August 12 - 19, 2018
Hooray! Another week vacation in the UP this year. It was an absolutely beautiful week, and the weather was almost perfect the whole time. We got to do a lot of things while we were there, a few nostalgic things and a few new things!
Day One - Sunday
We arrived in the mid afternoon. The traffic going over the Mackinaw Bridge made it so we were sitting on it for almost an hour. That's a new one! But when we got to the cabins, it was all worth it! We were in the last two in the last set this year.
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| ^Bike riding is fun! |
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| ^Swinging is funner! ;) |
Day Two - Monday
The HSC beach has been bad for years. In the most recent ones, the water level in Lake Michigan is up so much that pretty much all of the beach is gone. There's a little bit more but we opted to head toward Brevort for a better beach experience. It was a bit of a drive but a nicer beach, for sure. A little rocky but yeah... We stopped at the Cut River Inn on the way there for some lunch! And ice cream after we were home for the night!
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| ^Laina's new "astonished" face is hilarious. |
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| ^Getting her toes wet. |
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| ^Julie actually had her racing on the beach! |
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| ^We got Grandma in the raft too! |
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| ^So sleepy!!! |
Day Three - Tuesday
Mike and I headed out on our own on Tuesday. We drove all the way to Iron Mountain to do a trip on the Menominee River, white water rafting. Also my first (albeit brief) time in Wisconsin ;) We had a lot of fun, although mostly on the short Class 4 section of the rapids. We got to do it three times instead of the usual two, so that's cool! It's too bad Iron Mountain is so far away, there are quite a few cool things to do there that everyone may have enjoyed. We did stop at the Thirsty Whale on the way back for burgers!
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| ^Ready to float! |
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| ^Our first ride was with this family. |
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| ^Then in our original boat with that guy. |
Day Four - Wednesday
We mostly just hung out and enjoyed the cabins on Wednesday. I love the lazy days, as long as there aren't too many of them. The girls got to swim in Lake Millecoquins for the second time (they did on Tuesday while we were gone as well) and Candy and her fiance, John, came and had dinner with us. We stayed up around the fire a lot that night and Kara got in around 10:30pm.
Day Five - Thursday
Not everyone wanted to go but Mike, Mom, the girls and I went to Mackinaw Island on Thursday. We got a later start than I planned but it was okay. I still can't believe we've never gone over there on one of our UP trips. We got on the ferry at St. Ignace and the girls enjoyed that. We did a carriage tour which was a little longer and dustier than I would have liked but we got to see a few new parts of the island and we ended up right by Arch Rock and the Fort, so that was cool. We had a very yummy dinner at Millie's and walked down to the end of Main Street, which is the prettiest part of the island in my opinion :) We met everyone else in Engadine for ice cream on the way back.
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| ^She wasn't as worried as she looks here. |
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| ^"NEIGH!!!!" |
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| ^Waiting for the next carriage. |
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| ^She wanted to look! |
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| ^Fudge making! |
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| ^Jealous! |
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| ^Such a cool place. |
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| ^Laina and me on the ferry. |
Day Six - Friday
It was pretty hot on Friday so we went to the beach again. We ran around a lot trying to find a beach we liked more than the club beach but was closer than the one we went to on Monday. We found a few options but settled on one just east of Naubinway. It was right by the Black River's outlet into Lake Michigan which was VERY cold but otherwise it was fun. Grandma didn't come but the rest of us had a good time! That evening we did a woods ride as it was our last chance to do it. We didn't see any animals but we met a family at Jocko Pond and they let Julie reel a fish in. She was thrilled!
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| ^Passing around the Lu. |
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| ^Touching the fish. |
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| ^Reeling in the fish! |
Day Seven - Saturday
We picked this particular week to go to the UP because my cousin, Candy was getting married and I was going to help out with their wedding photos. In the morning, Mike and I went golfing. It's such a pretty course. We were doing pretty lousy and it was taking awhile so we skipped out a bit early to head back to the cabins. I rode my bike to the wedding (which wasn't the BEST idea, but oh well!) and that's what we did for the rest of the day!
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| ^Laina's dance style is interesting! |
Day Eight - Sunday
Back home! But not before a last couple photos and visit to the docks. :)
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| ^Another great trip to the UP! |
