Saturday, August 6, 2016

Where Was I?

It was a short week for me.  Even so, it feels really good that the weekend is here now.  I mentioned last week that between work, Internet issues and family stuff that there just wasn't much to post.  The source of my Internet issues was my computer, but it was aggravated by the fact that I was trying to connect to the hotel wireless.  The family stuff going on was our summer vacation, which is why I was trying to connect via the hotel wireless.  The computer never would connect via the hotel.  Thankfully the Internet was stable and connectable at the house we rented for the last half of vacation.  I was able to do a little posting and a lot of catching up on everyone's blogs last weekend.  

We got home on Wednesday, but I didn't make it back to sewing room till Thursday.  After being gone for 10 days, plus being sidelined due to the long hours at work the week before we left, I had to spend a few minutes figuring out where I was on everything. This month's one monthly goal is to get Zombies in Paris to the finished flimsy stage.  I found those blocks, plus the parts and pieces for three other projects that were laying around the sewing machine.



So the plan for this afternoon is to make a bit of progress on these four projects.  

That's it for the quilty content for this post. I took a ton of photos during our vacation and decided to share just a few.  So continue on if you want to check out a few scenes from the Upper Peninsula and northern shores of Michigan. 



We started out in Traverse City, which is close to Sleeping Bear Dunes.  We spent our first morning climbing and hiking in all that sand.  From there we drove up the coast to Mackinaw City. 




Our hotel room there looked over Lake Huron, which was peaceful and gorgeous at sunrise.  

You can't go to Mackinaw City without taking the ferry over to Mackinac Island.  The Round Island Light house marks the entrance to the docks.  




We rented bikes and rode around the island.  But our favorite spot ended up being a coffee shop looking out over all the sailing boats. 



After the detour to Mackinac Island, we took a day trip up to Tahquamenon Falls in the Upper Peninsula.  


   

The golden yellow water is due to the high level of tannins that come from the surrounding vegetation.  The water really sparkled in the sun.  After our day trip, we headed back towards Traverse City, but spent a few days in Charlevoix.  We spent one day hiking along the Lake Michigan shoreline.  I've not been able to identify these pretty wildflowers, but they were everywhere. 



Our last day in Charlevoix we headed to Boyne City for a kayaking trip down the Boyne River. 



This was the calm part of the trip, it was a lot more exciting upstream of here.  Let's just say that we spent some of the trip hanging on to the kayak rather than riding it in.  The end wasn't completely without excitement.  In order to reach the dock, we had to go under the bridge where the flowers are sitting.  It looked like this:


We had to lie down in the kayak to get through that.  But it was pretty smooth sailing after that.  

Our last day in Michigan found us back in Traverse City where we had the most distinct feeling we were being watched.  



It was a very relaxing vacation.  The Great Lakes are beautiful, the food was really good (I have enough pictures for post just on the food) and the people were really friendly.  We had a great time.  But now it's time to get moving on back to school stuff for DT and on finishing up a few things before a big project deadline on Thursday.  I'm already ready for next year's vacation!  

7 comments:

seabreezequilts said...

Great pictures Kate, its been so long since I've visited I'm sorry just don't seem to have the time to read blogs. Lovely pictures of you trip. We are off for a long weekend to the Home of Aussie Rules the MCG in Melbourne for the boys and shopping for Mo and me. Unfortunately I don't think we will see much sunshine as you did, Melbourne is known for its cold rainy weather in winter but it should be an adventure.

Angie said...

Thanks for the travel pictures! Dear Husband and I have been talking about a trip to the UP for the past several years. Maybe if I show him your pictures, we'll really make the travel commitment!

Val's Quilting Studio said...

Sounds like you and I were vacationing about the same time. Rejuvenating huh! And now to get back to our routines....Happy Days for sure!!(I haven't even figured out where I'm at when it comes to projects/goals. LOL!!)

Libby in TN said...

And a good time was had by all, I hope. Lovely scenery. Makes me want to head up there cause it's been a long time.

Pat said...

When I read you were trying so hard to connect to the internet on vacation, my first thought was that you needed to taught the meaning/purpose of vacation. However your photos and description put my mind at ease. So happy to hear you had a good time.

Barbara said...

Gorgeous photography. We visited the upper peninsula a couple of years ago, and loved it. We were in a different area. Now you're making me want to go back.

Kevin the Quilter said...

Looks like you had a wonderful vacation!