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The Great Lakes Tour - Part 1

 In 2018 I planned the trip of a lifetime. Ok, well, kinda. For me, it was a pretty cool trip. For Maria, not so much. But regardless, Maria, Ben, and I headed out on the road in mid-May. The plan was to visit each of the five Great Lakes in one trip. This was especially exciting for me because I had never seen Lake Ontario...AND we were going to visit Niagara Falls in the process...somewhere else I had never visited before. 

So, I guess I should probably preface this post by explaining that I am a Michigander by birth. I was born and raised in southwest Michigan and most of my family trips as a kid involved somewhere in the gorgeous state. But even more than that, we Michiganders have an abundance of state pride. And part of state pride is pride of the Great Lakes. I mean, we are the Great Lake state, after all. 

My kids, however, are Hoosiers through and through. Even though all of my kiddos were born in Michigan except Ben, they were all raised in Indiana (well, except Anna). Maria was only one year old when we moved to Hoosierland. This means that when mommy goes off on some wild story about a Great Lake or about the grandness of Michigan, the kids just roll their eyes. But they decided to appease me with this trip. I think it was mainly because they really just wanted to visit Niagara - but I didn't care, they were going with me and it was gonna be AWESOME!

The game plan for the trip was as follows: 

Day One: drive up through the lower peninsula of Michigan, with a detour to Tony's I-75 Restaurant in Birch Run for their awesome 1lb BLT's....seriously though. ONE POUND of bacon on each sandwich! And their entire menu is sooooo delicious!

We spent two nights in a cabin at the Straits State Park in St. Ignace, just across the Bridge. Again, for all of you non-Michiganders, "the Bridge" refers to, of course, the most awesome suspension bridge there is, the Mighty Mackinac Bridge that stretches five miles to join the lower and upper peninsulas of the great state of Michigan. (Now you see what I mean when I said we have state pride).

 Day Two: ride a ferry over to Mackinac Island and ride bikes around the entire island, which is a fun tradition for many visitors since the island does not allow motor vehicles. The other option is horses, which Maria preferred...but was outvoted on. Maybe next time, Princesa. Maybe next time. 

Of course, we also learned a few very valuable facts. First, just because it's in the fifties does not mean you won't sunburn. Second, sunburning in cool weather can also happen for cute little half-latino kids who normally don't burn. Finally, if you travel to Mackinac Island, or northern Michigan at all, in the month of May, prepare for the Mayflies!!! They are everywhere! While they don't bite, they're still gross. They essentially look like giant mosquitos and there were patches of the bike ride where we had very limited visibility because of the massive swarms and had to cover our heads to keep them away from our mouths and noses. It was pretty ewwy to say the least. 

We also visited the local island Starbucks and several gift shops. Of course, we couldn't leave the island without bringing home some world-famous Mackinac Island fudge...even though every time we buy some, we ration it out so conservatively that it ends up getting forgotten about and dries out on a shelf a month or two later. 

This is the day that we also checked off the first Great Lake on the list - Lake Michigan!

Now, it's probably pointless to tell you this, but I've been told I'm a little weird. You see, I have an order of favorites for my Great Lakes and Michigan is securely located in the number 2 spot. Yes, I know. This is the lake I've visited the most, by far, in my life. I'm from southwest Michigan, after all. Lake Michigan covers the entire western side of the state. And that is why I love the lake so much...but my heart beats for another great lake. 

And with that, I think it's time to say TO BE CONTINUED...

Stay tuned to future posts to learn more about this awesome trip from 2018!

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Comments

  1. Kristen PostOctober 1, 2020 at 10:45 AM

    Love it! Can't wait to read the rest!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RoseOctober 1, 2020 at 12:38 PM

      Thank you! The next part will be posted this weekend!

      Delete

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