Saturday, September 22, 2007

Mackinac Island

As you know, Erik and I grew up in Michigan. The weird thing is, during all of those years living there, I had NEVER been to Mackinac Island! (It's a small island between the mittin and the UP on Lake Huron). Erik had been only once before, when he was a wee one, so he barely remembered it. It was just the little getaway we needed! We've had a super busy summer, so were excited to go away, just the two of us :) There are no cars allowed on the island, so we brought our bikes and peddled our way around for the few days we were there. It was absolutely beautiful. Everywhere you looked, there was water. And horse poop. That's right, the second most popular mode of transportation was horseback or carriage rides. Either way, horse patties littered the streets and we did our best to dodge them as we road around. The day it rained, we got back to our room (at the AMAZING historic Inn we stayed in) and our coats and pants were covered with mud...at least we hoped it was mud!
Here's the loveboat, all loaded up and ready to catch the ferry in St. Ignace. We spent some time at Erik's parents house before heading to Mackinac.



The Grand Hotel (above) was so much bigger than I expected it to be. We didn't stay there, for one, because it was WAY out of our price range, and after 6pm all men HAD to be dressed in suit and tie while the women were not allowed to wear pants. That is SO not our style, so we settled for marveling at its beauty from the sidewalk. The hotel has a rich history, opening back in 1887!


This is where we stayed, the Inn at Stonecliffe. Uh-mazing.





It was around 40 degrees the first morning we set out exploring. I didn't bring gloves, so I used my fleece! I think Erik was embarrassed by me!








In case you didn't get enough (I went a little picture crazy), click here to see the whole album.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Linda's 60th


Erik's Mom turned 60! Last weekend we loaded up the "loveboat" and headed up north to celebrate with her. It was a huge bash with 30-40 of her dearest and oldest friends. A few of her oldest friends were college buddy's (The Nurds, as they call themselves) who have stayed in touch all of these years and still get together every year. We partied all evening at this amazing Bed & Breakfast in Bellaire, MI (on Torch Lake). It was such a beautiful event to celebrate the life of such a lovely woman!






Gotta love the two-seater!



Shuffleboard is actually a very violent sport.