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.

Places to Go (Vacation) - South Haven, MI - Kids' Corner & The Beach - The First Stop On Our Michigan Roadtrip

As I mentioned on Monday, during our trip to visit my mom we spent a few days at my aunt and uncle's cottage in South Haven, MI. For most people, this sort of family gathering probably happens everyday. But for us, it was sort of a big deal, as my mom and her sister had been estranged for the past 30-some years.

The reconciliation occurred when my aunt and her daughters attended my father's funeral in February. I met my cousins for the first time that day (Yay! I have cousins! Smart, beautiful, funny cousins!!). I'm not really sure why my mom and my aunt stopped talking, my mom has never said anything bad about her sister, just that their relationship didn't work (a large age gap, a mom who died when they were young, an evil stepmother - that sort of stuff).

Now my aunt and uncle are back in our lives. And the kids and I had a blast hanging out with them and getting to know them (odd that last time I saw my uncle I was the same age as F is now). As we pulled into the driveway, we immediately spotted a large homemade sign welcoming the kids. F squealed "look mom, there's my name! It says my name!" Across from the sign, a large baby pool with floaties waited for the kids to dive in. Plus my aunt prepared hot dogs, mac and cheese, graham crackers, tons of fruit and all the other delicacies that children (especially my children) love. At night we went to a HUGE maze-like playground called Kids' Corner where the kids explored for hours. Then the next day we blueberry picked and visited the beach. So much fun.

Odd, how as I get older every moment seems so precious as life seems so short. 30 years go by and all of a sudden you have cousins and an aunt and uncle - who welcome you into the family with hand-made signs.


Kids' Corner playground had all these maze-like, kid-sized entries and exists. At first I worried that T would get lost or scared in all the little passageways, but he seemed to love having a toddler-sized space to explore. Often ten or so minutes would go by when I couldn't see him at all, until, finally I'd spot a little hand peaking over the wood and waving, "Hi mama!"


And, of course, lots of mazes = lots of shadows = really fun picture taking for me.



South Haven has a beautiful beach, with a playground and everything, which was nice because T DOES NOT like sand (hence the swing picture). The waves were pretty high, with a bunch of kite surfers in the water, who we couldn't stop watching jump through through the waves. We walked all the way to the lighthouse, but T kept saying "mama, I don't like this" every time a wave crashed into the pier.