Places to Go (Vacation) - Mackinac Island, Part III - Fort Mackinac- The Fourth

For the last day of our island vacation, we FINALLY agreed to take a "taxi" into town (after the kids begged and begged). Unfortunately, the taxi dropped us off at the bottom of Fort Mackinac and the hike to the top was a little bit challenging for little feet. Oh well, something has to toughen them up.

Fort Mackinac was the third, and probably final, vacation fort of the summer (click here to preview the other forts we've visited). As far as forts go, Fort Mackinac really has it all - every building houses some sort of exhibit (the girls LOVED running from building to building and comparing notes on what they discovered). Plus, a well-done kids' room kept the girls entertained for a good half hour or so. Unfortunately, T wasn't feeling it, perhaps he doesn't like military history? Whatever the reason his fuss level was at an all time high. So we rode the ferry back to the mainland and started the LONG drive to Pittsburgh, ready to begin school (kindergarten, wow, kindergarten) and say goodbye to summer. Ugh, don't you just hate those two words together (goodbye and summer)? Always so sad to say.


Regarding the last picture, Mackinac Island has a lot of garter snakes. A lot. Luckily the island's "soldiers" know how to deal with such things.

WEEKEND LINKS:

*FreeRange kids has an interesting post on the Prince Pasta commercial and how parenting has changed in the last twenty or so years.

*A beautiful set of beach photos.

*Yes. I love days like this.

Places to Go (Vacation) - Mackinac Island, Part II - Bikes- The Fourth Stop on Our Roadtrip of Michigan

Our second day on the island we rented bikes. And as soon as we rode past the town, I realized why I remembered this place so fondly - breathtaking vistas around every corner. Seriously, every corner. We rented a bicycle built for two for the girls to take turns riding and a bicycle with a trailer for T. After about three minutes on the tandem, P decided it wasn't for her, so F became our sole child bike-rider. Watching F ride behind Dan sort of melted my heart, she just seemed so BIG all of a sudden. We stopped a lot - to climb rocks, throw pebbles in the water, wet our feet, and, sometimes, just to sit and look. As cheesy as it sounds, without cars everything really does seem more peaceful.

One of our best family days ever. And F even decided that she likes vacation again.




RANDOM LINKS:

*The free downloadable DesignSponge newspaper is pretty fun (and full of good eye candy), I just bought the book too and I can't say enough good things.

*Looking for a kid-friendly show to see this fall? KidFriendly DC has a wonderful list of the season's best entertainment options. Personally, I'm pretty excited about Big Apple Circus, we took the kids last year and the show even mesmerized T. KidFriendly DC also has a great list of places to go apple picking in the DC area.

*A new, free issue of Lonny is out, which always makes me want to spend thousands (millions?) of dollars redecorating our house.

*Best words of wisdom ever. Ever.

Places to Go (Vacation) - Mackinac Island, Part I - The Ferry & Mission Point Resort - The Fourth Stop on Our Roadtrip of Michigan

After Ann Arbor, we planned on driving to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to visit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Munising. It is so beautiful and isolated up there. But F started breaking down in Ann Arbor - stating over and over again she was sick of vacation and ready to go home. And we have done a lot of traveling this summer. So we changed the plan and decided to spend a few days on Mackinac Island then head back to Arlington.

As a kid, I visited Mackinac Island with my grandpa and parents and I remember it as one of our best family vacations ever. As for why I remember it so fondly, the details are hazy, though the bicycle built for two was definitely pretty amazing from my nine year old viewpoint. Anyways, I've always wanted to take our kids to the island and when Dan found out he had a week off between jobs this summer, I jumped at the chance to visit.

We stayed on the island at Mission Point Resort, primarily because of its kid-friendliness (kids eat free, which is a huge plus when you have three of them). Regarding the decor, Mission Point needs a makeover, the whole place screams 1980s (SCREAMS!). But the food was, well, not bad (and sometimes, quite good). And the family suite was the perfect room for our family - two separate bedrooms, one with a king and one with two singles (T slept between the girls on the floor, on a "T bed" made out of pillows). Best of all, Mission Point has a HUGE lawn - with seagulls and a gazebo and views of Lake Michigan. Perfect for running races. Sort of depressing to hear "but why are you tired Mommy?" after you've been running for a good thirty minutes. So be it. We had a wonderful night.



Lately we've been reading these books a lot. The girls always fixate on Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth, as they love to make up stories about what happened to the girl in the painting. So when I took this picture, I couldn't help but wonder if P was trying to act out the artwork.


The resort has a few unused "great rooms" scattered throughout the property. Their decor consists mostly of plastic house plants and decayed old books, but I thought these chairs looked lovely in the noon light.