Back from northern Michigan :(

After driving for 6.5 hrs today, we pulled into our driveway. The week long vacation that we had is unfortunately over, as the start of a regular week inches closer and closer. But what a week we had!!! It was a week of sightseeing, exploring, resting and having fun! Nathan loved every second of it, and especially playing with his "cousins": Karl, Claudia and Gabi!

We left here last Sunday and took a leisurely drive to Detroit and spent the night with Liesel's uncle and aunt. The next morning we packed the vehicles, strapped the children in, loaded the mountain bikes and headed due north! When we got there - there was still time for us to do some sightseeing - so before checking in at the hotel, we headed for the quaint town of Charlevoix. Charlevoix is located between Lake Charlevoix and Lake Michigan. The highlight of this town for Nathan, was not the playground on the beach, nor the beautiful scenery. It was the "up and down" bridge - a draw bridge that would open every 30 minutes to allow boats to pass from Lake Charlevoix to Lake Michigan and vice versa. He has been asking to see it every day, and fortunately I took video of it - and that satisfies Nathan's longing to see the bridge in action!

The next day we relaxed at Deer Lake, where they have kayaks and canoes available, a putt putt course and a beautiful little beach with the crystal clear waters of the lake lapping it gently. The lake is also wonderful for the children to swim in as the gradient is very slight and even a few hundred yards from the shore line, you are no more than waist deep! I took Nathan out on a canoe a couple of times, and another time we played a round of putt putt together!

One of the days we drove an hour north to where Lake Heron and Lake Michigan intersect at a city called Mackinaw City. This is where the world's longest suspension bridge between anchors resides. But also, about a 20 minute boat ride away, is a very unique island called Mackinac Island. This island does not allow any form of powered transportation. Only bicycles (which you can hire) or horses are available to take residents and visitors around the island! We had never before seen anything like this, and it seemed quite funny as the city streets were experiencing rush hour - with no cars in sight! This island is beautiful and has an old fort from the British Colonial days. It also has the Grand Hotel - which is exactly that. It has the world's largest covered porch which is 660 feet long! Men are required to wear jacket and tie and ladies may not wear slacks after 6pm !!! It was a thoroughly enjoyable outing for the McCarthy's.

Andreas and I tried mountain biking and we hit one of the trails in the natural forests in the area. This was a lot more challenging than first anticipated. After pushing the bike up a grueling incline - we made it to the top of Boyne Mountain, and then it was a pleasure to free wheel down to meet up with our family at the heated swimming pool. The Lipperts also treated us to a Ski-lift ride to the top of the mountain which offered us amazing views of the entire resort and area! Liesel loved the view - but didn't particularly enjoy the mode of transport. Not even Nathan's reassurance of how he is not scared helped her overcome her fear of heights....

On the one drizzly day - the Lipperts treated us to an incredibly delicious pancake breakfast in Bay Harbor. Their chocolate chip pancakes were worthy of the calories they contained!

Finally the fourth of July arrived, and we took Nathan to the Boyne City Parade! He is now a huge fan of parades, especially if fire engines are part of the festivities! We had a great time watching everyone march, walk, ride, and dance past us! That evening it was time for the fireworks. The city has such a beautiful setting where they shot the fireworks from. It was right over Lake Charlevoix, so as the sun set around 10pm, and more and more boats made their way into the bay - thousands of spectators (us included) made ourselves comfortable on the shore and waited with anticipation. My word, we were not disappointed - the adjectives: 'stunning' and 'awesome' do not do the show justice!