Vacation

In September we took a long overdue vacation. We started driving on a Saturday morning. We stopped at Ken's parents to drop off our itinerary and have a bite for breakfast before continuing on. We borrowed an I-Pass from someone and headed through the Skyway and Dan Ryan. At lunch we stopped at an oasis along the tollway - you the know the little McD's on the north side of the Skyway bridge? Parking a van pulling a camper was a nightmare! I ran in to get food while Ken tried to make sure he was out of the way. I-Pass worked great! Next stop, Gurnee Mills. We all needed a little break to stretch our legs, so Gurnee seemed like a good place to do it. We only went in Outdoor World, but oh, the unhappy boys when we had to get back in the car. Next stop, flat tire on the side of the road about 10 miles away from final destination. Ken was quick and had it changed in about 10 minutes. Final stop for the day - Dale, Sarah and Payton's house between Waupun and Beaverdam, WI. We sat and chatted most of the evening and had some awesome pizza delivered. Yum!
Hi Sarah, Dale, and Payton!

Sunday we went to church with Dale and Sarah (I brushed my teeth really good since I had leftover pizza for breakfast), followed by lunch at Culvers. James had a meltdown. Tired and overwhelmed. So we headed on our way. Stopped at a rest area for me. Stopped at a rest area for Ken. Stopped at a rest area for all of us and played on the swings and slide. Finally made it to Ann and Luke's house. They weren't there. The neighbors were keeping an eye on us until Ann and Luke got there about 3 minutes later. We had pizza for supper. Never too much pizza, I say. Hung out and chatted. So good to get hugs from people I don't often get to see.

Monday we had a nice lazy start to the day - breakfast of omlettes, sausage, and biscuits. Thanks Luke! They were yummy. A nap for Andrew and Daniel and we were on our way to Maple Grove. We stopped at Denny's for lunch (and had a blast...and blastoff fries) and headed to Cabela's. Luke says it is one of their smaller stores. It was big, but not the monstrosity that I

was imagining it would be. Daniel needed a diaper change, so Ann and I went in the restroom to deal with that. When we came out we couldn't find the guys. We tried staying in one area, then started to look for them. Pretty much our whole visit was looking for the guys. But we got in some looking at merchandise too. I found a large-tall polo for Ken, and a new winter coat for me while we looked for the guys in the clearance section. We were getting tired and just about to get on the elevator (the doors were opening) when we looked over and there were the guys just getting off the other elevator looking for us. Then we headed home and hung out and chatted some more. Just like the old days...ahhh.

Tuesday Luke got up early and headed out for his new job. Congratulations! Ann made us pancakes and sausages for breakfast. Mmmm! We hung out and chatted some more and had some lunch before we headed to the nearest Caribou Coffee. (Oh, for Caramel Highrise...) James had great fun playing with the toys while we sipped our coffee, and then we were on our way again. We were planning to stop at Cub Foods for some groceries, but the boys were fast asleep so we kept driving. We ended up at Jay Cooke State Park just as it was starting to sprinkle. We got a very nice campsite and set up. Then it started to pour. Harder and harder. Louder and louder! We really needed groceries and the rain didn't seem to want to let up, so we scrambled to the van and headed for Duluth. We had no idea it was so far! In the driving rain. In the pitch dark. On a winding, twisting, unfamiliar road. We finally got there and spotted a grocery store from the highway. It took us another 15 minutes to find it back once we got to an exit. Super One Foods. A very nice store. We found a lot of yummy things to eat and drink. Shasta Cream Soda. Delish! Then we spent another 15 minutes trying to find a better way back to the highway, and took a different way back to camp. No more winding, twisting, unfamiliar roads in the dark and driving rain. Whew!

Wednesday we spent enjoying God's creation! We went for a hike across the swinging bridge and along the river. We skipped stones, splashed in puddles, climbed rocks, and generally marvelled at the beauty and splendor around us. We checked out some overlooks and tried to find the Thompson Dam. It was a very relaxing day.

Andrew almost fell asleep on my back.

After dinner and the kids were in bed, we built a fire. It took a long time to get it going. Eventhough our wood had been protected from the rain above, it was quite wet from the rain that ended up on the ground and flowing through our site. I found a good poker bark (I couldn't find a good stick) and fanned the fire almost contantly. At least we didn't have to worry too much about putting it out. I just stopped fanning it. We also watched a skunk devour the food Andrew and James dropped on the ground by the picnic table - about 5 feet away. I wanted to take a picture, but I didn't want to startle him. Good idea, don't you think?

Thursday was a big driving day. We packed up camp and it started to sprinkle. We took the highway back to Duluth (not the winding road) and started our US-2 part of the trip. We crossed the bridge into Wisconsin, filled up with gas, and off we went. I was awestruck by the incredible colors we saw in the landscape. When we first started the trees were about 30% in color. At some points we decided that about 90% were in full color. Amazing. Incredible. God's creation. What more can I say? We drove about 9 hours on Thursday. We stopped for lunch at the welcome center just across the Michigan border, then didn't stop again until we had dual meltdown near Escanaba. McD's in the car, and we arrived at Indian Lake State Park just in time! The boys needed to get out and move, and move they did. James just ran around and occasionaly "helped" daddy set up the camper. Andrew moved as many pinecones, sticks, and rocks as he could manage into his mouth before I stopped him. Indian Lake was just a stone's throw from our site, and James spent quite a bit of time chucking in pinecones. Later, Ken and I had a nice fire. No fanning required.

Friday was a nice short driving day. It took us about three hours (including a detour around the Cut River bridge-out, and a stop at an overlook of St. Helena Island and Mackinac Bridge), but we finally made it to Wilderness State Park. We got a nice site right on Lake Michigan. Very nice indeed. We went for walks in the campground and out to the beach. Found some very interesting mushrooms. There were some swings close by. We took it easy for quite some time, then headed to town to find some groceries and firewood. We had a great fire after the boys were in bed. No fanning required. Very nice!

Saturday we had pancakes for breakfast. I found some maple and cane syrup (no corn syrup) and James couldn't get enough. Both he and Andrew love pancakes. I did manage to get a picture of the coon tracks all over the table before we ate. Then we headed to town to be tourists for a while - Fort Michilimacinac was great fun. James pushed his stroller around most of the time. He seemed bored with the historic displays, but loved watching the actors. Especially the blacksmith who talked to us quite some time while he was making a special wood splitter. Fire, hammer, a big blower contraption, and a very friendly "Bapa" with a huge smile. One of the few moments James was actually still. I did manage to capture one of the other moments of him taking in the scenery, Lake Michigan and the bridge in the background.

After we left the Fort we had lunch out of the back of the van. James thought it was great fun to chase the seagulls that had invited themselves to our picnic. Until Ken taught him how to feed the seagulls. It was great fun to watch. Then I became a tourist again and stopped at Fort Fudge to pick up some taffy, and yes, some fudge. Mmm. Another relaxing afternoon and evening by the fire. Very nice.

Sunday morning and time to pack up camp. A few rest stops, bread stop, gas stop, and construction stops later, we finally made it home. Home, sweet, home.

It was a great vacation!