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.