Rogers City, Michigan With Lots of Pictures

Last night the kids and I got home from our long weekend up north. Friday afternoon I picked them up from school early, my mother-in-law came to our house and picked us up, and we were on our way. We were visiting Chris's aunt, and it's about a 6 hour drive. I decided to let the kids be responsible for picking out movies for the ride, but as a quick afterthought I grabbed a few DVDs on my way out the door - just to have a few extra. Needless to say, none of them brought any movies, they didn't like the ones I brought along, and none of their devices were fully charged. However, despite these minor disasters (in the eyes of my children), the ride wasn't too bad. Except for the sleet, snow, and freezing rain. I've said it before, Michigan weather is totally unpredictable - especially in March. So we drove through beautiful, snow covered forests when we had just been enjoying 80+ degrees a few days before that. Our destination was Rogers City, on the shores of Lake Huron in northeast Michigan.

Connor brought his 3DS to take pictures

The weekend was full of lots of family time. Another aunt & uncle were staying with us, and cousins and another uncle came visiting. We went to see my mother-in-law's spunky 80-something year old aunt, who treated us to ice cream with homemade cake and whose newly acquired deaf - but very well trained - dog entertained the kids tirelessly. I can only hope that I have half her energy at that point in my life. Seriously, she's pretty amazing.

We also went to visit a cousin's farm. Mathilda affectionately re-named said cousin "Old McDonald". At the farm we were followed by inquisitive turkeys, we chased after bunnies, chickens, ducks, and geese, and we saw cows and pigs. Old McDonald brought the piglets out to see us one at a time, and each time the big pigs in the pen went ballistic while the little guys squealed outlandishly. Then we drove down the road to Old McDonald's brother-in-law's dairy farm, where we saw lots of barn cats and cows. There was a calf born just that morning, and Bethany climbed right in the pen to get a good look.

Our last day in Rogers City the kids had their own private Easter egg hunt outside before we stopped by 40 Mile Point Lighthouse, which wasn't opened for the season. But the kids still had fun running amongst the shipwreck ruins on the beach and throwing rocks in the lake. Shortly afterward we started our long trip home. The snow melted and the sun made an appearance after our first wintry day, but still we're hoping to have another chance to visit Rogers City this summer, when perhaps the weather will be a bit more conducive to a beach visit.

We love our trips to Aunt Donna's house. She always makes us feel right at home. And now...we are looking forward to our next Spring Break adventure!

It's a chicken in a tree

 

The calf in the back was born just hours before our visit, the one in the front was 4 days old

 

 

 

 

And the Saga Continues: The Not So Summery Summer Vacation Part II: Michigan's U.P.

After oohing and awing over Tahquamenon Falls last week, we survived the night in our Norman Bates-ish motel, took a swim in the indoor pool (which, let's be honest, smelled more than a little funky) before breakfast, and hightailed it out of there to points further north. 

Our first stop was Oswald's Bear Ranch, which is an outdoor attraction that we wanted to get to before it started pouring rain. Oswald's is a family-run place that takes in rescued bear cubs and raises them. It's sort of like a zoo for bears, but although they are fenced in, the bears are living in a very natural habitat with tons of space to move around. It costs $15 per car to get in, and then visitors are free to walk around and look at the bears. You can buy a bag of apples ($2) and toss them over the fence for the bears. It's very safe, which I mention because we once went to a gator place in Florida where my kids could have easily walked up to a cyclone fence and stuck their fingers in the mouths of any number of snoozing gators. So no, in case you were wondering, you can't stick your hand through the fence and pet the bears. You can, however, hold, pet, and get your picture taken with a bear cub. The charge is $5 per family for them to take 5 pictures with your camera. Scan through your pictures while you're there, because they will happily take some more if the first 5 didn't come out. Our weather predictions were correct, and it started raining hard just as we were finishing at Oswald's. They had several signs up asking visitors to post pictures on Facebook, so I may as well direct you over to their Facebook page.

Next on our U.P. itinerary was the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and Whitefish Point Lighthouse. I was looking forward to the museum, but I was also excited that the kids would see their first real glimpse of Lake Superior, because I'm a dork and that's the kind of think that excites me. In case you were unaware, Lake Superior is the largest, deepest, and coldest body of fresh water in the world. The museum consists of several buildings and you have to go outside to get from one to another, so we were not quite saved from the rain. First we watched a rather depressing but interesting film about the Edmund Fitzgerald, a ship that was lost to Lake Superior, along with its entire crew, in the 1970's. Then we explored shipwreck artifacts in the main museum, went to a gift shop, a snack shop (good fudge, cruddy soft pretzels, nothing but coffee to drink), went to a building with Coast Guard stuff, and walked through the lighthouse keeper's quarters. We paid extra for Bethany and I to climb the 90-something steps to the top of the lighthouse. I had to sign a release, visitors are not allowed to climb without proper footwear (no flip flops), and a guide accompanies climbers to the top. A measly 90-whatever steps was a small price to pay for the spectacular views. Right on museum grounds there is beach access. I'm glad I got in a few pictures during a lull in the rain, but it was definitely not a good day to hang out on the shore of Lake Superior and play on the beach.

We then headed south, across the Mackinac Bridge and back to the Lower Peninsula. Back in Rogers City, the endless rain and cold prevented us from doing all the things we wanted to do for the next couple days, like going to the beach and visiting cousin Joe's farm. We did drive to a nearby town to pay a visit to Chris's great aunt and uncle, and of course no visit to a rural Michigan town would be complete without shopping at the local resale shop. Oh wait, you don't do that when you're on vacation? We have a very large Salvation Army not five minutes from our house, so it's not like resale shops are a novelty, but for some reason my kids cannot wait to go thrifting when we're away from home. 

Rogers City's claim to fame

I'm betting there's a good chance most of you don't know that Rogers City is home to the largest limestone quarry in the world. Well now you do, and I'm sure your life is more complete for knowing.

We did lots of driving this trip and my kids were such troopers. The day we left Connor started complaining he didn't feel well, and since he doesn't complain much we knew he really felt sick. (Sure enough he has strep throat). Even so, the 6-hour ride home was a breeze...except for the darn rain. 

We can't wait to visit Aunt Donna again. Thanks again for your hospitality, Aunt Donna!