Our second day in Miackinac started out VERY COLD! The weather was near freezing and drizzling, but we were determined to attempt our bike ride, so we headed out!
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| Hadley was bundled and ready to go |
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| Adrienne and my dad getting their bikes before we headed out |
It was cold and overcast, but we headed out on the bike trail around the island. Fortunately, one of the major stops on the trail, a site called Arch Rock, is just around the corner from our hotel. We stopped, and climbed the trail to the top to check out the views, and they did not disappoint.
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| View of the trail to the top of Arch Rock |
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| Hadley enjoyed climbing the trail via her Sherpa |
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| family shot at Arch Rock |
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| The Arch itself |
As we were finishing pictures it started to rain, and our enthusiasm for biking around the whole island quickly diminished.
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| He was cold but still handsome as ever! |
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We scrapped the bike ride, and headed back into town. I think all the hiking and rain really tired Hadley out, because she was DONE exploring Mackinac. So Johnathon took her back to the hotel to nap, and my parents, sister, and I headed to the Grand Hotel to warm up and grab some drinks on the famous porch!
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| Biking up to the Grand |
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| There was a huge women's convention going on, and the porch was FULL of ladies, so we settled for drinks at the bar overlooking the famous porch |
After drinks we biked back into town and met back up with Johnathon and Hadley to check out Fort Mackinac.
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| My parents and I checking out the Wigwam by the fort |
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| View from the top of Fort Mackinac |
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| This is my favorite view of town...I always think it looks like a snow globe village |
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| Johnathon and Hadley checking out the cannon and trying to stay warm |
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| Courtyard in the middle of the Fort |
The were doing the last rifle demonstration of the day so we stopped on the porch to watch:
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| Hadley was clearly mesmerized |
Then we went inside to play around...
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| We all decided to do "serious faces" and everyone kept laughing at mine! I think I nailed it |
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After checking out the fort, we headed back to the hotel for naps, and dinner. We walked around the hotel grounds before eating, and we were loving the whole feel of the place!
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| I just wanted to curl up by that fire and choose a book! So cozy! |
We ate dinner in the hotel, and it did not disappoint! It was dark and cozy and there was hardly anyone there, except the guy at the piano who kept Hadley entertained, plus the food was delicious ( I had the schnitzel that was to die for good!). All the pics turned out kind of blurry, but you get the idea...
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| View of the dining room that we had mostly to ourselves |
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| The Ladies before dinner |
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| My mom and dad...aren't they a good looking couple?? |
Hadley was VERY into the piano player, who was kind enough to deviate from his original playlist to cater to the younger crowd...he played Hadley some children's tunes and the lullaby song before I took her off to bed!
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| Hadley relaxing with Pampaw while listening to the piano |
The next day, we packed up and started our drive back to Johnathon's parents house, but decided to stop in a town called Frankenmuth along the way. Frankenmuth is a cute little German town that is home to a giant Christmas store called Bronner's.
It was about a 3.5 hour drive from Mackinac island to Frankenmuth, so by the time we got there, we all needed to stretch are legs and walk/crawl around town for a bit. We found a nice grassy area next to this cool old bridge, and decided to camp out to enjoy the gorgeous Fall weather.
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| Gigi and Hadster hanging out on Hadley's blanket |
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| I love Fall |
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| I wanted a pic with Johnathon but we had on two shirts that clashed horribly with each other and the leaves, so I made Johnathon put on his jacket! lol |
After playing around outside, we ate dinner at a German restaurant called Zender's, then headed over to Bronner's. It was way past Hadley's bedtime, and we were all pretty tired from the day, but my enthusiasm for Christmas could not be dampened!
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| We're here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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| Just a little excited ;) |
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| Hadley was exhausted, but all the sparkly lights kept her entertained! |
I have wanted to start collecting a Christmas village for awhile now, but really don't have anywhere to put it. So I resisted buying part of one for now...but next year it is on!
We got back LATE into Sterling Heights, and decided that the last couple of days of my family's visit should be low key, and spent just hanging out together. There was lots of playtime on the living room floor with Hadley Kate:
And we took really beautiful walk through a park down the road from Johnathon's parents house.
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| One more of the Horton (McClellan) family |
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| Johnathon and his pretty mama |
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| The McClellans portion of our walk |
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| This one needs framing! |
My family flew back that weekend, after a week spent in Michigan, and our last week there was spent getting ready for Halloween. Jenny, Paul, and their kids Ethan and Avery came over to carve pumpkins, and I made sure they got to watch Hocus Pocus since they had never seen it before!
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| It's pretty dark, but that's Hadley, Ethan, and Avery loving Hocus Pocus |
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| While the kids watched the movie, the adults were hard at work |
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| Hadley got to experience pumpkin pulp for the first time |
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| And hung out on Grandma's lap |
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| Our finished products...I was going for an owl, but Johnathon kept insisting it was the Kool Aid man |
And since we were going to be in Hawaii over Halloween, we wanted to dress up Hadley in her costume where it would be cold enough, and the family would get to see. So Hadley got dressed up as the cutest little peacock ever! She also got in a few last minute cuddles with Grandma and Papa.
We flew back home several days before Halloween. We flew from Detroit to Denver, then Denver to Honolulu. It was another LONG day of flying, but once again Hadley did really well. Johnathon had a follow up doctor's appointment in Honolulu, so on our way back to Kwaj we spent several low key days in Honolulu. We went to the zoo (which was a bit of a disappointment), and spent some time at the pool, and on the beach!
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| Checking out the elephants |
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| Hadley tried her best to blend in with her leopard shirt |
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| She was loving the bubbles in the kiddie pool |
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| Checking out the Koi pond with daddy |
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| Hadley's first time on Waikiki Beach |
We finally got back to Kwaj the second week in November, and we were pooped! It was so much fun, but vacationing with an 8 month old, especially with so much travel involved is definitely tiring. We are so glad we got to see both families, and that we got to have some cool weather too! Hopefully next time we leave island, it will be to go home for good!
