Yea, yea, I know. I’ve been a horrible blogger. But hey, it’s summer. Lately the only thing I’m sitting at the computer for is to clear out my photo memory card in my camera. I try hard to avoid the television during these summer months too. The first week of July we took our yearly summer vacation. We toned it down a bit this year. I told Dave that I’d have no problem giving up a huge vacation this year and even next year if it helps us save to get into a new house this time next year. Dave said he really needed the vacation this year, so instead of scratching it all together, we just kept it mild, so to speak.

On Sunday, July 2nd, we hit the road. And headed north to visit my great-aunt in Levering, Michigan in Emmet County.  She’s about 13 Miles south of Mackinaw City and the Mackinaw Bridge. I’ve been going up there since I was a kid and have always loved it. Took us about just under 4 hours for the trip including pit stops. I’ve always loved the drive. Taken it by myself a few times. We arrived at Aunt Marylins at about 7:30pm. Dave showed Gavin around and took him out for a ride on her 4-wheeler. Monday we basically stayed there at her place. The view from her back patio is simply beautiful. We took a drive into Mackinaw City for a short while and also Cheboygan for some light shopping.  Tuesday was the 4th and that was the big day for us during our stay with her. We let Gavin sleep in, since we knew he wouldn’t be getting a nap in through-out the day.  So then early afternoon we went back into Mackinaw, and got our tickets to board one of the Arnold Line ferry boats over to beautiful Mackinac Island. We had our honeymoon on the island 3 yrs ago. It is quite a romantic place for a honeymoon or even a wedding. The infamous Grand Hotel is absolutely stunning. Although we didn’t stay there during our honeymoon, they to offer tours into this historical and famous hotel. One thing great about the island is that there are no cars. No motor vehicles are allowed on the island. When we stayed for our honeymoon, we were right on Main Street. Each morning you could hear the clop, clop of the horseshoes on the pavement, it is very nostalgic to stay there.  So this trip we spent a good portion of the day on the island just walking around. Took a carriage tour of the island. Stopped and spent some time in an awesome butterfly house. Early evening we took the ferry back to the main land to get ready for the fireworks display. We found a great spot to sit right on the shore near the Mackinaw Bridge. Gavin and Dave played near the shore while we waited for dusk. It was a great fireworks display. Though quite a few people thought it was a bit short. After they ended I overheard several comments "that was the shortest fireworks show I’ve seen." Afterward we went back to my aunt’s for the night.

Late morning on Wednesday, we said good-bye to my aunt and started to head south again. We had reservations for 2 nights in Frankenmuth at the new Zehnder’s Splash Village hotel and waterpark. That was a lot of fun. Gavin always enjoys the waterparks. We checked out of the hotel on Friday then spent sometime walking around Frankenmuth. It’s such a cute and quaint little town. And no one can visit Frankenmuth without making a stop at Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, the worlds largest Christmas store; where it’s Christmas everyday.  They have tens of thousands of Christmas ornaments. So many themes, knick knacks and collectables. One section alone is just for stockings. You literally can get lost in this place. Being July, it’s wasn’t very crowded. Last time we were there in late October and the place was packed. We got home late Friday evening and spent the rest of the weekend at home. You can see all the pictures from our vacation here.

I promise to do much better at this blogging thing. I’ve got so much more to write about.

One Response to “A Great Get Away”