Our U.P. Vacation

*You'll have to bear with me for the next few posts.  I will be journaling about our vacation for posterity's sake!

After two years of foregoing vacationing, our whole family was really excited to be able to take a vacation up north.  The boys were in a constant countdown, but before we knew it (or at least before I  knew it), it was time to pack and go.  The U.P. is one of our favorite destinations.  We love nature and the beauty of God's handy work so we feel right at home there.  If we could ever make a living up there  we would probably move!

This is the Mackinaw Bridge it connects the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan.  On the right of the bridge is Lake Michigan on the left Lake Huron.  The bridge is 5 miles long. I was bummed because it was a cloudy day.  I was  hoping for sunshine so that you could all see the beauty of water, clouds, sky and bridge.

As soon as we crossed the bridge it cleared up! Of Course!  We watched a water spout out over Lake Michigan as we drove along the highway. At one point we could even see the water splashing up around the base of the spout.  It was pretty spectacular. By the time we stopped to get pictures it was starting to dissipate, but if you look carefully you can see a little dark spot coming down out of the dark cloud in the center of the photo.

We finally reached the cabin that we had rented with my parents (they are brave souls!).  The boys and Lauren were really excited to see that it was near a beautiful lake. I was relieved to see that the lake was really shallow for quite a distance.  Lauren could walk out about 15 feet and the water was still only up to her waist.  What we later discovered that made it even easier to keep track of her was, that she didn't like the pebbles that were in the sand just a few feet into the water.  Her mantra was, "no tones, no tones".  She pretty much kept to the beach after that.  Mama, Grandma and Grandpa were able to breathe a little easier!

Another great aspect of where we stayed was the fishing.  We had towed up Joel's boat, so the fishing possibilities were unlimited.  There was only one day that Joel, my dad and the boys didn't throw their hooks into the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The boys even spent a good amount of time fishing from the docks.  They got really good at changing baits.  At one point during the week they even made fishing poles out of sticks! When they weren't fishing they were catching crayfish and minnows to use as bait.  I don't think there was ever a dull moment for them the whole week. A little boys paradise indeed!