St. Ignace

August 31st through September 3rd, 2007

Friday, August 31st - 77/59°, Mostly Sunny

    We managed to get up and get moving at a decent hour this morning. We had planned on eating a big breakfast before hitting the road, but we didn’t have any eggs or enough pancake mix, so that idea got nixed quickly. Instead, once everyone was ready and the van was packed, we headed into town to run a couple errands and pick up some donuts. On our way out we made a short stop at Dwayne & Erica’s to drop off Tinkerbell. The rest of the drive was smooth sailing, with only one stop at a rest area and traffic that flowed pretty smoothly.

    We arrived at the Mackinaw Bridge around 1:30pm, and at the campground near 2:00pm. We got ourselves parked and the kids unloaded in relatively short order. Plans had been made to possibly join up with Dick & Lois and their group at Straits State Park, but they were not eating until later, and since we hadn’t had anything more than donuts to eat, we decided to get a head start on our meal. We fried perch, and made potatoes in the oven to go along with it. We finished eating around 6:00pm, just about the time the other group was starting, and to use up some time before we went to visit with them we decided to go for a bike ride around the KOA. We have stayed here for the past several years, and we can’t complain. Cable TV, full hookup, and wireless internet makes it a decent place to stay. After a short ride, we decided we better get over and do some visiting before it was too late for the little ones (they were pretty tired due to the fact that they didn’t take a nap today).

    We arrived at the state park around 7:00pm and spent some time visiting. Tyler and Samantha were getting a little bored hanging out with the older crowd (no kids or grandkids with them…); so I took them, along with Drew, out for a walk. We wandered down a couple of roads before finding a trail in the woods, which of course we had to check out. After getting to the end of our trail (at least as far as I was willing to go without getting lost in the campground), we headed back to the rest of the group. On our way out we stopped at the park’s scenic lookout to take pictures, including walking down the staircase and walking to the shore before finally heading home for the night.

    At home, we quickly got ourselves ready for bed and turned in for the night. Jayden slept upstairs with my Dad & Mom, while Drew slept in the bed with Tara & I. Tyler got the couch tonight, and Sam got the floor (with the promise that the older two would switch for the next night). Everyone gradually dozed off, until Tyler and I were the only two left awake, watching the end of “The Sound of Music”. After it ended, we called it a night.

Saturday, September 1st - 72/61°, Mostly Sunny

    Jayden woke up first today, so that meant that we all had to listen to her talk, which of course means that we all get up too. That was around 8:00am today. After some time lounging around inside with the kids having some small bowls of cereal to tide them over, we decided to have French toast and bacon for breakfast. The weather was good for an outside breakfast, which is exactly where we ate. In between cooking and cleaning up, everyone managed to get showered as well.

    Sometime around noon we decided to head into downtown St. Ignace to walk around the craft show, as we have for the past several years. The kids each found something that they would want, but of course we had to be the mean parents and say no. We did end up buying a “bandana” type thing for Tinkerbell’s collar and Mom bought an adult bib – I’m not really sure what her plans are, I think she wants it for a pattern (Note: I have since been informed that she plans to make them for the Sun n Fun craft show). Once we finished walking the display tents, we took a walk out onto the dock to enjoy the fresh air and the boats. We also had to take a break to feed Jayden, while the other kids took the time to chow down on the kettle corn that Tara had purchased. Tara also wants me to make sure that I point out that I also bought a hot dog, and I must point out that the money was donated to charity, so my purchase was beneficial to both me and society in general. Once Jay had enough to eat, Dad & Mom headed out in their truck with Drew & Jay, hoping to get them to fall asleep. Tara & I wandered through the shops in town with Tyler and Samantha. Once again they found a million things that they would want to buy (it’s only money, right?) and this time we broke down and got them a couple of things. Since Tyler got a Webkinz doll for his birthday, Sam has wanted one for her own. We found a Dalmatian (which is the type of dog she wants to own), so being the great and wonderful parents that we are we went ahead and got her one. Tyler found a small toy that we wanted (some animal that grows in the water – and not a real animal), so it was only fair that he got something too. Tara and I purchased some stickers for the van – a red snorting broncho, which is a dead ringer for the logo the school uses for the sports team as well as Tyler’s youth football team, and one of those families that you see on the back of so many minivans, which is where ours will go, naturally.

    After we completed our purchases we headed back to the campsite to work on dinner. It was on the ride home that I heard on the radio that my beloved Michigan Wolverines had blown the game versus Appalachian State. I didn’t expect them to be perfect this year, but I also didn’t expect this loss. But since I didn’t see it on TV (thanks to the new Big Ten Network) or hear it on the radio, it didn’t happen – right?

    Tonight we made tacos for dinner, at Sam’s request, which was a total shock to us because she typically does not like them. Being one of my favorite meals, I thoroughly enjoyed eating tonight. I ate too much, but I definitely enjoyed it.

    After finishing cleanup, Tara & I took the kids, minus Jayden, to the store at the front of the park, Totem Village.The kids refer to it as the Indian store, due to all the Indian statues that stand outside the front door. Inside there is an area that you can go into to see various animals. Some of the animals that we saw this year were a goat, chickens, pheasants, deer, and a pair of bobcats, not to mention the wonderful aroma of the caged skunk! Tara described it best: stinky, nasty, animal – what a waste. Since we were on our bikes when we left, we decided to take a ride around the park as well. I had to take a few pictures of the little tiny trailers that some people sleep in. Motorcycles hauled two of them and a Mini towed the third. Tara spotted some people doing some baking the pie irons that we use for pizza, so she stopped and inquired about their process. It turned out to be cake mix with cherry pie filling in it, and her and Mom decided we should need to try some time. It is always fun to ride around and see other campers and how differently they do things at their campsites.

    After we circled the park a couple of times we headed back to our site to try to enjoy a fire. The wood that we bought was certainly not ready to be burnt, that was for sure. We struggled for a while trying to get it going, but since the kids were getting cranky, we decided to call it a night anyway.

    Tonight we folded out the couch for Tara & me to sleep on, while Tyler and Drew slept on the floor beside us. Sam got the couch cushion to lie on at the end of our bed. Jay went up with Dad & Mom once again. We found “The Sound of Music” on TV once again, and watched until the ending once again. After that, it was time for bed.

Sunday, September 2nd - 77/64°, Mostly Sunny

    Another early morning for Jayden, and this time Drew joined her in waking up around 7:00am. Since we were up, Tara and I took a walk to the front of the park to inquire about the availability of sites for next labor day, as this weekend can be booked right away by the people currently on the site. We had checked on Friday as well, but today there were more sites available – not to mention a more helpful and informed employee to work with us. Because the sites on either side of our current site were unavailable, we took the list and headed out on a scouting mission before going and asking Dad & Mom which ones they thought would work best for everyone. We decided to take the pull-thru site (#18) directly across from our current site (#34). This keeps everyone close to each other, and gives Dad & Mom an easier site to get their camper onto.

    Once the campsite situation was taken care of, we worked on getting our showers while making lunch (since everyone had pretty much snacked all morning). Today was BLT’s for the adults and PB&J for the kids. Once lunch was finished Dad, Tara, & I took the older three kids for a bike ride up US2 to a souvenir shop that has a tower that you can climb to get a bridge view, while Mom stayed behind to get Jayden to take a nap. We climbed the tower and enjoyed the view for a few moments, then went inside the top so that the kids could put their names on the wall. This is apparently a fairly old tradition, as we have seen some pretty old signatures on the walls and stairs. Tyler chose to write on a window, and Sam picked a wall. Tara wrote Drew’s name on a window as well. We also spent some time wandering the gift area, both before and after our climb, but we made no purchases. 99% of the stuff that the kids are interested in buying is 100% junk anyway, so this way we save a little money. Once we finished our browsing, we jumped back on our bikes for the ride home. I found a fairly decent hammer laying in the grass on the side of the road, and Tyler picked it up and claimed it for his own.

    After we made it back to the fifth-wheel, we once again took the older three for a ride, this time in the van to go to Castle Rock, which is another souvenir type place where you can climb onto a giant rock to get a nice scenic view. This time both Dad & Mom stayed behind with Jayden to get her some nourishment. When we left we asked Mom how to get there, but apparently her directions weren’t specific enough for us. We knew where it was because we saw it once before on this trip while driving in St. Ignace (it is actually at the end of US2). We ended up going north on I-75, turning around at the next exit, and then heading back south to get to Castle Rock. The whole driveway/roadway/freeway exit actually intermixes with each other, and from US2 there is no real signage except to say south I-75. We did finally manage to get there, and of course Tyler says he has to go to the bathroom. No problem, we’ll go inside. Wrong! The public restrooms were out of order. Tara marched him out to the van, where he recycled an empty water bottle, which was then deposited into the trash. After a little browsing in the gift shop, we paid out 50 cents and then headed outside to start our climb. Of course, we had to get some pictures of the kids in front of Paul Bunyan and his big blue ox, Babe. Everyone managed to complete the climb to the top, with the exception of Drew, who pooped out after about 1 ½ flights of stairs. From that point on I had to carry him. We did make use of one of the resting benches on our way up, mainly because we are old and out of shape. Why did we cancel that gym membership again? We took some pictures and enjoyed the view for a while, then climbed back down (which is a much easier task, by the way) before heading back to the campsite.

    We only stayed at the campground for a few minutes – long enough to gather up my parents and Jayden so that we could go to the bridge view park where we have taken pictures of the kids for the past several years. Of course we took several pictures – of the kids, of the family, of the bridge. In the past we took pictures of me holding the kids over my head, but I couldn’t do that with Tyler this year. I think it was a combination of things: 1) It was extremely windy, Tara said she heard 10-20 knots on the radio, and 2) he is just growing so damn much. I would have given it a shot, but I didn’t want to fall off the rock and hurt him and me. After we finished our pictures, Dad & Mom took the oldest three kids back to the campsite to get a fire started for dinner while Tara & I took Jayden and headed to the grocery store to get supplies for Tara and Sam’s new pie iron recipe.

    We made hobo dinners for our meal tonight. Everyone ate pretty well tonight, except for Drew, who has been really picky lately. After dinner we started working on the cake things when the rain started to come. We noticed the sky looked a little iffy, but thought it had begun to clear. Obviously not. It didn’t rain for long, and we continued to make the little cakes throughout. The rain and the cakes finished up about the same time. While it was raining, the kids were sent inside with Mom, who kept an eye on everyone while taking care of the dinner mess as well. The worst part is keeping Jayden away from the door! The other three kids pretty much entertained themselves by watching The Simpsons.

    Since it was getting late and Jayden didn’t take much of a nap, Mom went up to the bedroom to lay down with her. The rest of us sat around and watched the movie “Blades of Glory”. Tyler whined throughout the movie of being hungry, but we can’t seem to convince him that if he would only eat when it is dinner time that he wouldn’t be so hungry at other times of the day. So far that idea seems to be one he cannot grasp. Of course he didn’t have a problem polishing off two of those cake things that we made tonight…

    After the movie finished, we made the beds and called it a night, as tomorrow is going to be a big day!

Monday, September 3rd - 74/55°, Mostly Sunny

    Today Jayden woke up around 7:15am, which meant that we also needed to get up too. Of course the kids didn’t really want up this early, and neither did Tara, but we needed to get moving to start the bridge walk. It did take until almost 8:00am before everyone managed to get up and get moving. It was around 8:45am when we were all finally ready to load up the van and get started on our way. Mom had stubbed her toe earlier in the week, so she decided not to walk. She dropped us off at the parking area and kept Jayden with her so that she could be fed when they returned to the camper.

    Tyler, Samantha, Drew, Dad, Tara, & I all made our way to the end of the bridge, managing to start our walk at 9:15am. Although the crowds seemed to be much larger this year (it was the 50th anniversary of the Mackinac Bridge, after all), we managed to make good time during our walk. That is until the walk area was reduced to one lane from two. We were almost done by that point, but I think it would have shaved some time off our walk it we didn’t have that to deal with. Even with the congestion in the one lane, we managed to finish in an hour and a half, crossing the finish line at 10:45am. While walking the last section of the bridge we noticed a large gathering of people on the beach in front of the lighthouse. After asking a few questions, we learned that people were swimming across the straits this year! I never really heard how many people swam it, but I do know that I couldn’t imagine doing so. We also heard that some of the swimmers had to kick it into high gear when a freighter passed under the bridge.

    At the finish line we collected our certificates and then made our way to the donut shop that we have gone to since our very first walk. On our way to the donut shop, we crossed this long line of people. Of course we had to ask what they were waiting for, just in case we were missing something cool. Turns out that was the line to ride the busses back across the bridge! The lady that we had asked said she had already been in line for an hour, and we heard other stories about waits taking up to four hours to get back across. Once we made it into the shop, we got a snack and a drink to tide us over until lunch. After finishing up, we continued our tradition by walking over to the Mackinac Crossings mall to browse through the shops. Because I was asked to work tonight, we didn’t spend a ton of time shopping before we decided that we better get headed back to the campsite. We had quite a wait to get on the bridge, as people were still walking when we crossed around 2:00pm.

    Back at the campsite Tara & I started the process of packing while Dad & Mom took caring of getting lunch started. We were given the choice of hot dogs or pizza in the pie irons, and the kids chose pizza (which would have been my choice as well). Tyler & Sam took off on their bikes to say goodbye to the friend that they had made this weekend, while Drew and Jay hung out with the rest of us for a while. We got the van loaded up and ate our food (which was delicious as usual) before piling into the van to begin our trek home. We left Drew & Jay behind with Dad & Mom so that I could get some sleep Tuesday morning after taking Tyler & Sam to school.

    Because of the long lines of traffic on US2 today, it took us 45 minutes to get from our campground to the bridge. We ended up going north on I-75 for an exit before turning around to get in line at the toll booth. I saw a car on the ramp that we passed along US2, so we would have taken much longer if we didn’t drive a few miles out of our way. This meant that although we left at 4:00pm, we were behind right from the start. The most interesting thing about our trip across the bridge today was that people were still walking! We actually passed the last couple making their way to the finish line, followed by a police car. We actually had a pretty smooth drive home, without many traffic issues to deal with. We did make one stop to get some gas and another to buy dinner (some Taco Bell and some Wendy’s, since they were right next door to each other).

    We managed to get home around 8:45pm, at which point I ran inside to get changed while Tara worked on putting some food into my lunch bag for me. I had to be to work by 9:30pm, so I hustled up and headed out while Tara and the kids worked on unloading the van, putting things away, and getting ready for bed – the first day of school is tomorrow, after all! I did make it to work on time, but I learned my lesson – next year I won’t volunteer to do that. I don’t mind getting home late at night (the kids can rest in the car), but the late night thing after getting up early to walk five miles in the morning just doesn’t work for me!

Trip Summary

    All in all, it was a good trip. Aside from the one little rainfall, we had good weather. Tara & I packed more jeans than shorts for everybody, and we should have done the opposite. I guess that means that we can’t complain about the weather.

    We also managed to secure a nice campsite for next year, assuming we actually break down and buy a pickup to tow our fifth wheel next year. The site we were on this year (#34) will be our site next year, and it is a pretty nice site. While the tent area is visible from the back of that site, the noise level is pretty minimal. Dad & Mom will be taking site #18 next year, which is a pull-through site directly across from site #34, meaning that we will be close enough to help each other out. I also cannot complain about the sites, as they are full hookup with cable TV and wi-fi included.

    The bridge walk was another successful event for us, as we managed to make good time and everyone had fun while doing it. And we are looking forward to doing it again next year!