Friday, July 9, 2010

Mini-Vacation Up North

My parents, brother and sister-in-law, and I took a three day trip to the upper peninsula earlier this week. The weather was cloudy with just a little rain, but thankfully we missed out on the really humid weather at home.

We drove up to Tahquamenon Falls on Monday, stopping for a picnic lunch at a rest stop along the way. We were able to see both the lower and upper falls - such a beautiful area.



We drove back to St. Ignace Monday evening and spent Tuesday at Mackinac Island. Our ferry ride to the island also brought us under the Mackinac Bridge, which was pretty cool.


We took a 2-hour carriage ride which was fun (it was especially nice being in a covered carriage during the brief rain shower of the day).


After lunch we did some shopping and had old-time photographs taken.

Don't I look like a southern belle?

Mom and Dad will be celebrating their 50th anniversary this December, so they did a wedding portrait.

Yes - there is a Starbucks on Mackinac Island! Mom had her first frappuccino - great on a warm afternoon!

Later in the afternoon I rented a bike and rode some of the bike paths in the state park. I'd love to spend a whole day in the interior of the island - it's just beautiful.



We enjoyed dinner at Millies on Main Street together before taking the ferry back to St. Ignace.



We returned home on Wednesday after a quick stop at "Castle Rock," a tourist trap complete with a Paul Bunyan statue. The view at the top of the rock was worth the long stair climb.


It was great spending time together as a family in "da yooper" country!

1 comment:

kvz said...

Beautiful pictures Melanie! Looks like you had a fun trip. The picture of Paul Bunyan made me think of a story in our family. We have relatives in the U.P. so we make that trip from time to time. One of our cousins, when he was little, was passing by Paul Bunyan on the highway and said, "Hey Mom, there's God and his dog!" Too cute...just had to share:).