Vacation to Grand Marais & Manistique

I took a week off work awhile back to celebrate my boyfriends birthday with him in the UP (Upper Peninsula). Seriously one of the best vacations I've ever been on. The sights were to die for plus I got some really special time with Alex. I'm so thankful for our moments were share like these. I'm still slowing getting to learn more about Michigan everyday.

August 5th- I worked a long hard day of 9-6 then drove over 5 hours to meet Alex at a kiss & ride to drop my car off. Then we continued home to Detroit. The ride wasn't terrible since we were back together. We arrived home at around 2:30am. Then proceeded to sleep all night. Quite the long day we had.

August 6th- We woke up bright & early to drive to Eastern Market for seafood. I seriously have an undying love for that place. I love, love farmers markets so every time I go there I'm filled with happiness. Also made a few other stops here & there along the way before making our 6 hour drive up north to the cottage in Grand Marais. We stopped at the Mackinaw bridge on the way to play in the water with Maya. Probably the biggest bridge I've ever seen! Finally around 8 we made it to his parents adorable cottage. I love how it made you feel really at home. It was very kind of them to let us borrow it for the week. Explored around the beach in front of the house some & even made a cute fire that night. Maya was very amused with the colors.

August 7th- We hiked Pictured rocks national lake shore with Maya. Came across a beautiful waterfall hidden among-est the trees. Built towers of rocks along the beach. Really got to enjoy the beaches there. Later that night we celebrated Alex's birthday (yay!) with a feast. Had an amazing dinner of king crab legs, fresh corn on the cob, & potatoes. It was amazing. I'm so glad we both have a strong love for seafood. Then later that night we happened to watch firefighters across the street from our house putting out a beach fire some kid probably started. We got dolled up for the night to celebrate more. Went downtown for some ice cream & to people watch. Our night ended with relaxing by the fire we built & enjoying the sunset. 

August 8th- We awaited the arrival of his parents for our next adventure. We took his parents boat out for the day, & oh my! The views! We went down the water too pictured rocks. Might I add unlike Virginia, Michigan has beautiful clear waters. There was parts where you could see rock right under you if you weren't careful. It was stunning being able to see everything beneath me but also scary in a sense. Alex took me tubing though the caves of pictured rocks. Though I was scared & complained at first I trusted him. The water was cold but the views were worth the experience & I'd do it again. Honestly probably one of my favorite sites I've ever seen. That night we ate a wonderful dinner with his parents before they headed back home.

August 9th- This was another REALLY fun day for me. We hiked to some more beautiful wateralls but these were huge!! Hard to enjoy it when my back had really been hurting since I woke up that morning. We then went to Oswalds bear ranch! I was like a small child with how excited I was. We got to look at all these different aged bears & even touch one! We got a photo with a baby bear named Sue who was born in January & from Wisconsin. She really loved strawberry jam, but then again who doesn't. I'll never forget how thick & full her coat felt to the touch. Worth the experience for sure! That night we rode around in the Argo for the first time, for those of you who don't know it's kind of like at ATV but with six wheels & can float in water.. It's actually a pretty cool concept plus its fun to drive.

August 10th- Hiked a long, long way to the light house on pictured rocks lake shore. We did a little bit of tourist shopping. That night we went to the local bar in town for a beer at the brewery which we deemed to be nasty. The beer was overly expensive for one and it tasted bad.. I couldn't even finish mine.

August 11th- More adventuring in the Argo!! Alex taught me how to drive it so I just did donuts in it because I couldn't quite handle the steering well. After that we ended up doing laundry & cleaning the cottage some. It ended up pouring the rest of the day so we binged watched shows about RV's & children misbehaving.

August 12th- Cleaned & packed up everything. Went on our mary way to his parents house in Manistique. I was blown away with how beautiful their house was, stunning I would say. His mother had this amazing garden that I loved & if we'd stayed longer I'd be on my knees helping keep to it. That really does sound like a lot of fun. I got a wonderful house tour & even saw where there was servant quarters back in the day. Imagine that! Alex took me for a drive in his dads to die for Vette. The red color on it was beautiful & the drive was even better. The men worked on the Mustang in the garage while his mother & I prepared dinner. By prepared I mean I watched her cook while I kept distracting her. She had gotten white fish & salmon that was just caught so it was super fresh! It was so good!! We also had Georgia peaches with honey & potatoes picked straight from her garden. I love a good home cooked meal. We ended the night with watching Life of Pi which of course I cried. If you haven't seen it yet, it's a must! So interesting to think about.

August 13th- I woke up Alex bright & early so we wouldn't miss anytime with his parents. We helped clean up & made coffee to survive. His parents have a sauna on their front porch which we sat in for an hour before breakfast. I learned I don't like them, I don't like the feeling of not being able to breathe. Mary, his mother made the best Eggs Benedict ever. The sauce I could live in. We then got ready for the day & went to explore Kitch-iti-kipi. Which is a natural spring water pond I guess you'd say. It was amazing how you could see the logs on the bottom & the huge fish! At the end we had to part ways & head back to Detroit.