up walk

it was our last night in grand marais, so we figured we go out for one last walk.  sure, it was 11 at night, but that didn't stop us!  it was a really cool walk- apparently the house we stayed at had a cemetary not far behind it...  so we went for a nice creepy late night walk through the graveyard and ended up at the edge of lake superior!  don't worry, aaron had brought his rc car along and it had lights, so that lightened the mood- and lightened the path!
the next morning we were sorry to go, but so thankful we had such a good time resting and relaxing up there with friends!
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up falls

while we were up there it was miranda and levi's anniversary, so to celebrate we wanted to go to a nice place for dinner.  knowing there is a cool brewery restaurant over by tequamenon falls, we headed over to check it out.  the place was lovely and the food was great.  i was especially excited because they had a penny cruncher machine!
after dinner we discussed if we should go check out the falls.  after all, we had driven all the way over, we should probably take a look, right?  the humidity was so thick, and the cloud of mosquitoes thicker, but some of us chanced it anyway!  this view is as far as we got- we were being eaten alive!  we ran back to the air conditioned safety of the vehicles and headed back to the house.
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up boat trip

ah, this is what the whole week had been building to: a day out on a rented boat at painted rock national park!  we did this last year too and was the reason we were all so eager to return.  last year we ended up spending more time on the boat than we had actually paid for (oops), so this year we rented it for 4 extra hours!  we drove over to munising together, all the while enjoying (and mocking) the local radio station there.  we got on the boat with all our stuff, and were on our way!  the weather was a little colder than last year, but we didn't let that stop us from enjoying the day.  the place was absolutely beautiful- probably one of the most beautiful places i've ever been on earth- just gorgeous!  we pulled into one of the beaches so the girls could check out the cool rocks, do some exploring, and have a picnic together.  it was just perfect and so much fun!
everything was going smoothly, right up until we started to head back for the day to the dock...  we clearly did not know and had not been warned about the weather that was coming in.   apparently there was a hurricane scheduled for that afternoon and no one bothered to tell us...  as we started our ride back the clouds came rolling in, and a fierce rain storm along with them!  the waves picked up and the wind did too.  the cold water of lake superior crashing over the front of the pontoon boat was ice cold- and so was the rain pounding down on us!  i know that the picture above doesn't look like there would be any bad weather coming, which is why we were so surprised by it!  we hunkered down and just tried to survive!  the girls crowded together on the bench, huddling together for warmth.  i stood in the back, holding the rails as tight as i could, trying not to fall out each time we hit a huge wave.  none of us were quite ready for the onslaught, so we were all in shorts and bare feet!  the frigid water pouring over the boat would careen down the floor, drenching our feet as the rain drenched everything else.  as the hour long return trip got longer and longer, i was pretty sure my bare feet were going to freeze over.  trying to cope, i played over the reality that i may loose my feet to frostbite...  'well, i guess i'll learn how to get around in a wheel chair...'.  everyone else was just as miserable as i was, everyone except barbara!  she was miserable, but decided she was going to be our moral booster- she stayed at the front of the boat dancing, yes, dancing!  she was freezing and wet the the bone, but that didn't stop her from shaking her booty for laughs!  i don't know how she did it, being silly and getting laughs while i was contemplating if it would be easier to just jump off and end it all or last another 45 minutes in this brutal storm...
somehow, thanks to levi's eagle scout training and steel determination, he got us back to the dock and safe to shore!  we haphazardly gathered up our stuff and ran to the car, thankful for a haven from the bitter cold of the water and rain.  we drove the rest of the way back to the house like survivors of a great national disaster, thankful to just be alive!  immediately after we got back home i crawled up to our bed and passed out for the rest of the night.
unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of the rain storm or chaos of that return to the dock, but that's because we figured if we even tried to pull out our phones they would be doused with water and get ruined.  so you will just have to trust me on this one...
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up rock shop

we stopped at this rock shop last year and diana has been raving about it ever since.  i'm pretty sure this was what diana was looking forward to the most out of our whole trip!  the gitche gumee museum and gift shop was pretty cool, but the lady who worked there is a real piece of work...  we probably would have stayed a while longer to check out all the great stuff they had there, but she just kept yapping her jaw about who knows what!  she had a real chip on her shoulder about something or other, but her terrible attitude drove us away- we got out of there as quickly as we could!
even still, diana really wanted to get something.  we headed over with a few bucks in our pockets, able to get a couple things to decorate our house when we got back.  she found some awesome agate hangings that she really wanted.  i made her pick one of the two, so she picked one but was torn about it.  later in the week i snuck away with levi and picked up the other one as a surprise for diana- she was so pleased!  from all my years with diana, i know the quickest way to her heart is through rocks.  strange, i know, but that's what does it for her!

chillin up style

it was fun to go out and check out the town and the national parks, but the best part was hanging out with everyone at night!  levi was kind enough to bring some great games and treats, so we took full advantage and whooped it up!
we spend our evenings feasting and playing, going for walks to the beach and even playing with aaron's rc car he brought up!  i thing one of the best aspects of the trip was how well everyone got along together.  for most of them it was their first time meeting aaron and nicole, but it felt like we had all known each other for a long time!  aaron felt comfortable very quickly and was his old funny self in no time, cracking jokes and being hilarious.  nicole and the girls quickly bonded over their love of geology and had a great time talking and getting to know each other.
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the up beach

one of the days up there we went to a park with some awesome waterfalls.  we actually went there last year as well, but it was so beautiful we were more than happy to go again.  diana, nicole, miranda, and others were more than happy to scour the mouth of the stream looking for cool rocks and stuff.  some walked up the trail to see the bigger falls while barbara wandered down the beach for an hour...
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around grand marais

part of the fun of grand marais is checking out the cool quaint places in town.  its a cute little town with some great restaurants and bars- and we were going to take full advantage!  for lunch we stopped at the lake superior brewing company and had a bite to eat.  we hung out there for a while and then made our way around town, stopping at the general store and taking in the sights.  it was a really nice lazy afternoon together.  now this is what vacations are supposed to be!
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da up pad

this was our second trip up to grand marais, but this time we planned ahead a bit better and instead of getting a hotel room, we rented a house for the week- and boy what an awesome house it was!  since we had so many people going, we were able to get a really big pad.
it was an awesome house, it had three stories, seven bedrooms, and totally rad.  we felt like we were really living it up!  before we left we divided up the meals and all brought up some food to fill the kitchen for the week.  i may have gone a bit overboard and brought enough food for all of us for two weeks...  oh well, no one went hungry!
the first night we got up there we picked our rooms, unpacked, then fired up the grill; aaron and i took care of the burgers and brats while the ladies got everything else ready.  we sat down for the first meal of the week together and had a blast- if this is what the week holds, we are going to to have so much fun!
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back up north

oh man- we are heading up north!  last year miranda and levi invited us to go with them up to the upper peninsula of michigan for a long weekend.  it was so much fun in grand marais that we made plans to do it again this year!  but this time we actually invited a bunch more people and planned for a full week up there.  diana and i had been waiting for the vacation for months!  in preparation we went down to south bend and dropped off ledger with grandma and grandpa (it was hard to tell who was more excited about spending the week together: ledger or grandma!)
miranda and levi came to get us super early to get a head start on the week of fun!  levi drove with the girls and i drove barbara's car.  that way the three girls could sleep a little while longer (and i got some good podcast listing in too, so i didnt mind the drive alone in the other car).  we made our way up to grand rapids where we met up with aaron and nicole and continued on our way.  about half way up to mackinaw city we were joined by lissa as well- finally the whole gang was convened!  we took a break at mackinaw city and grabbed a delicious lunch at the dixie saloon.  we spend the meal catching up and talking about all the exciting things we had planned for the week, you know, exciting things like sleeping in...  well, thats exciting to us at least!
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spring and out

unfortunately it was time to pack up.  on our final morning we wrapped up our time in beautiful grand marais by cleaning out the hotel room and taking one last little drive through town, stopping for a minute to check out the souvenirs to remember it by.
though it was time to go home, we still had a stop or two along the way- there was one more amazing state park to check out!  levi and miranda wanted to stop by kitch-iti-kipi.  its got a funny name, but it was really cool.  there is a fresh spring that you can go on and look down and see everything in it, the water is absolutely crystal clear.  as we made our way over to the spring we saw the little floating dock type thing that goes out over the water.  its kind of ingenious, really, there are cables set up that go all the way across the spring that the floating dock is connected to.  there's a crack wheel that you turn at it pulls out out over the clear water and the dock has an open middle so you can all look into it and see straight down.  it was really rad to be able to see all the way the bottom which was 80 or so feet down.  you could even see the sand moving around from the fresh water bubbling up from the spring!  definitely worth checking out.
finally all the sight seeing had come to an end and it was time to head back to real life down in the lower peninsula...  we stopped again for lunch in mackinac city, picked up the other vehicle, and made our way through the michigan mitten.  it was really an awesome time; diana and i are already signed up to go again next summer!
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pictured pictures

after checking out a few local parks, it was time for the main event: pictured rocks!  levi, having been here many times before, knew that the best way to enjoy the national park wasn't by boat tour, but by renting our own boat and wandering around by ourselves for the day!  we got there a bit before our scheduled rental, so we grabbed a bit to eat at a really cool homegrown cafe.  after a light snack, we walked over to a little shop or two and got a couple gifts for ledger- well, we couldn't exactly come home empty handed, could we?
finally, it was time to get our boat, so we headed over.  levi took care of the paperwork while the rest of us loaded up our supplies for the day.  they had a bunch of great boats, but we lucked out and got the best, newest one in the fleet- what luck!  after the safety rundown, we were off- out on the open water with an awesome powerful boat to go play on!  as we pushed off the dock it really felt like we were kids again and we had just gotten away with something- how could anyone trust us with such an awesome ship?  it baffles the mind...
for the next five hours we were on our own- free to check out all the sights for ourselves!  we wandered around in the bay for a while, stopping over at a shipwreck to check it out.  the water was so clear we could see the remains of the ship that sunk back in the 1800's.  after that we headed down the coast to see the amazing cliffs and waterfalls that lined the coast of lake superior.  i tell ya what, we could not have possibly gotten a more beautiful day- we started off in hoodies, but within an hour the sun had warmed us up enough to enjoy the trip in shorts and t-shirts.  the sky was clear and the water was warm... ish.  well, it is lake superior after all, it doesn't really get warm.  to be honest, the next several hours are some of the greatest of my life- out on the open water with my beautiful wife and a couple great friends, we just got to soak up the unbelievable views and experience total freedom!  it was so amazing that i am kind of at a loss for words, actually.  at one point we pulled into the shore, pulled out the coolers, and had a nice lunch together.  well, levi and i did anyway, the two girls were too busy collecting shiny rocks from the beach to waste time eating!  after the shore visit, which involved dropped sunglasses and a totally soaked miranda who retrieved them, we continued on our way down the coast.  finally, after seeing an amazing waterfall that shot off the cliff into the water, we realized that it was time to head back.  so we pulled around and were on our way.  just for fun we decided to take the long way around the island back to the rental place.  oops.  turns out the island is a lot bigger than we had anticipated... we ended up getting back to the dock about an hour later than we were supposed to.  they were totally cool with it, so everything turned out ok, but we were getting a bit worried about the clock as we kept rounding what we thought was the last bend in the island... only to see another one appear!  i guess next time we will have to rent it for longer! (oh, darn!)
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u.p. park and rec

the next morning we were up and at 'em, we made a quick stop at another local restaurant for breakfast, and then we were on our way!  along the winding path to our destination there are a bunch of different awesome sights to see, and since levi had been up here many times before, he knew which ones were worth our time.  we got the chance to see an amazing waterfall and a beautiful beach.  we just took a couple of quick stops, only about a half hour or so at each, and then kept on truckin'.  both stops were really cool to check out.  the first one was a path in the woods that lead us to a bunch of stairs that brought us to a really fantastic waterfall.  the path continued but levi told us that this was the best part, so we didn't bother checking the rest out.  and honestly, we didn't need to, the view that we saw was worth the effort it took to climb back up those hundreds of stairs!
the second location was a really great little beach.  i would have thought it was rather out of the way, that is until we pulled in and couldn't actually find a parking spot- the place was packed!  we eventually found one and made our way to the shore, playing in the sand and rocks for a while in the freezing cold lake superior water!
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around grand marais

after the scary off roadin' portion of our stay was over, we payed a visit to one of the local restaurants.  it was a great little place where levi and i got a homemade pizza to share.  we wondered back to the motel and quickly decided it wasnt time to be stuck in our room just yet, so diana, miranda, and i took a little walk to the shore to just enjoy the fresh air and beautiful landscape.  it was cool to see some of the locals playing at the park and the different types of boats that had tied up for the evening.  i tell ya what, this sure is a great small town.  if it weren't so far north i'd love to live there!  well, actually the location wouldn't be a problem for me, but diana would never survive in a place that stays cold for 11 months of the year...
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off roadin'

one of the things levi was so excited about was doing some 'off roadin'.  now, i have in my mind some idea of what that means.  to me it means driving around on some trails and checking out the cool scenery.  well, i was wrong about that one...  to levi it means making his own trails, taking the vehicle to its limits, and getting us in some sort of life-threatening situation or two!  i think i like his version more than mine, that's for sure!  we started off pretty mellow, just trekking around on some two track trails, but then he started veering off the beaten path- and right into huge sand pits that threatened to suck down the vehicle forever!  we were tossing and turning inside that thing as we went down hills and missed trees by inches.  for some reason i couldn't fathom, miranda thought it would be a good idea to rock out with her seat belt off- she regretted that when we took a bump and she went flying into the air and bonked her head on the ceiling of the fj!  the crazy trail that we had taken eventually opened up so we slowed down- and its a good thing we did because the ground suddenly dropped down- about 100 feet straight into lake superior!  this was exactly the kind of trail that levi had wanted to find, a cool place to stop for a while and wander around checking out the amazing view.  we walked around for a while and enjoyed the pit stop.  but once my heart had returned to its proper rhythm and the blood had returned to my knuckles, we were off again- back into the chaotic 'path' that took us there!  i would have loved to take some video of the crazy path we were taking, but i was much to busy holding on for my life...
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hip- hip- marais!

as we got into the upper peninsula we knew we were going to be in for some gorgeous scenery!  i've been to the u.p. before, but its been 25 years or more since going up there with my family.  diana had never really been up there before, so we were both in for a new experience.  after a long drive we finally made it to our destination: grand marais (pronounced 'muh-ray') right on the coast of lake superior!  levi and miranda had been there before, in fact, levi's family has been making this trek since the 50's!  we had gotten a room at one of the little motels and, after a scenic drive around the town, we checked in for our two night stay.  you can tell this is a really small town- when we pulled up to the motel levi walked over to the office and taped on the window was the key to our room and a sign that informed us that the caretakers would be back... eventually!  so, we grabbed the key and unloaded the vehicle.  after getting everything in its place, we took a quick look around and i was amazed at how cool this little town is- it really feels like some sort of cape town in new england.  just a real quaint little village with a great view of the water- so beautiful!
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da yoopee

it being summer, we figured it was finally time to go on a summer vacation!  miranda and levi had been planning on going to the upper peninsula for a while and they really wanted us to join them.  well, twist our arms... ok- we'll go!  we made plans for ledger to be watched by his grandparents, and the four of us headed off for a long weekend away!
levi had some work stuff up in mackinaw city, so the three of us, diana, miranda, and myself, all headed up to join him and head off from there.  with a little time to kill before we headed up, we checked out the sights while we were there.  everything was so beautiful we knew we were in for a great time together!
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