.  After we set up camp we headed over to the Tahquamenon State Park to hike to the Lower Falls...

...and Upper Falls.

They were Fantastic!  The views were amazing.  Ethan was such a champ.  He did all of the hiking and climbing (they had platforms with stairways) all on his own. 

After the Falls, Andy took us on an excursion to get to the Crisp Point Lighthouse.  Let me tell you, those back county roads were freaky.  One-lane, mostly loose sand, and out in the middle of nowhere.  No cell phone service and very few people around should your van decide to get stuck in the sand.  My nerves were shot, but we made it.  Surprisingly, the lighthouse was being renovated and there was a small museum and gift shop there.  There recently had been boardwalks put in and restrooms.  It was really nice...aside from the 7 miles of sandy torture. 

It was a long day for Ethan.  He really wanted a campfire and marshmallows, but he didn't make it.  Soon after the lighthouse he was out.

Tuesday brought us to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Munising.  There we hiked Sable Falls.  There were about a million steps down to get to see it, and about 10 million going back up.  It was gorgeous, and well worth the effort. 

Us in front of logging equipment, used to wheel logs, pulled by horse.

After our hike we headed into downtown Munising to take the Pictured Rocks boat cruise.  These high cliffs and stunning formations are best seen from the water.  Someday when E's a little older we will rent kayaks and get a closer look.  Ethan loved the boat ride, but tired of it quickly.  We did well entertaining him on the first half of the tour, but coming back was harder. 

We got back to the campsite and Ethan finally got his marshmallows.  We had a beautiful sunset on the river.

We got a few sprinkles of rain that night, and a few spatters in the morning.  It was nothing really, except it brought out every mosquito in the woods.  Wednesday morning, while we packed up camp, we were eaten alive.  I was glad to be heading out to Menominee!  On our way there, we stopped at a beach drive off and let Ethan have some fun on the shore.  It was part of Whitefish Bay and the water was so shallow and warm. 

We also stopped at a little State Park called Palms Book.  It is known for its enormous spring that brings in huge fish from Indian Lake.  There is a man powered raft that has a hole in the middle to view the bottom of the spring.   All of the kids wanted to turn the big wheel to pull the raft across the water.

 

Then it was on to Aunt Linda's.  We had a nice dinner with Great Grandma Zuraski, Aunt Linda and Uncle Jerry, and Mom and Dad.  They had decided to come up and spend the week at Grandma's.  Ethan has recently discovered "Captain Underpants".  It is a small graphic novel, and he finds it hilarious.  He had Great Grandma cracking up!

Thursday was the Fourth of July.  A picnic was planned at Fran and Roni's.  I got to meet 2 of her daughters that I hadn't seen yet, Margaret and Melanie.  We had a lot of fun playing soccer with the kids, and Ethan loved getting to know his cousins!

We went to Hennes Park for the fireworks where I snapped this (slightly blurry) but sweet shot of Grandma showing Ethan the bay.  And another blurry shot of Ethan with Linda and Jerry.

Friday morning it was on to the Dells in Wisconsin.  We had 2 days planned there and reserved a motel right there in town that had a pool.  It was hard to get Ethan out of the pool.  He loved to swim.  We shopped and played putt-putt.  We hit a small arcade and played some games.  Ethan loved spotting all the Duck Boat/Cars. 

Hole in 1!

 That night we had dinner at place called Buffalo Phil's.  There they have a train room where kids get their meals served to them by a train!  Naturally that was Ethan's most favorite part of the trip.  They even had a t.v. playing Thomas the train movies.  When we got the bill, we got a coupon to the Knuckleheads Arcade where we got to ride the indoor train roller coaster 3 times!  Ethan loves coasters!

 

 On Saturday we spent most of the afternoon at the Riverside and Great Northern Railway.  There we were able to take a steam train ride into the woods and after we got a full private tour of the rail yard.  We got to see where they work on the train engines and cars and where they are stored.  It was pretty obvious they were looking for volunteers and members, but we enjoyed the tour anyway.

After our train ride we went back to the hotel for a swim and then walked over to a really fun place for dinner called "Monks".  Ethan got to eat his dinner off of a souvenir Frisbee! 

Sunday morning was our day to head home.  Knowing that traffic in and around Chicago was going to be thick, we went around and ended up getting home by dinner.  It was a long drive thru a lot of corn.  When we finally got into Michigan, the cars lined up to leave were nuts.  We saw miles of cars on the highway and when we got to the freeway, it was back up way passed Stevensville (30 miles from the Indiana border)!!!

This was definitely one of the best trips we have taken as a family.  We had a fun-filled week with wonderful weather and plenty of things to keep us busy.  It was great to see Andy's family and spend some time being together.  We were so happy to be home, but it's a trip we won't soon forget!