We left on July 31st a Wednesday in the late afternoon, after I got done with work for the day and drove to Madison, WI for the night. Checked into a nice Days Inn around 11:30pm and proceeded to get to bed, after a few scrabble plays. We got up the next morning and drove through Chicago about mid-morning where we probably saw a few thousand orange construction barrels! We had a 35 mile stretch of no more than 45 mph, so it took a while to get through to the east side of Chicago.
We arrived in Ann Arbor about 5pm Eastern time, and got to see these two little guys right away!





We were hosted by Raquel's sister-in-law Andrea and her husband Jon, at their lovely home just a few blocks from Raquel and Eric's apartment which is a little full these days. We were treated to some great meals by Raquel and Eric on Thursday night and also Friday night, we ate out on Friday for lunch as we took Miles and August and Raquel, shopping in downtown Ann Arbor, while Eric worked on Friday. The picture below is Miles looking at some insects, he is quite the insect hunter!
 Saturday we all got up and headed up to the city of Tawas, MI on Tawas Bay on Lake Huron, which is about a 2 hour and 30 minute drive from Ann Arbor, MI. Where Eric's parents own his grand parents home, a few blocks from the beaches of Lake Huron. We stopped along the way at a yard sale and scored some nice items, and also stopped at a fruit stand and bought some pretty nice fruit and veggies for the stay in Tawas. Below you can see me and Miles going for a walk on the beach.
 We gave Raquel and Eric and Miles some free time from August, and they took Miles down the beach and out into the water for some afternoon fun! It was about 80 degrees and a light breeze, and partly cloudy, all in all a great beach day. We also spend some time at a local artist fare, and walked around the park there.


 Saturday, night we fixed some pork chops and sweet corn, and some fruit for supper. After the kids went to bed we enjoyed a game of International Rummy and some ice cream bars! Sunday we spent the morning walking the boat harbor, and looking at all the spendy boats moored there. We also walked downtown through the shops, and when the kids were tired of that back to the house for a light lunch and naps! We had to say our good byes on Sunday afternoon around 3 and headed up north to head back to Minnesota, our route was to go north over the Mackinaw Bridge, and into the UP of Michigan, to Marquette, MI for the night. We didn't make it all the way to Marquette, we decided to stop in Munsing, MI for the night, which was about 40 miles east of Marquette.
 Shortly after we crossed the Mackinaw bridge, we came upon this on going yard sale! We of course pulled in and we wondered through the rows of tables, looking for items for WN or to re-purpose.


 After that yard sale back on the road, we realized when we were getting close to the city of Munsing, we would see 3 of the Great Lakes all in one day, we started on Lake Huron, drove along the north shore of Lake Michigan on Hwy 2 in route to Munsing, MI which is on the southern shore of Lake Superior! Pretty cool, at least we thought so!
We arrived in Munsing, found a hotel for the night and got a bite to eat at a bar and grill called the Dogpatch, named after the Lil'Abner cartoon.
We got up on Monday morning and headed west through Marquette and towards Superior, WI and then in to Duluth, MN and home to Deerwood. Don't worry we stopped at a few antique stores and also thrift shops along the way to break up the sitting time, but all in all we got home around 6:00 pm our time!
Thanks to Andrea and Jon, for their hospitality and also Raquel and Eric and the boys, for all the fun we had and also the great food. At home we want to thank Mitch and Kay, and Jennifer and Matias for keeping an eye on Coffee Lake Farm for us!
Sorry we didn't have more pictures, but we were too busy playing with the grand kids and kids!