The Smiths: Fall Colors in the U.P.!

Fall is upon us, and since we are in the land of many trees, we decided to take the chance to get out and see some nature! It's likely that we'll never be this close to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan again (although never say never), so if we wanted to see leaves, we might as well make the drive north and see the leaves of the U.P.!

We left Friday when I got home from work and started our expedition by getting dinner at Fazoli's. Am I the only one who really misses that place now that we've left Utah? Try as I might, I have never found another drive-thru Italian place where I can get delicious breadsticks by the dozen, without getting out of my car, for less than $3.50. Just saying....

Oh, and yes, we did have to get out of the car. The drive-thru was out of order. Totally worth it!

We stayed that night in Mackinaw City, in a hotel right on Lake Huron. Eve got to test out her brand new pack 'n play.

Andrew and I got to sleep on the hotel's super tiny bed. I think my feet even hung off the end!

Then next morning we were up bright and early becuase I'd promised Eve a swim at the pool before we headed on our way. We were the only ones (imagine that!) so got to splash all by ourselves for a few minutes.

The beach outside our hotel. In the distance is the U.P. city of St. Ignace - our next destination!

Our hotel....

To get to the U.P. you have to cross the Mackinac Bridge. (It's pronounced the same as the city of Mackinaw, but they spell it differently. I don't know.) It is the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere and the total length (including the approaches) is about five miles!

We made it safely across and officially entered the U.P. And in order to abide the rules, we did not bring any non-U.P. firewood with us.

Our first stop was Castle Rock, the ancient lookout of the Ojibwa Indians.

Paul Bunyan and Babe were there waiting for us! Photo op!

Our destination:

We're up to the challenge! As long as Andrew carries Eve. It wasn't even a trail up, just a really long flight of stairs. My legs were burning by the time we got there!

But the view from the top made it well worth the effort! Eve was captivated....

The view south towards St. Ignace and mainland Michigan. Breath-taking! Literally. It was VERY windy!

Eve was a little dare devil and wanted to see the view for herself.

Hi cute girl!

After Castle Rock, we drove back into St. Ignace (pronouced Ignus) to board a ferry to Mackinac Island. Cars have been banned on the island since 1898 so there are no bridges over, just ferries.

Eve took the opportunity to catch up on her correspondence while we waited for the ferry to leave.

The ferry was a hydro-jet ferry, so we FLEW to the island. We rode up top to see the view and got very wind-blown!

The hydro-jets at work out the back of the boat:

Coming up on the island on of the first things we saw was the Grand Hotel. This is the largest summer hotel in the world and is apparently where "The Shining" was filmed? It also has the longest porch in the world - wraps all the way around the hotel!

Coming in to dock! Look at that water!

A clear shot of the Mackinac Bridge from our ferry.

We couldn't have asked for better weather for our outing! High 70's and sunny with an island breeze!

We brought the jogging stroller and decided to see what we could of the island in the couple of hours we had.

Eve promptly feel asleep.

It felt like we'd stepped back in time! Totally colonial and totally awesome! Minus the bikes. I guess bikes are completely colonial....but more so than cars would have been!

This was voted the best colonial church in Michigan - looks wise.

About 80% of the island is a state park, so we walked some trails along the coast for about an hour just taking in the sites!

On our way back to the main city, Eve rejoined us!

This is Fort Mackinac, once occupied by 18th century British Redcoats and then 19th century American soldiers. You had to pay to go in, so we contented ourselves with a picture from outside.

Mackinac Island is famous for their fudge and salt water taffy so of course we had to give it a try!

Where the magic happens! Look at all that fudge!

We ended up going with a turtle fudge (yum!) and some peanut brittle. So tasty!

After all that, we still had a few minutes until our ferry left, so we strolled some more....

Isn't this the most beautiful house? Well, actually a bed & breakfast - the place was covered in them! But so cool looking!

Goodbye fair Mackinac Island!

Since she'd had a nap, Eve had a much better time on the ferry ride home. She was smiling and laughing at everyone in sight!

The ferry:

At this point we began the driving portion of our fall colors tour. The leaves were amazing! Andrew and Eve took a little nap in the back seat, so I took what pictures I could while driving. Totally safe, don't worry.

We had planned to take another ferry (with our car) out to Drummond Island, but were running short on time, so just grabbed a picture instead.

The leaves were amazing! So many colors!

Our last stop was in Sault Ste Marie, the oldest European settlement in the Midwest and the third oldest in the United States. It is home to the Soo Locks, the largest and one of the busiest waterway traffic systems on earth! The locks link Lake Superior and Lake Huron - with Canda just across the river!

Eve enjoyed the view - and was glad to be out of the car!

Don't worry, she's leaning up against glass :)

An aerial shot of the locks.

Eve had a blast in the visitor's center because we let her crawl around on the floors. She chased other visitors, climbed up on everything, and in general had a great time!

The bridge to Canada in the background as we head back to our car from the locks.

This crazy structure is called the Tower of History and is a 21 story looking tower, basically. You have to pay to go up, but it has great views of the locks. We didn't go, but still, memorable looking building.