Mackinac Island, MI (Wed.8/1- Sat.8/4)

The long trip across the UP to get here was made more fun because we tracked with Graham's mom, Ardy, as she made her way toward us from Rochester, MN. She caught up to us about an hour and a half from the campsite. The boys were thrilled to see her. We had a mishap with the fresh water when we left Porcupine Mts. and found that there was no fresh water or dump station (or showers or flush toilets or running water!) at our new spot in the Hiawatha National Forest. I know I'm pretty spoiled but yikes – that's rustic. So Graham and I left Ardy with the kids (nice welcome, huh!) and found a private campground about 13 miles away to empty the waste tank and fill with fresh water. It was tempting to snap up one of their open sites but we'd already paid for the other one and I guess I figured I had something to prove. :-) A little warm sleeping the first night but not too bad.
Woke to cloudy skies that turned to rain for the a.m. We had a nice time of family devotions under the awning – pretty and isolated site. We thought we'd postpone Mackinac Island until Thursday but when things started to clear up around noon, we decided to go. We took Sheplers ferry and brought our bikes. The boys loved the ferry and it's so neat to appreciate the island from the water.

We made a loop west on Main Street and up one block to Market Street and around, just to scope out our options. Our first stop was Fred's for cheeseburgers and fries. Then we headed out past Fort Mackinac and counterclockwise around the island (8.3 miles). Just gorgeous! We stopped to wade in Lake Huron a bit around mile marker 2 (loving those waterproof hiking shoes) and then walked the nature trail and stopped at the restrooms -- there were some taxidermied animals there to check out; Shae asked, "did these animals used to be happening?" Around the tip and almost back to start, we stopped at Devil's Kitchen cave to rest and climb. Back on Main Street, we had ice cream at Joann's -- tiramisu flavor rocks! Then a stroll through the shops -- a t-shirt for Elan, beanie baby for Kobe and magnetic rocks for Shae. Ardy and my favorite -- the Freudian slippers at Caddywampus. Graham took a speed lap around the island while Ardy and I watched the kids run around the grassy hill park at the base of the fort. Pizza for supper and a late ride home on the ferry.