Mackinac Island vacation

Last weekend, we went to Mackinac Island for a long weekend vacation.  I tried posting with the blogspot app on Chris' phone when we were there, but it didn't work.  Here are the iPhone pics of our trip.  (I haven't downloaded the ones from our camera yet, but they're similar)

We drove up on Thursday, and it was cool and rainy most of the day.  After dinner, though, the sun came out!  We walked through the downtown, tried lots of fudge samples, and walked to see the Big Mac.

We stayed at a hotel right in Mackinaw City right on Lake Huron.  The crazy girls wanted to go swimming even though it was freezing.  It wound up being mostly wading out to the sandbars.  Chris took this pic from our hotel balcony.  Nice view, huh?!

 On Friday, we got up early and took the ferry over to Mackinac Island.  We rented bikes right away so we could bike around the island.  We took several breaks for pictures and nature hikes!

One of our nature hikes

Silly girls by the beach, after making their own rock cairn

Girls in front of Arch Rock

 Then we walked through downtown, bought some fudge, and walked to the fort.

Family pic at Fort Michimilimackinac

 After lunch at our favorite restaurant, we decided to go on a long walk.  First stop: the Grand Hotel!

Then we walked across the island to Arch Rock, since it wasn't accessible from the lakeshore.  The view from the top was incredible!!

 The little girls took a nap in the stroller on the walk back into town.  We visited some historical buildings, watched a blacksmith at work, and enjoyed humongous ice cream cones before our ferry ride back to the mainland.  That night, we swam in the hotel pool (indoors, thankfully!)

On Saturday, we did lots in Mackinaw City and in the UP.

We climbed to the top of the lighthouse

We went to Colonial Michimilimackinac - very cool.  The re-enactors were great!  A woman in one of the houses let the girls help her prepare dinner by plucking the feathers off a pigeon!  They loved it!

 We had lunch at a great seafood shop in downtown Mackinaw City, then we crossed the Mackinac Bridge into the UP.  We stopped at the state park to play in the sand and rocks at the base of the bridge.  Then we headed to the Mystery Spot - a huge hit with the girls!  The Mystery Spot has a unique gravitational pull that causes water to run uphill, and lots of other impossible things to happen! (That, or it is a great optical illusion. Either way, it was fun!)



Megan looks like she's going to tip over backwards, but the gravitational pull to the right is keeping her up.

Katie standing on the edge of a table, with her head way past her toes

Jessi on a steep slant

Included with our Mystery Spot tour was a round of mini-golf and a trip through a fun maze.  Then Chris saw the sign for ziplining and asked if anyone wanted to try it.  Look at these brave faces:

Megan's first time ziplining!  She loved it!

Jessica loved it, too!

Second round of ziplining on a shorter, but higher and faster line at the Mystery Spot.

 Saturday night we had dinner in St. Ignace, crossed the bridge back to the Lower Peninsula, and went to a waterpark after dinner.  We all slept well that night!

On Sunday, we went to Old Mill Park for a morning of fun.

We got to see a great demonstration of the water-powered sawmill

We went on a walk on a rope bridge through the trees

Katie got up her nerve to try ziplining - and did it twice!  This one went over water.

Megan ziplining.  Jessica didn't meet the height requirement at this place, so she stayed back with me or Chris while we took pictures.

The park also had rock climbing, and a huge tower lookout at the top of the trees where you could see the Mackinac Bridge.  We also went on a walk through the woods before heading to a yummy lunch of pasties.

It was an adventurous vacation for sure!