Mark and Steve planned a 4 day whirlwind adventure for our crew to see all there is to see in the northern part of our great little state. They also picked cheap, stupid places to stay, but that’s all I’m going to say about that. Let’s just ignore that part for the sake of preserving the memories that were really awesome without all those expletives and bitterness in the way…mmmk?
First of all, I need to note that our kids were SO GOOD. Now, I realize they should be, duh, they’re not babies. But we spent about 18 hours driving together over 4 days, the weather put a wrench in some of our plans, and there was a lot of waiting involved. I love our people and their ability to coexist and go with the flow.
Our first stop was just before the bridge at Fort Michilimackinac.
Truth be told, they would have been happy to play on the shoreline, but there was learning to be done!
The kids begged for ice cream, which is totally reasonable because that’s what you do on vacation.
Then it was back on the road and across the bridge!
We headed to the Soo Locks to see the boats go through. This was really cool, but there was only one small boat that passed while we were there. The kids got the idea how it worked though!
I picked the hotel the first night, so it was a great night;) We picked up pizza and played cards and ate while the kids swam.
The next day we headed back to the Soo Locks because the morning was rainy and we had a hike planned. We took our time and got a coffee.
We realized Mark and Steve were twinning. You gotta appreciate their commitment to the family trip.
We went back to the locks which was totally worth it. We got to see 2 pretty big ships come through.
From there we headed to Whitefish Point. We were supposed to do a shipwreck museum there, but the kids got into collecting rocks on the lake shore. Mark did the museum by himself and everyone was happy!
Next stop was Tahquamenon Falls. It was really cool there. The weather was not ideal, and we were bummed about that. We made the best of it, but I would love to go back on a sunny hot day!
We had a bit of a drive to get to next motel. We checked in, dropped our stuff off, and then went to find some dinner.
After dinner we found a look out where we could sneak a peek at the pictured rocks that were going to be our next days adventure. We were all looking forward to pictured rock the most out of this whole trip!
Natty was super nervous to get in the water and swim to the rocks. The water was SO cold! So Lexi came back for her and she did it! We were so happy she didn’t let this opportunity pass by! This picture of them all rooting for our littlest makes my eyes all watery.
The rocks are so incredible and the water is so blue. It’s hard to believe you’re still in Michigan!
It was an awesome day all around!
Our last night was way up in Houghton, MI where the Quincy Mine is located. We headed there first thing in the morning, which happened to Mark’s Bday!
Thoughts about the mine tour…
*It was very cold.
*The guide literally lives for this topic and might be one slice of bologna shy of a sandwich.
*I now possess 34 more minutes of info about mining than I ever wanted or needed, but the first 56 minutes was very interesting.
Moving on. We decided to make the trek all the way home versus stopping another night. We still had two stops on the way though! First up was Kitch-iti-kipi or Big Springs. It’s a beautiful spring that you can see clear to the bottom of! There’s a glass bottom boat that goes out and back on a rope that is controlled by passengers spinning a wheel. Super quick stop, but worth seeing!
Then it was back across the bridge for a quick stop in Mackinac City for dinner and a little shopping.
It was a long trek back, but everyone was great and we arrived home by 11pm. It truly was an up north whirlwind, but I can’t believe we’ve never seen some of these beautiful areas! I envision us going back at some point with a few minor adjustments and input from the girl folk.
