Follow the Lights … Days 7 & 8

Well, our vacation is now over, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do one last blog for everyone to enjoy. First of all, the trip was AMAZING!! We had the best time up in Northern Michigan. They say it’s God’s country up there, and I’m beginning to believe it. We must start off by thanking my parents and Dannie’s parents for watching the girls ALL WEEK LONG!!! That was quite an ordeal, but I think (in the long run) the grandparents and the girls both had tons of fun. We thought we would use this last blog to share our favorite things with you all.

First of all, the specifics about the trip:
Total lights seen (both lighthouses and range lights): 38
Total towers climbed: 6
Total miles driven: 1855.3
Total pounds gained: HA!! (no calories when on vacation, right??)

We’d like to start out by sharing a story we read about the origin of the Sleeping Bear Dunes (which we visited on Day 4). The dunes lie on the Michigan side of Lake Michigan, and over look two islands (South Manitou Island and North Manitou Island). It’s said that long ago, along the Wisconsin shoreline, a momma bear and her two cubs were driven into Lake Michigan by a raging forest fire. The bears swam for many hours, be eventually the cubs tired and lagged behind. Mother bear reached the shore and climbed to the top of a high bluff to watch and wait for her cubs. Too tired to continue, the cubs drowned within sight of the shore. The Great Spirit Manitou created two islands to mark the spot where the cubs disappeared and then created a solitary dune to represent the faithful mother bear. The dunes got its name because supposedly, from the air it used to look like a sleeping bear.

By the way, for those who are wondering, I DID GET MY T-SHIRT!!!! Here's a pic:

We’d also like to share the most popular quote from our trip … “THIS IS A LAKE”. It was sometimes used as a question, and sometimes used as a statement. We couldn’t believe, because of the size, and water color of both Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, that they weren’t oceans. We kept looking out expecting to see dolphins jumping!!!

We visited small town after small town on the way to/from the lights. The drives were beautiful and even breathtaking at times. From the coastlines to tree-lined roads, we enjoyed just about every mile we drove. One minute you felt like you were in the mountains, and the next minute you were driving down the coastline of the ocean, err I mean lake. We ate delicious sandwiches, fudge, pizza, fresh fruit, and of course tasted wine!! Thanks again to Margo her sister Marcia for some local delicious suggestions within Traverse City.

Dannie’s favorite saying was “Can you imagine?!?!” She loved being “transformed” back to the time when the lighthouse keepers lived. She said it was very humbling to see the way they lived and to think of all the modern conveniences we have today but take for granted. Then we saw a couple old schoolhouses and we learned that ONE teacher would teach grades kindergarten through 8th…all in one room. The grades each took turns going to the front of the classroom to get their lesson while the others sat in the back near a wood burning stove to do their assignment until it was their turn to be taught. Today, we stress so much over education and which school is best for our kids…we are lucky to even have the choices that we do!!

Oh, and in case you wondered, here’s a picture of our condo:

And last-but-not-least, the Lighthouse of the Trip!!! Dannie’s favorite would have to be Big Sable Lighthouse on the eastern coast of Lake Michigan. She says that the entire experience made it special. The hike to the light (in the wind and rain) was one element that made it special. Talking with the volunteer keepers, climbing the tower, the beautiful views it gave us, and being able to tour the rest of the keeper’s quarters make it the most special for her. Not to mention the pure beauty of the light itself. I, personally, would have to agree with her. We’ve never had such an “ordeal” in getting to a lighthouse. Plus, the one-on-one attention the volunteer keepers gave us was special to me. We were the only ones there that day, and we had so much fun talking with them, and seeing parts of the dwelling that most of the public will never see.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these blogs as much as we’ve enjoyed writing them for you. We sure do miss our girls, and can’t wait to wrap our arms around them. Good night from Michigan!!!