Crabs and beer

Last night we went to a seafood restaurant at the end of the bayou where then have delicious boiled crabs and the beer is free! That's right - drink all the keg beer you want as long as you are eating. We had boiled crabs and fried crab fingers. Everything was delicious - but it's kind of like being in a Seinfeld show except instead of the Soup Nazi there is a Crab Nazi. The owner is quite a character.

We also went to Downtown Live at the courthouse square to listen to a band we like. The lead singer is a friend of ours. We had a great time- beautiful night - good music. It's good to be home again.

Michigan warmed up and we had fun!

The rest of our Michigan trip was lots of fun. On Sunday we went to Mackinaw Island where we ate fudge and toured a really cool fort.








Then we went to the Soo Locks in Sault Ste Marie where we watched a 1000 foot ship enter a lock with only 2 1/2 feet to spare on each side.


On Monday we went to a lighthouse on Lake Superior:





and lower Tahquemenon Falls. Jean rowed a boat over to an island where we planned on spending some time in the water but instead ran from mosquitoes. It was really beautiful there and I was really disappointed that no one had warned us about the mosquitoes.





We then traveled to Upper Tahquemenon Falls which was equally beautiful:




Our next stop was Munising, Michigan where we went on a boat tour of Pictured Rocks National Park. It was stunning:



We headed back to Jean's house the next day. We tried to go to a Detroit Tigers baseball game Wednesday night but left early due to a rain delay. I was glad to be home on Thursday - with lots of great memories - especially of family time together. Thanks Jean and Kathy - we had fun!

It's cold in Michigan!!!

So packing mostly shorts and short sleeve blouses wasn't such a good idea for this trip - it's pretty cool here. Daytime in the 60's and nights in the 40's! First thing I did was buy a sweatshirt. So far we have spent our time in Midland - the downtown area is really neat - lots of cute shops and a great park area where there are three bridges that meet in the center of a river- they call it the tridge. We went to the Loons baseball game last night where we won a free burger and saw some great fireworks. The baseball game was good - the loons won. Today we toured the Alden Dow house - he is a famous architect in the area who studied under Frank Lloyd Wright. His house is amazing! Tomorrow we head for the Upper Penninsula. I think the best trips combine visiting with family and seeing a new area!

Cruising

Well - that was crazy fun! We just got back from a four day cruise (Carnival - Fantasy) out of New Orleans - with 55 family members - do I have to say more? We laughed, danced, swam, had a few cocktails, ate, then started all over again the next day. Even though there were 1600 people on the ship - everywhere we went we ran into someone we knew. Our accommodations were nice and the food was good -- not great. Our only disappointment with the ship was the pool was way to small and there was only one so it was always crowded - and it was July heat. We hope to have many more family vacations - and hopefully in the future everyone can come!
Best part of the trip was vacationing with our kids - all six of them - yes Mr O - you are now offically adopted.

Now - a rest at home - then Michigan. Can't wait to see Janice, Jean, and family.