a grand birthday ~ mackinac island.

The birthday trips began a few years back when our son was a tiny little guy.  We had just moved to Ohio and knew no one when he had his first birthday, so we went back home to Louisiana to celebrate with family.

The next year, quite by accident, we did the same thing.  Before we realized it, the traditional birthday party had turned into a birthday trip, and we discovered a tradition that our family cherishes dearly.

Over the years, we’ve gone to see Space Shuttles, camped in view of waterfalls and Train Bridges, visited horse farms and Shaker Villages, watched animals at the zoo, and bounced in more inflatables than I care to count.  Each trip tends to revolve around our son or daughter’s interest at the time.

The theme for this trip:  all things nautical!  What else would a boy whose current aspiration in life is to be a ship architect choose?

Since you can’t have a birthday without cake, we headed to The Grand Hotel for sweets after our 8-mile bike ride.  These large chocolate cupcakes, piled high with rich fudge frosting, were exactly what he wanted.

The staff at the hotel restaurant, who were all from Jamaica, came out with cupcakes and candles, singing Happy Birthday… made his day!

We walked around the hotel all afternoon, enjoying the massive 660-ft long front porch with it’s bright white rocking chairs that overlook the Straits, and taking in the history of this enormous Victorian hotel.

From there we decided to take a carriage back to town to look around, and much to the kid’s delight, they were able to sit up front with the driver and share his duties.

We walked around town a bit, sampling fudge and checking out the shops, and when our legs felt worn out, we walked back to our hotel to rest in the Adirondack chairs out on the lawn enjoying the view.

riding the perimeter ~ mackinac island.

Michigan highway M-185 is the only state highway in the country that does not allow cars.

It is an 8-mile narrow paved road that runs along the entire perimeter of Mackinac Island, and it is only open to bicycles, pedestrians, horses, and horse-drawn carriages.

A trip around the island on the M-185 offers stunning views of the Straits of Mackinac and other historic sites such as Main Street, Fort Mackinac, Mission Point, Arch Rock, British Landing, and Devil’s Kitchen.

Along the road, you can see many little rock towers, called Cairns, which are built by passersby along hiking and biking trails as a memorial to having been on that trail.

We set out early one morning to bike the M-185.  Unsure as to whether our son could bike the full 8-miles alone, we got him a tag-along bike, and our daughter and my camera bag rode in the Burley.

Along the Eastern side of the island, we stopped to build our family cairn which ended up being 4 little cairns grouped together.

The views from the road are simply beautiful.  Next time we’ll take it a little slower and add a picnic lunch along the route.  Because I am praying that there will be a next time!

getaway grace ~ mackinac island.

Between the costly and time-consuming repeat trips to Uganda and a husband’s busy work schedule, it is sometimes difficult to get away from town with only the four of us.  When it does happen, I consider it pure grace, and I am so grateful for those opportunities.

So, I recap our recent trip with humble gratitude to God for making a way for us to spend time together enjoying His elaborate & magnificent creation…

My fascination with this island started over eleven years ago when I came across an article about Mackinac Island, Michigan, in a favorite magazine.  I instantly fell in love with the way the island looked from the many photographs accompanying the article, and I told my husband that someday I’d like to get “up there to Michigan.”

At the time, we were living in Houston, Texas, so a trip to the top of the mitten would not have been easy (or inexpensive) at all.  It most certainly would have involved a flight to Michigan, a rental car to get to the nearest city, and a ferry ride across the Straits of Michigan.  And since there are NO cars on Mackinac Island, we would also have needed to rent bicycles & hire carriages to get around once we were on the island.  When we moved to Ohio, Michigan was suddenly much closer and transportation to Mackinac Island became much simpler.

So, last week, in celebration of our son’s 8th birthday, we finally made it to the Island, and I loved it even more than the magazine version I had built up in my mind.  With it’s many things to do (some of which I will write about in a later post) and it’s breathtaking landscapes, Mackinac Island was a perfect blend of leisure, activity, and relaxation for our family.

As an amateur photographer, the island was a feast for my eyes!  I find it hard to describe the shades of blue and green that I saw.  Where the bright blue sky with it’s puffy white clouds meets the deep clear blue water of the Straits of Michigan or the lush green grass of the Island, something magical ~ and extremely beautiful ~ happens.

Our family now considers Mackinac Island our “return to” spot!  You know… the one that your family returns to year after year after year…  I’ve already started saving for the next trip, and maybe this will become a new family tradition.  Deo Volente.

the best camera.

I broke my commitment to carry my camera everywhere… I had to.

Nearly everyday for the past two weeks I have been sitting on the side of the community swimming pool watching my kids learn to swim and getting splashed repeatedly by toddlers discovering the joys of playing in a 2-foot baby pool.

Cute, but catastrophic for a camera.  So I quickly decided to leave the camera at home.

When a huge blimp passed directly over the pool, the only camera I had with me was the one on my iPhone.  Armed with the Photoshop app and the now tremendously popular instagr.am app, I snagged this shot.  Puny though it is, this image will always remind me of the pure delight on the faces of my children when such an unusual aircraft passed over head.

I’ve heard it said before that “the best camera is the one you’ve got with you”… On this particular day, I would wholeheartedly agree!

Washington, DC | New Citizens

Day One of our little trip to the capital found us at the top of DC looking down on this favorite city.  Day Two found us satisfying the current interest of my little boy as we crossed the Potomac River from Alexandria to Georgetown by riverboat to visit the National Cathedral.  His interest, the riverboat!  Mine, the cathedral.

And on the 4th of July we drove out to Mt. Vernon for the Independence Day celebrations where we ran into this patriot who was either taking his role very seriously or he had borrowed George Washington’s wooden teeth for the day.  Hard to tell.

His friends were nearby, engaged in a hearty discussion about how one might go about shooting this Revolutionary-era cannon.  Don’t ask me… I shoot with a Nikon!

But the real highlight of the day for me was watching the country’s newest citizens being sworn in…

It’s a long, tough road to become a US citizen, and watching their happiness as they raised their hands, pledging allegiance to this nation, made for a very exciting day.

I think the most touching sight was the front row of the swearing in ceremony where the service men and women sat… those who, having already given their lives to protect and defend the freedom of this country, were now being given all of the rights and privileges of an American citizen.

Washington, DC | Cathedrals and Crab Cakes

Yesterday I mentioned we took a little trip to a very familiar city… only this time we did several “new to us” things…

Like riding a boat across the Potomac from Alexandria to Georgetown to visit the National Cathedral…

where I could have stayed all day soaking in the beauty and history of this enormous structure…

but we couldn’t stay all day, so we boarded the riverboat and went back to Alexandria where I had dinner with this incredible guy.  He looks so serious because he was just about to dive into his wonderfully prepared Filet Mignon, and there I was testing out my new 50mm lens in low light conditions.

His Filet Mignon was indeed delicious and so were these Crab Cakes I ordered at Gadsby’s Tavern in Alexandria… a restaurant where George Washington supposedly dined!

Another fun day in the Capital… but there’s more!

Washington, DC | From the Top

Over Independence Day, we took a little road trip to Washington, DC… one of my favorite cities in the entire world!  This city holds a lot of personal (and highly precious) memories for me — it’s where my husband asked me to marry him, it’s where I took my parents on one of the most fun little weekend trips I’ve ever had, it’s where I watched my little boy’s eyes sparkle when he saw a “real” space shuttle up close for the very first time, and it’s where I listened to both of my kids squeal with pure delight when the metro train arrived at the platform.

I’ve been to DC so many times I’ve lost count, but it never gets old.  So much to do… so much to see… so much to learn!

On this trip, we chose to do a few “new to us” activities which we all highly enjoyed.

Like taking the elevator up to the top of the Washington Monument…

and looking down from the Monument on the spot where we got engaged…

then catching a Washington Nationals game and adding another ballpark to my official list…

More to come!