Vacation notes from Matt

We are four days in, and our vacation is WONDERFUL!! We left Saturday morning and headed for Madison, Wisconsin. This was just an overnight stay, as we didn't want to make the long haul to Manitowoc.

We set out Sunday morning for Manitowoc, WI. It is right on Lake Michigan, and that is where we caught the SS Badger, a car ferry. We and our Trail Blazer then cruised across Lake Michigan. Very cool experience. May never do it again, or if I do, I will take Dramamine first. The swaying started to get to us about an hour into the four hour cruise. As long as we were just sitting and looking out at the water, we were fine. Probably won't be any cruises in our future!!

The ferry dropped us off in Ludington, Michigan. This is where we watched the SS Badger take off again on it's next cruise, watched the sunset over the lake and took a night stroll on a cement path on the shore out to a lighthouse. Very nice time, and a very charming town. We would go back to Ludington again.

Monday morning, we headed for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. It is along the northwest Michigan coast along Lake Michigan. There we took a scenic driving tour, stopped at many scenic outlooks over the Lake, and saw many of the sand dunes that were created by glaciers many years ago. This is also where Desi tried to kill me by making us go on a dune climb. Basically, it is just a big hill of sand (or, a dune, if you will). The object of the game is to start on the ground, and climb up to the top (250 feet). This took a few tries, but we did it. Boy, are weever out of shape!! The views from the top were breathtaking, and we took many pictures.

After the dunes, we took a scenic (this means 2 lane, not interstate) drive to Mackinaw City. When we got here, we were greeted by two lanes of traffic standing still getting into the city. Apparently, we arrived too early on Labor Day, and the mass exodus from the annual Labor Day Bridge Walk was occurring. It took about an hour to get into town and to our hotel. Our hotel room is right on the lake, so we can hear and see the seagulls and waves.Today was a rainy and cool day. We are in long sleeves and pants. We didn't go out to Mackinac Island as planned, we'll save that for tomorrow. We spent the day walking through the many shops in Mackinaw City. It was very nice. After our tour of the island tomorrow, Desi is going to drive me across the Mackinac Bridge. I can't wait!!!!! Five miles of water views from the car. I'll take many pictures. :-)

The next few days will take us over the upper penninsula of Michigan, Wisconsin, and back toward home. We will post more when we can, and will post pictures when we get home.