The Big Adventure 2012

Our friends think we may be a little nuts voluntarily taking three grandchildren on a 10 day camping trip, but we are the real beneficiaries of time and energy spent on these children. They enjoy everything we do from a wild dune buggy ride to a formal dinner party with old friends.

Don could not get away until Friday morning so it was decided that I would drive the tow car to Green Bay to see Ella and Elise play soccer on Thursday evening. Just as we arrived at the soccer field the sky opened up and we were drowned by the biggest rain I have been in since our 2011 Fort De Soto fiasco (the day we decided to bike ride into the path of a tornado.) So, obviously there was no soccer to watch. Friday morning however our aspiring actress, Ella, was in a summer school play and I was able to see her performance. One of the worst things about being a long distance Grandparent is that it is usually not possible to be there to participate with the children in there various activities, such as sports, school events, grandparent days, and a lot of other things we see our friends talking aboutl. Therefore, I was excited to finally find myself in a position to be there for Ella and cheer her on.

Friday morning I was waiting at the curb with the children when Grandpa pulled up with Bertha to commence the 2012 big adventure. We had no trouble getting the children to do their part in getting loaded. And soon we were on our way to our first destination: Newberry, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula and Pictured Rocks National Seashore. That evening we had a talk about the rules for the week. Here are some of them:

Rule # 1  No jumping or standing on the furniture

Rule # 2  Don't tease your sisters; this one was all but ignored.
Rule # 3  Put your shoes in the shoe corner
.
Rule #  6 Have fun
.
Rule # 16 Never say "No" to grandma

Rule # 31 Don't forget the knife to make the peanut butter sandwiches on our picnics

Rule # 42 Never leave without grandma
ETC.

In the morning we started our adventure by taking a tour of the UP 30 miles away from our destination Pictured Rocks and by the time we woke up to that fact we added at least 60 extra car miles to the already 50 mile drive. The boat ride was along the shore was amazingly worth it. We happened to hit the week-end of Munising's Flannel Jack Festival so we had a Brat in the park and listened to a local band for awhile. We always like to soak up a little local culture.

We hiked to the top of one of the cliffs for the view from above before heading back to camp and a dip in the pool before dinner.

The next morning we arranged a later checkout time in order to take in Taquamenon (rhymes with phenomenon) Falls. We hiked up and down 94 steps to the upper falls, then down and up 116 steps to the gorge view. Four year old Elise was a champ. She even finished the last leg of the hike with blisters on her heels as there was no mom or dad to carry her.

After seeing the falls we headed out for Mackinaw city and the Mill Creek Campground. This campground was enormous and the RV area was disappointing as we were parked so close to our neighbors we had to be careful of our bedroom conversation since our windows were only a few feet apart. It was really immaterial however, as we spent very little time in camp. As soon as we had camp set up we walked over to a beach area in the campground on Lake Huron and went for a swim. The bottom of the lake is very rocky and very shallow which made swimming a little difficult, but nothing deters these children from using the water. When we gave up on the lake we stopped at the pool for a good dip and cooling off. After dinner we ventured into Mackinaw City for a nice dinner and some fudge. Luckily modern camping includes DVD players and movies as a campfire was out of the question in such cramped quarters.

Early in the morning we caught the ferry to Mackinac Island. We opted to leave the bikes behind for simplicity and instead took a horse carriage tour of the Island which everyone enjoyed. After the tour we had a nice lunch and then spent the rest of the afternoon at Fort Mackinaw. We enjoyed several reenactments including music, drilling, and a court martial. AND a surprise visit from the Harlem Globetrotters. The kids were thoroughly enthralled with exploring the fort. And, of course, we had to buy more fudge.

Suddenly Grandpa discovered that July has 31 days and found a bonus unplanned day to fill and fill it we did. Just down the road from our campground is the Mill Creek Historical Park. This park houses a sawmill replicated exactly from the one that existed there in the 1700s to mill wood for the building of the fort and homes on Mackinac Island. They give historical demonstrations of the way lumber was made from logs by hande and then an actual demonstration of how the mill works.



Jack and Grandpa are in the middle of the bridge


As a bonus, for an extra fee you can take the Adventure Trail. Unfortunately, Elise could not make the height requirement and Ella opted out of the Zip line ( a decision she later regretted). So only Jack and Grandpa took the experience. It took about half and hour to hike through the woods, over a plank bridge, and zip line back to the beginning then an opportunity to scale the climbing wall which was a piece of cake for Jack. The adventure was awesome for those who participated.

Next stop, Indigo Bluffs RV Resort in Empire, Michigan. This is a beautiful RV Resort with fancy patios and nice campfires. We were finally able to have a campfire for hobo dinners and s'mores. Now this is camping! After the obligatory dip in the pool we drove over to Interlochen music camp to see a play. Every trip must have a cultural experience. The play was way over everyone's head but we enjoyed it anyway. On the way out of the theater, I noticed that Elise kept looking over her shoulder. Suddenly a strange man introduced himself as Ken to Don and myself and started talking to the girls about which episode they liked best. I had to ask him if he was someone we should know and he said he plays Bertram on Jesse. I guess anyone who watches the Disney channel knows what that means but the kids knew exactly who he is and apparently they spotted him sitting a few rows behind us and he noticed them watching him so he chased us down on the way out to see them. He was so sweet with them and they were so excited.  Many people stop these little girls to comment on their red hair and it gets a little annoying sometimes to have complete strangers lean over the seat on a boat to tell them what they should do to maintain it. Ken was very different. He approached their adults and introduced himself in a very nonthreatening way.  I just thought that anyone who is familiar with his work would want to know that we found him to be a very class act. When we got back to the coach they pulled him up on You Tube to show us.

The next day was our big adventure. The whole reason we chose this journey was because Jack spotted Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes on his National Parks map last year and that's what he decided should be our trip. Well you haven't lived until you spend a day pulling yourself up and down the tallest sand dune in the country. I had to follow the kids up the dune which they ran up as if it were nothing. They were so far ahead of me they were sitting on a ledge at the very top watching me arrive to chants of "Go Grandma Go". They even had some of the other people at the top cheering me on.

The final stop on our agenda was Silver Lake Campground near Mears, Michigan. We have an old friend of ours who lives nearby who was recently married so we wanted to entertain them while we were there. Don took the kids for a swim while I prepared dinner for Dave and Mary Jo. The children were just wonderful in helping to prepare, serve, and clean up after dinner. We had another campfire and s'mores for desert. I found it incredible that it was the first time Dave ever had a s'more. I think he was quite enamoured of them.

The next day proved to be a grand finale. First we climbed to the top of Little Sable Lighthouse on Lake Michigan. After that we checked into Macs Dune Rides. I can only let the pictures speak for themselves on this one.

We had planned to spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach, but Saturday on the lake is crazy and we couldn't find a place to park anywhere with beach access. So instead we had a nice lunch and went back to camp for a nice swim before dinner. Elise is so excited because she learned to jump into the pool without her life jacket and go under water.

Dinner was at Dave and Mary Jo's home and I was so proud of the conduct of these children sitting at a formally set dinner table with no other children and people they hardly knew. They were friendly, gracious, and well behaved. They were interested in many of the antiques and of course in some of the few toys they had for their own grandchildren.

The next morning we headed for home and along the way, they started planning next year's trip. Jack wants to see the St. Louis Arch. When the three of them started chanting "Mi ser ee" I thought they were unhappy with the trip until they clarified they were saying "Missouri". Jack already has the route mapped out.