Our Last Day in Michigan

Thursday was to be our last day in Charlevoix. We went to lunch at a place overlooking the drawbridge.

Afterward we went to the beach to look for Petoskey stones one last time. On our way back to the cabin, there was something in the road. From a distance we couldn't tell what it was. I stopped my car and got out to get a better look.

I'd say it's a turtle, but you could probably talk me out of that. If you'd asked me a day ago if turtles ever have tails that long with big spikes on them, I'd have said NO.

Here's a photo with my kids, showing the scale of this turtle-like thing.  They're keeping their distance.

Relaxing on the Island

After biking all over the island we were ready for a change of pace. We walked through some of the parts of the town that we hadn't seen yet.

It really is a very beautiful place and the absence of cars means that it is quite peaceful.

The kids really wanted to take a ride on one of the horse-drawn buses, but we didn't need to go anywhere.  In fact, at that hour, we needed to stay roughly where we were so that we could meet up with everyone else in our group.

Aunt Terra was the first person we found. My oldest was delighted to wear her hat - the biggest hat I have ever seen ever.

We found a bit of shade and settled in to wait for the group to come together. The kids gathered around the mini-DVD player that I brought along. Terra read a book, and I stared at a crescent moon, watching as it progressed across the late afternoon sky.

Biking on Mackinac Island

Early on Wednesday, we set our sights even further north and left Charlevoix for Mackinaw City. There, we caught a ferry to Mackinac Island. Don't let the spelling confuse you. They're both pronounced with the "w" ending.

Here we all are at the dock.

There aren't any cars on the island, which is accessible by private boat or chartered plane, ferries, or you can wait for winter temperatures to freeze the lake and then you can drive over on a snowmobile. We opted for the ferry.

The ride took about 20 minutes. The boats move pretty fast, creating that jet of water off the back as they go.

Once on land, we rented some bikes and took off on a tour of the island. The two older girls had two wheelers, and my youngest rode on a trail-behind attached to my bike.

I was unprepared for the difficulty of this arrangement. I could barely keep balanced in the beginning and thankfully other riders chose to cut a wide berth around us. After the first mile (it was 8 miles to go all the way around) it got easier, and I decided to try taking a photo of the older girls while I rode behind them . . .

That wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done, and though I didn't crash while trying I decided it was best not to try it again.

Shortly after taking the picture of the kids we had a few really near misses, brief moments of terror followed by frank amazement that nobody broke and arm or got mangled by oncoming bikers. Every few minutes I'd shout ahead to remind the girls to slow down, stay to the right, get away from the center, use their brakes (rather than their feet on the pavement).  Nerve wracking.

We biked around the eastern side of the island and returned down the center, a path the British took during the war of 1812.

This route took us past the airport, a golf course, a battled field and two cemeteries, and the old fort. The whole trip took us three hours.  In the end, I was proud of how well the kids did and delighted to have avoided serious injury.

We celebrated with ice cream. I decided to have some too, settling on the cherry moose tracks which did not disappoint.

Travers City National Cherry Festival

Festivals. They're mixed bag aren't they? They're crowded and hot and everything costs more than it should. And yet it's an experience and it's fun and it's about being there at a limited-time-only event.

The Travers City Cherry Festival had two sections; a cherry half and a carnival half. The kids couldn't resist the carnival.

Here's my youngest, just before her first ever attempt to pop a balloon with a dart. She got three tries and popped a balloon on her last try. She won a small stuffed whale and could not have been happier about it.

Her sister and cousin had a blast on the rides:

But they decided against the Starship 3000 once they saw how fast it went and how long it would keep them spinning.

Our endurance and our money seemed to run out at about the same time, so we returned to the cherry part of the festival where the kids each chose a cherry treat.

We tried the chocolate covered cherries, cherry jelly beans, and here, the kids are sharing a cherry slushy.  There was so much there--cherry flavored beef jerky, salsas and BBQ sauces, pastries, pies, tarts, licorice ropes and cotton candy.  Cherry everything.

Petoskey Stones

One of the things to do in Charlevoix that you can't do anywhere else is hunt along the beach for Petoskey stones. Apparently, you can't find them anywhere but northern Michigan.

Most of the waterfront near Charlevoix is rocky, so that's a good place to start. Here you can see that there's a really wide variety of rocks along the coast of Lake Michigan. I didn't expect that.

We spent the early evening down by the water.

I even found a couple Petoskey stones. They're small, only a few centimeters wide.  It was fun finding them.

The Kids

I must have taken a few dozen pictures of the girls all together, but this is the best one.

We had time to kill and nowhere to go so the kids were playing in the leftover spot between a McDonald's parking lot and the loading zone of a grocery store. And you can tell, you can see it on their faces, they were having a wonderful time because they were together.

Just to the north of downtown, there's a channel that connects lake Michigan with Lake Charlevoix and Charlevoix harbor. It's an Army Corp of Engineers project.

There's a draw bridge over the channel. The blue sign in the background states that it opens on the hour and half hour from 6 AM to 10 PM.

During the day sailboats with tall masts cue up, waiting for the bridge to open.

Nearby, there was this sign:

I took the picture because I'd seen other signs like this sprinkled around northern Michigan, and because I'd never heard of Zonta before. Taking a photo is one of the ways I remind myself to look into things that are unfamiliar to me.

Turns out, Zonta is just like Kiwanis, or Rotary, or Lion's Club, only it's ladies instead of gentlemen.

Charlevoix on the Forth of July

Charlevoix is a sleepy summertime town. We were there in the early afternoon looking around the old downtown. What did we find there? Mostly shops catering to tourists.

And in Charlevoix, what the tourists want is chocolate and ice cream. We did not resist.

The flavor the girls chose is called 'superman', I think. But what I know is that they liked it.

Tiny Tots Beauty Shop

On the morning of the 4th of July, the little kids decided they wanted to play beauty shop. They found many obliging adults to act as canvases for their make-up artwork.

It was fun to look so colorful.

Later, we had to wipe it off before going into Charlevoix's cute little downtown.

First and Second

I neglected to bring my camera to the actual wedding and I regret it. I've grown accustomed to the camera. If it's in my hands I always have something to do, and if I see something I like I can share the memory of it with others.

Katie and Brian's wedding was lovely. There were a handful of children at the reception and they immediately gravitated toward an enormous chess board at the site. I spent a few happy minutes helping some of them play the game. I had to ask a few other adults about some of the rules of chess that I'd forgotten.

Here's my daughter (in the back) with her first cousin on the left and her second cousin on the right.

Thanks to my sister-in-law Terra for taking pictures. I swiped this one from her facebook page.

Wedding BBQ

The night before the wedding, Brian and Katie invited friends and family to join them for a kick-off BBQ. It was casual and fun. My husband's aunt arranged all the food which was delicious. Location couldn't have been better--a pavilion in a park right on the beach. There was a playground less than 50 feet away. Perfect.

It was really fun to meet the bride's family. Her parents are in this photo, standing together to the right of the pillar.  They're very nice, fun-loving.  Here, they're listening to the bride's maids who were giving advice to the soon-to-be newly-weds.

On the far left, Katie. On the far right, Brian. And between them two bride's maids. Their advice was mostly silly (things like Katie is always right) but there were a few touching things in there too, and I liked that.

Happy Birthday

On the left is my mother-in-law, who just had a birthday right before the family got together in Michigan.

Next to her is her sister, who (in addition to seeing to all the food and lodging for me and everyone else) made that enormous cake to celebrate.

Behind them is John Wayne, I think.  That was part of the eclectic decor at the cabin where we stayed. 

Along the Way

I couldn't help it. I was driving, camera in hand, snapping photos of these amazing places, all of them in Illinois:

I really would love to take a tour of a farm just like one of these.  I'd love to learn how all that stuff works and what it's for. Someday, I'd like to know.

The second day we continued north along the western edge of Michigan.  Our drive took us into territory that was less industrial farming and more recreational. Here are the signs to prove it:

There were loads trucks pulling campers, boats, bikes, etc. Like everyone else, were were headed north to have some fun.  We arrived on schedule, none the worse for wear.

Northward

Friday was the girls' last day of art camp. They had a very good experience with this camp and have given it an unqualified endorsement, as have I. I'm glad we tried it.

The next adventure began right away: a week in Michigan with my husband's family. The first step was driving there. I picked up the kids and set my sights on Chicago--pretty much the half-way point between St. Louis and northern Michigan.  It's a 5-6 hour drive, doable with an afternoon departure.

Traffic was terrible but I didn't mind. I would have normally, but I happened to be stuck in mostly not moving traffic right in front of what is probably my favorite view of the city. The interchange between highways 44, 55, and 70 is a place that you'll never really look at properly in optimal travel conditions. You zip through so fast that you can hardly appreciate it, much less take a picture. But traffic was terrible, stop and go but mostly stop.  All those stops were great opportunities to pull out my camera and I got a few good pictures.  Now I can show people a little bit of St. Louis from my favorite vantage point.

There's a huge controversy around that mural-sized sign that reads "Stop Eminent Domain Abuse". The guy who painted it owns that building and several others and, well, he has a bone to pick with the city of St. Louis. Here's an article about it.

Directly after that interchange, the path northward takes you across the Mississippi river into Illinois, Chicago bound.

This is what the highway sign looks like:

The picture shows highway 70 West continuing northward. Exits for downtown are also ahead just a little way. But first, everyone one who wants to continue their journey on highways 64 East, 55 North, 70 East -- All of them will have to squeeze down to one single lane.

Who thought that was a good idea?

That little bit of bad design causes traffic to back up at probably every hour of the day.  On bad days it backs up all the way to the 44/70 interchange.  So it's that little bit of bad design which enabled me to take photos of my favorite view of downtown. I guess I shouldn't complain.  It really made my day to be able to take pictures at my favorite spot.