Vacation.......

We just got back from vacation to Mackinaw city and Mackinaw Island! We had a great time.....Mackinaw Island is so quaint and the views are breath taking.......It's amazing to me all the gorgeous areas that are tucked away on that Island.....I wish I could fit more pictures.... I think I will have to post another set of pictures to show! Isn't it amazing too, how God creates such beautiful pictures in nature for us to look at and enjoy......Sometimes we would just stand there staring and saying "Wow!"











This is a picture we took on the Island with a view of the Mackinaw bridge in the back ground......the water is just pure sparkling blue.....you can see right to the bottom in the shallow areas it's so clear! Amazing that the people on this Island have this view on a regular basis......there was a beach here and the kids were enjoying sticking their feet in it after walking around the Island so much.....it was a hot day so this area was refreshing!

I HAD to have my picture taken in front of the Mackinaw Island library. We love going to the library at home so I was thrilled to see this there. I could just imagine living on that Island and riding my bike down the hill and checking out a book and sitting at the beach reading! How lucky the people are that do that! Every building and house are painted the most gorgeous colors, and the gardens are impeccable.......flowers do make all the difference in the world....and the sidewalks in this area are boardwalks so it adds to the charm.

The Island does not have any cars on it, the only modes of transportation are horse and carriage or riding bikes. We rented bikes for a few hours and rode around the scenic areas and later in the day Mike and Grace took a carriage ride way up into the high parts of the Island. Grace is such a horse lover that she was in her glory to take a ride with her daddy! Macy and Jordan opted out and so they walked with me through the shops and along the beach! it was so lovely! There were times Grace was naming the horses and she'd say "OH look there's an American painted horse!" haha so she was in her glory every time a horse and carriage passed.......She did have a few pouting moments when she saw people riding horseback through the Island and she said "OH I choose to do that, that's all I want to do!" Unfortunately that was not an option this trip...and since I'm very allergic to horses I wouldn't be able to do that anyhow.......She finally perked up and said "When I'm an adult I'm doing that!" haha and I'm SURE she will!

This was a gorgeous rock ark at the top of a trail above the water......you can see through it down to the water. See how you can see right into the water....it was just gorgeous and again it's amazing to me this has stood in this formation for years and years without falling! Gorgeous view! It was a LONGGGG narrow hike up a hill to get to this and we were breathing deep by the time we got there.....it was worth every step!

And last but certainly NOT least......The Grand hotel......it's the most gorgeous hotel on this Island. They hold Governors meetings on this Island and it was the setting for the movie Somewhere In Time (a great old movie) years ago with Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour. The porch seems to go on for a mile and if you look closely on the picture you can see underneath the awnings it's painted light blue and the tour guide said that was to trick the birds into thinking it's sky so they will not try to make nests in there! Pretty clever! If you weren't staying at the Grand you had to pay $10 just to walk onto the porch or into the flower gardens.....so we passed since the view just standing in front of it was breathtaking enough and there were stunning flower gardens in front of it as well. Again I need to do another post with more photos......so stay tuned.........

This post doesn't nearly describe the beauty of the Island......if you've been there things will be familiar to you.......if not I hope you can go someday!! Our kids have never been so it was fun to see it through their eyes.......Macy and I just were in AWE of the gingerbread homes and the gardens.......See I just have to post more pictures of the homes alone! haha Hope you're enjoying your summer.......this was a nice part of ours!