Last week we went to Mackinac for the first time. It almost looked like we wouldn't be able to go because of the plant shutting down. But, Nate wasn't put on the schedule so we headed out of town! We camped at Mill Creek campground. It has a heated pool, although my definition of heated is something a little warmer. The kids thought the pool was great. The campground was fairly quiet. We had rain Monday, but it let up in the afternoon so we checked out the McGulpin Lighthouse. It wasn't very impressive, but we enjoyed the hike down to the beach and climbing on the rocks. On Tuesday we took our bikes on the ferry to Mackinac Island. Seems a little crazy to me that is cost us $80 for the privilege of biking around the island. We explored main street which didn't take too long, browsing thru stores isn't very interesting for the kids. We tried a fudge sample and both Isaac and Caleb turned up their noses. We ducked into a pizza restaurant at lunch time and waited out a storm that blew in. That was a tense lunch as we didn't know how long it would storm and we didn't know what we would do with the kids if it rained all afternoon. Thankfully the rain stopped! We hopped on our bikes to do the 8 mile perimeter ride. It's not a hard ride, maybe took us 1 1/2 hours? Caleb loved it, he rode ahead of us the whole time. Nate was super Dad. He had Julia on the back of his bike and Isaac rode in the burley. Nate says it was good strength training for his upcoming triathalon. I was carting baby DeMaster, that's my reason for not pulling one of the other kids behind me, ha! I think the horses and the horse poop all over will probably be the kids main memory of Mackinac Island. On Wednesday we went to Fort Michilimackinac. It was quite hot that day so we darted in and out of the shade. The boys were slightly interested in learning about life in the fort back in the 1770's. They really liked watching the cannon being fired and the "soldiers" firing muskets. Grandpa DeMaster worked at the fort one summer when he was younger so we're looking forward to talking with him more about who he dressed up as. After the fort we drove across the Mackinac Bridge. In case you are interested it is 4 miles long. I can now say I have been to the Upper Peninsula. We drove thru St. Ignace and then stopped at Castle Rock. You hike up 170 steps to the top of this rock overlook. It is an impressive view. However, seeing the condition of the structure supporting this overlooks makes you question your safety. We headed back home on Thursday all very tired, but glad we explored a new part of Michigan.
Nate had his triathalon this weekend. He was very nervous, but he did great! The swim was definitely the hardest part. Cold Lake Michigan water with lots of other people swimming around you? Does not sound easy to me! His goal was to finish the race in 90 minutes and he made it in 88 minutes. It was a beautiful morning so the kids and I had fun playing at the beach and cheering him on. Watching all of the athletes made me think, I could do that! But, then I thought, no I really can't. I hate swimming, might be an issue. :) I'm so proud of Nate and I'm sure this won't be his last race...
Caleb went to a birthday party this weekend that was held at a local racetrack. The kids were taken around and went about 40-50 mph. Isaac wasn't old enough to ride in the car, but he was ok with that. Julia wanted to go like the big kids. Caleb wasn't nervous at all and had a great time. Definitely a unique experience!
