Up North

There are some places that never seem to change ... and these days, that is a good thing. South Higgins Lake State Park is one of those places for me. Even though they have taken away the old metal merry-go-round (remember those things? I'm sure they're too "dangerous" for kids today) and added a new shelter, it basically looks the same way it did twenty years ago. And the smell is still the same. Have you ever noticed how some places just smell a certain way? All I need to do is stand there for a moment, and the smells take me back to so many memories, so many years ago.

Anyway, before I start getting too poetic on you ... it obviously is important to me, and my family, for Katie to know my grandma's cottage, and Higgins Lake. So we took her up there for a few days last month. She was a little hesitant in the water, but it is so shallow and so clear that she eventually warmed up a bit (she still wanted to be in my arms, though). She wasn't a big fan of the wet sand in her toes, but I'm sure that will change in time.

We also took a day to head up to Mackinaw City. While there, we just decided to take a boat over to the island. Upon exiting the ferry, I was shocked to turn right and see a sign for Starbucks hanging amidst all of the signs for fudge and t-shirts. Yes, Starbucks is even on Mackinac Island. At least there is no McDonald's. Yet.

Katie did well on Mackinac. She really liked all of the horses, though their smell can be insanely pungent. We walked around for a while, had lunch (practically free due to some nice people who gave us their pizza), and of course bought some fudge. We also took a walk by the Grand Hotel, but since they charge $12 a person just to walk on the property, we took the cheap route and stayed on the outskirts.

All in all, we had fun ... about as fun as a vacation can be with a toddler who doesn't rest for a single second (and hates being confined in a car). But of course she slept better at night than we did!