Blog

Note: I am TRAGICALLY behind in my chronicle of our journey because....Michigan. I get to Michigan and I just LIE DOWN. I cease MOVING, except to crack open a book or stroll to the beach or MAYBE take out the paddle board. My apologies. Because the end of the trip is nigh, subsequent posts likely will be short on interesting observations or witty encounters and long on THIS IS WHAT WE DID WHEN. Because that's significantly easier to do when you are LYING DOWN. And now, without further ado, I give you the glorious, magical, romantic, horse and bike-powered, utterly unique....

Mackinac Island.

After arriving, we immediately decided to stay one extra night. Because who can resist an 18 hole mini-golf course that features glow-in-the-dark rounds?

Or 8.2 miles of magic?

And fostering dreams of growing up to be a "Mackinac Island Traffic Cop"?

We rode bikes and hiked to Arch Rock and found private rocky beaches and skipped stones and built rock sculptures.... Note: No child was SERIOUSLY hurt by the rock sculpture falling upon his head.

...and we're all just utterly charmed AGAIN by the beauty and grace of this place.

I mean, BEHOLD! The Mackinac Island School....

...and I defy you to find a more enchanting public library in all of the land.

I want to LIVE in this library. For my home. FOREVER.

And I'm not the only one. Both Carter and Owen loved it here so much, they declared that they wanted to live here forever and always. (Funnily, they both stipulated that their future wives would need to agree).

And why wouldn't you live here? (At least in the summer, when the ICE BRIDGE is not in play). Especially when the rector of St. Anne's Church personally invites your whole family to come to a SQUARE DANCE? I mean, COME ON! How charming is THAT?

🌟 🌟Gold star to whomever correctly identifies the person who wanted to attend the square dance. Let the record show that this person was resoundingly overruled, and that when we rode bikes in front of the church while the square dance was in progress, we were forced to hang our heads in shame.

And there was the great FUDGE TASTE TEST.

The winner and clear champion?

And the sleeping was GOOD. Landon loved his closet bed, unlike the shower in the RV.

This is an enchanted island. We have lists of things to do next time. Including kite flying, tea at the Grand Hotel, and SQUARE DANCING. 😉

Two things we will AVOID next time....mistaking a puddle in the road as filled with WATER instead of HORSE URINE before jumping in it (🌟for correctly identifying the jumper)....

and eating honey butter STRAIGHT from the container, forgoing bread altogether, at the Pink Pony. Eewwww.

Horse urine notwithstanding, we can't wait to return.

We left Madison mid-Sunday morning, all in a funk. We were tired and vaguely sick of being around people, most notably, sick of being aroundpeople named PETT. We were road weary. And we were without a solid plan. The general idea was to drive north toward Pictured Ricks through Green Bay, with not a hotel reservation to our name during the height of tourist season. Smart. Oops. Procrastination: 1 Mama: 0

And we were starting to get grabby and wildly impolite with each other. Our manners, well-used and exhausted after being with people we didn't know for four days, decided to TAKE A BREAK. There wasn't a please or thank you to be found in that car. If a sound bubble was floating over our car in Wisconsin, it would just say:

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

So with that, I give you the GRUMBLY, GRABBY.......

Quote of the Day:

Landon: Give me some ice.

Me: Excuse me. How do you ask?

Landon: I mean give me ice and water and money.

HRUMPH.

But, despite our grumbling and overall negative energy, Wisconsin continued to do a couple of things it does very well (besides cheese, of course): Red barns and silos.

Listen. I've learned a lot about myself and my people on this trip. Real things. Profound things. And things in between.

Like my love for silos.

I love a good silo. A silo means abundance. Plenty. A full pantry. A plentiful harvest. Opportunity. A future.

AND PEACE IN ALL THE LAND.

Sigh. Silos. I love them so.

To brighten our outlook, we decided to turn our attention to the very interesting signage of northern Wisconsin.

So, for your reading pleasure, I give you....

Signs* You Will Only See in Wisconsin

*Meaning billboards... There are 100 million billboards in Wisconsin. No lie.

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Wet Whistle Wine Festival

The Lion's Den ADULT WORLD PLAYGROUND

Next to... Got God??

CAN YOU NAME 7 types of berries? We can.*

*NOTE: We couldn't. We got six. 🌟 Gold star to whomever can do it without the help of my bestie, Google.

The Village of Ashwabenon

Frog Pond Road

Cheese and Wine Moccasins (I don't know about you, but I'm not interested in a wine moccasin). CHEESE. Wine. Gifts. Moooooore!!!!!

Old Friend Slippers. 20% off (How much for a NEW Friend Slipper?)

The Grand Central Station Rest stop (Wait. Are we in NYC?)

Packers Items and Beer Can on Sale. Note: Only ONE. One can. Not two. ONE.

Truck-n-Stuff

Piccadilly Circus Pizza (Are we in London, now?)

No Tour For You, Part II

We arrived in Green Bay, excited to take part in the tours of the famed Lambeau Field. Owen, our supreme sports lover, was the most excited. I did a little homework (on the drive up, naturally), and learned that tickets for tours are available on a first come, first served basis, but that there was still availability for the time closest to our arrival. So I was optimistic, some might even say COCKY, about our ability to get in. I mean, how many people could possibly want a tour of Lambeau Field on a random Sunday afternoon in July?

Oh, only RVs full of people leaving the Oshgosh Fly-In Convention. And also a blimp full of people hankering for a view of THE MECCA OF CHEESEHEADS.

So. No tour for you. 😤

There may have been disappointment. There may have also been tears. BUT. There was also....

A GIANT LOMBARDI TROPHY!

And CHEESEHEADS!

And...RAVENS and REDSKINS ARE IN THE HOUSE!

And the WORLD FAMOUS HUMAN GOALPOSTS! So, as it was at Jewel Cave, the Lambeau tour was not meant to be. So off we headed toward...

.... and I'm TELLING YOU, the whole vibe in the car CHANGED.

There were giggles and smiles and oohs and aahs and we've made it and we're back where we belong and a wave of relief poured over our loaded-down Suburban.

And it was all because of the water.

What we think of as OUR water.

MICHIGAN water. Whether it's from Lakes Superior or Michigan or Macatawa or the Straits of Mackinac or Tahquanomon Falls, it's the restorative waters of Michigan that changed our attitudes and renewed our road and world weary souls.

We are BACK, baby.

#puremichigan ❤️