Spontaneity

I like to think that Chris and I are spontaneous. We like to mix things up a bit and have some fun where fun is permitted. This past weekend we definitely did that. Chris, his Dad, and Danny have a yearly salmon fishing trip that they take to the U.P. Chris suggested about 5 days before his trip that me and the boys join him and see if Mom wanted to go. We talked about it and it only took about a day and a half to make up our minds. We wanted to go. We decided to tag along, stay in a hotel in St. Ignace (because we were NOT going to camp with no showers in 40 degree weather at night), and we were going to visit the island for sure!

It took a while to get there because of the traffic and all the detours we tried to take around the traffic, but we made it to our hotel in time to unpack the cars, and hit the hot tub in the pool room before it closed. It felt so good. We tried the pool, but I started chattering so I hopped back in the hot tub. I definitely stayed in it too long because I was dizzy for a while after I got out.

After a surprisingly good nights sleep, we got an early breakfast, then headed to the ferry....




Mason loved the boat ride. When it started going full speed, he exclaimed, "We're flying!" :)
















It was very gloomy for the first part of the day, but the view of the bridge was still beautiful.








(...the fort on the island that we didn't visit because they charge for it now. I don't remember there being a fee to go into it, but there is one now)

























We walked around the island and went shopping, walked through the park, the kids played at the school playground, and then we did more shopping. At one point we were walking down the sidewalk of the main street and Mason yelled, "Mom! Stop! Money!" I thought, "A quarter or a nickel....seriously?" But Mason was very insistent. He didn't even wait for me to stop all the way with the stroller, he jumped out and ran over to the wall. There, lying on the floor of the sidewalk by the wall was a twenty dollar bill!!! He was so excited! I was in shock of what he found. That definitely made his day. He kept asking me periodically throughout the day if he could look at his money. :)






....our lovely centerpiece on our table at lunch.

After lunch we went to a mirror maze. The boys wanted to go into the fort, but when I saw how much they were charging, I decided against it. Then they wanted to take a carriage ride around the island, then they saw a mirror maze and wanted to do that. So I gave them a choice between the three. Thankfully, they chose the maze. They gave you plastic gloves to put on and 3D glasses. Then you walk through a curtain into the maze. We got so turned around in the maze! We kept coming back to the front curtain and the guy working there would pop his head inside the curtain and say, "You're back at the front. Wrong way!" So, we'd turn around and try to find our way back to a different route, but we'd always end up back at the same curtain. I seriously thought we'd be in there all day. Then other people would enter the maze and we'd try to follow them for a while, but then we'd get lost again. It was hilarious! I held onto the boys as much as I could because it was so confusing. I couldn't tell if I was looking at an actual person or a reflection. At one point, I was talking to Mom and then she spoke back but her voice was coming from behind me. I realized I was standing in front of a mirror and talking to her reflection. I was standing at an angle and didn't see myself in a mirror so I thought she was standing in front of me. We reached a curtain and I got so excited because I thought we had found the exit, instead we found a little room with goofy mirrors in it....











There was a Republican convention going on that weekend, so people dressed in business suits were everywhere! I'm assuming it took place at the Grand Hotel because they were pouring in and out of there like crazy and there was a sign outside of the hotel that talked about the first republican convention that took place on the island. I'm assuming it's a yearly tradition.































We went back into town and did more shopping. I was trying to get a picture of the boys when a man came up to me and said, "Look, there's a bat above your head." I thought he was joking until I looked straight up and saw THIS dangling above my head!...













On our way back to St. Ignace...



We got back into town and decided to visit the "world famous" mystery spot. The place was definitely mysterious because the lady who worked there gave awful directions! It's basically a building that's full of optical illusions but they're pretty neat.



They are standing straight up but because of the huge slant in the building and the way they make things look to the eye, it looks like they're leaning way back.


....he's dangling off of a table ledge.




....the chair is dangling in the air. The back legs are up against the wall, but the front legs are suspended in the air.




....that wall was "straight" and they are standing up on a piece of wood on the wall hanging forward.



After we left the mystery spot, I stopped at the park in St. Ignace so the boys could run around and play with the swords I had just bought them. I instantly regretted it after I bought them because they lit up and made noise. So, I let them get it out of their system before we went shopping downtown.








....Mackinaw Island is to the left

Sunday morning I realized I hadn't taken any pictures of our view from our hotel room. We had a sliding glass door in our room that opened up onto a beach with a view of Mackinaw Island.









After services, the guys headed back out fishing, and we headed to the Soo Locks.






...I wonder who gets to ride in the submarine when it gets dropped into the water.




...that was another boat on the other side of the locks that had just come in and was getting ready to get raised up.






....now the boat is quite a bit higher.






...the bridge to Canada.

After the Soo Locks, we headed back over the bridge to go shopping in Mackinaw City.




...view of the island from the bridge




...a dinosaur they found in a toy store.

I had a very fun weekend! I'm so glad I decided to go. I'm so glad and blessed that we're able to do spontaneous getaways like that. The boys were doing some complaining on Saturday and saying they just wanted to swim at the hotel and I reminded them of how blessed they are. There probably aren't that many kids that can say they've traveled as much as our boys have at such young ages. They've had good summers and get to travel a lot. I hope they'll appreciate it when they get older and see how blessed they are and what fun parents they have. :) Those are my best and sometimes only memories I have of being young - our vacations. We took tons! But I always remember traveling and going and seeing new places and doing things. I want my kids to have that experience as well. I want them to be able to say that they've traveled to many cities and states and seen lots of neat places and done lots of neat things. I enjoyed my weekend thoroughly! :)