One of Connor's new friends

We stumbled upon this sweet little guy on our walk. We didn't stick around long because we hoped his mom was close by.

Ryan loves the beach on Lake Superior too!

Lake of the Cloud

Beautiful view of Lake of the Cloud at the Porcupine Mountains Wildnerness State Park.

There are pirate ships (rocks) in Lake Superior!

Just another day of pirate life on a deserted beach for James and Connor!

Tahoe Watching Over Us

As we enjoy a great day at the beach, the Tahoe watches over us. Great work Tahoe. Sadly, it's almost time to take us home...

Lake Superior

We spent a beautiful morning at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The water was beautiful and freezing! The sand was full of treasure (rocks) so the boys loved it!!

Pure Michigan

For the Allison boys, a trip to northern Michigan would not be complete without seeing the lumberjack show. As you can imagine, this was much more interesting to the boys than anything we saw at Mackinac Island. But why would that be a surprise when all James wanted for his 3rd Christmas was a chainsaw. It was a great show and we all enjoyed it. Yes, we have the autographs on the wood chips to prove it! Another great day. UP here we come!

Relaxing at the Grand

After 11 days in sand of Michigan, there is no doubt this spot at the Grand is the cleanest thing the boys have sat in for quite a few days. Well, everything at The Grand is spotless!

Retirement Golf...

Looks like The Grand Hotel has a course you need to add to your list Sue. Beautiful!!

Mackinac Island Taxi

Our afternoon today included a nice horse-drawn taxi ride on Mackinac Island.

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse

Think that says it all...

Tres Fur Traders

As the three Allison boys began their long journey to Ft. Michilimackinac, the boys discuss all the things they are going to trade for at the Gift Shop...

It's Mackinaw City Day

It's a chilly Sunday (62 degrees when we arrived) morning and we are in Mackinaw City. We started our visit at Colonial Michilimackinac. The Fort is at the base of "Big Mac," the Mackinac Bridge. A little rain overnight, but another beautiful and cool day in Michigan!

So Much to Discover!

As you can imagine, much of our first night was spent exploring the beach outside our campsite. The boys found a frog, a creek, and some weird squishy stuff!

Just a little too bright

A good picture of the boys, just a little too bright for Connor! "I need my glasses!"

Great Donut Shop

Another great find on the Great North Adventure was the Wilderness General Store. Yes, they still make donuts fresh each morning and try were great!

"Back to Bill"

As only Connor can say it. The beach is fun but, "It's time to go back to Bill.". This is Bill's Wilderness site.

Welcome to Wilderness

We have arrived at Wilderness State Park. Dinner is on the grill and we have a great site with a beautiful view of Lake Michigan. Life is good.

The Ice Cream Tour Continues

Even though we weren't in Traverse City tonight, we were able to find some ice dream in Leland. Two things should not be a surprise from this picture. First, Connor loved it. Second, he was a mess!!

Just hanging around

The boys took a break from Fishtown to hangout on a really big anchor...

Evening in Leland

We spent this evening in Leland. We had a great time walking around the "Fishtown" after a great dinner. Here's Connor just chillin' as he leans up against a MASSIVE tree.

Amazing Dune View II

This is a view of the side of this amazing dune from the overlook. Simply amazing.

An amazing dune

Unfortunately, this picture simply does not do this dune justice. It is amazing and almost frightening to look down the overlook to the bottom of this dune and Lake Michigan. Connor and Ryan were taking their afternoon naps, so James made the trip first with his Dad and then eighth his Mom.

Great day at Sleeping Bear Dunes

Today was a great day at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. If you haven't been here , you really can't believe the beauty OR that you are in Michigan. This is the view from the Empire Bluff hike where we started our visit.

Evening at the Beach

After a tough round miniature golf and a stop at the ice cream shop, Connor wanted to play at the playground at the State Park beach. That lasted about 5 minutes and then the boys began the search for shells in Lake Michigan. They loved it! They weren't able to stay away from the freezing Lake Michigan water, but they loved it anyway!

The three Allison hikers

The Allison boys take a minute to relax after finishing the Skyline Trail. A rare moment when none of them were moving!

Ludington SP - Skyline Trail

We hiked the Skyline Trail the first night we were at Ludington. It is really a unique trail. It is a boardwalk trail, but it is on the top of a ridge. As you can see, the views of the dunes and Lake Michigan are really nice.

Kristy and Ryan

Just a great picture of Kristy and Ryan. Although it may be hard to tell from most of our pictures, Kristy is with us on The Great North Adventure. Here is a picture to prove it! This was at our new favorite ice cream shop in
Traverse City.

A great ending to a great day

Our first night in Traverse City meant a much anticipated return to civilization. We had dinner at the Blue Tractor in downtown Traverse City followed by miniature golf at Pirate Cove (yes, the boys' favorite), and finished with ice cream at a great spot to watch the sunset over West Bay. The place even had an incredible playground to ourselves to end the evening. Our biggest problem continues to the the Eastern Time Zone. We continue to stay up to long having fun, sleeping late, and getting our days off to late starts... Oh well, it is vacation!!

Ryan Just chillin' @ Hamlin Lake

Before Leaving Ludington S.P. we made a stop at the Hamlin Lake Beach. The water was much warmer than Lake Michigan. The boys all loved it. We're off to Traverse City!

Lego summer brickaction

James, Connor, and their dad got to take a break at a very cool Lego summer brickation event in downtown Traverse City while Kristy and Ryan got stuck doing laundry. Connor is posing with the turtle he made.

Beautiful morning at USS Silversides

We have arrived at the USS Silversides/Great Lakes Naval Museum. Needless-to-say, James and Connor are very excited!

Happy Camper

Three nights down and Ryan continues to be a smiling Happy Camper! Kristy is still smiling too!

Evening break at the playground

The boys decided it was a great evening to take a break at the ole Oak Grove playground. After we missed some thunderstorms, it turned out to be a perfect evening.

Radish Anyone?

Apparently Radishes are in season. This stand had some beautiful ones although we just looked enough to take a picture.

A great start to Saturday

We started Saturday with the Holland Farmer's Market. By far the biggest and best Farmer's Market we have Ever seen. James and Kristy are buying some great looking lettuce...

Welcome to Michigan!

We were welcomed to Warren Dunes by a fat raccoon who was visiting the campsite next to us. I think in Michigan they call them wolverines, but who knows. With just a little daylight remaining, we climbed the tallest and STEEPEST sand dune I have ever seen. Somehow James and Connor did it on their own. Their parents had much more trouble than they did! The view was beautiful and hopefully a sign of great things to come.

On the road again...

Dinner and playground break at rest area about 80 miles from Warren Dunes. So far, so good as the Great North Adventure begins!

We're back, but with one less tooth!

After a short 2-year break, we are blogging again. As you can see, James has grown quite a bit from our last post. Connor has certainly grown and Ryan is also a wonderful addition to our family! Today is a big day as James lost his first tooth! The Great North Adventure begins in two days. Watch for new posts.