Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Northern Michigan, Day 5: Mackinac Island

After the long bike ride, it was all I could do to get back on our tandem and pedal it a few blocks from our hotel to a restaurant for breakfast. No more--we would walk the rest of the morning!

The one last must-see before we left was Fort Mackinac, a former military outpost and the scene of one of the first battles of the War of 1812.



We toured all the old buildings and got a sense of military life in the 1800s--as well as some lovely views of the island.

Then it was time to wrap up our vacation--check out of the hotel, buy a t-shirt or two, grab a quick lunch and board the ferry. The ride back to Mackinaw City gave us some photo ops for Mackinac Bridge:

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...and we paid the toll and drove across the bridge, just to say we did:



The trip home had one last fun surprise: the discovery of Cherry Vanilla Pepsi at a random gas station in Michigan! Steve and I used to love Pepsi Vanilla way back when and were so sad when it was discontinued. We almost never drink pop anymore, but when I do, I enjoy cherry Coke/Pepsi. I was craving a bottle, and was thrilled to discover something even better. It's the little things in life :) Apparently it's a limited-time flavor, so I'm drinking more pop this summer and enjoying it while I can.

A few hours later we had a sweet reunion with our little man. My dad was out in the garage when we arrived, and he made us wait outside so he could go in and be sure not to miss Elijah's reaction to seeing us. I thought he was blowing it out of proportion, that surely it wouldn't be that big a deal. But Elijah's reaction was indeed priceless--I wish we'd captured it on video. He actually squealed and giggled and jumped up and down! SO adorable. He did great while we were gone, no problems at all, but he was definitely thrilled to see Mama and Daddy. And we were glad to see him, too :)

So that was our fifth anniversary trip/pre-baby getaway! It was an absolutely wonderful vacation and we were so grateful to the people who helped make it happen. Having extended time away with my hubby was truly a gift.

2 comments:

Kristin said...

Hey Amy, I received your comment on my blog and wanted to "recomment:)" Anyways, thanks for the traverse city advice! And...do I know you? Sort of:) I was at TLI/KBM in the summer 0f 2003. I think you were there interning? Not sure. I came across your blog through Natalie's at some point and have been an avid reader ever since!!

Liz said...

I live on Mackinac Island year-round and I always love reading about how much fun people have when they are here.

My children love driving across the bridge! They like it best when I drive on the grated part; it makes a humming sound and the kids say, "Listen mama, the bridge is singing to us." Often my littlest one calls it the "Singing Bridge."