Cool, right? Yup. Then we went to Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. 3 1/2 miles of sandy landscape with tiny crevices to hide in a huge hills to hike up then fly down. It was amazing, and we hiked about 5 1/2 miles of them. (2 1/4 there, 2 1/4 back) They look kinda like this.
Awesome. The next day we went to Traverse City and shopped a little there. We also went and saw the Grand Traverse City Lighthouse. I went to the very top and looked down. All you could see was lakes. Super cool. The is the Lighthouse. It was a light house but the keeper and his family lived there so it was a house too. That day we got to go down by the COLD water and we waded in and jumped from rock to rock.
The next day we went on the Tall Ship Manitou. Woah. Totally one of my favorite parts of vacation. It was this huge sailboat. We went on it for two hours and helped to hoist the sails, and ate lunch. We also got to see below deck. You could stay a night there but we didn't. I was kinda glad, because it was pretty cramped down there! The crew lives aboard the ship. Then it started storming! There was thunder and lightning and rain. The crew was going crazy, hoisting down the sails. We all went below deck until it passed. Then we got off the boat and ran for the cars. It was so cool. This is the ship.
That day we also went to a cherry shop, because in Traverse City they grow 76% of America's cherries. It's crazy. There are cherries EVERYWHERE!!! We got some different cherry stuff and went back to the campground.The next morning we packed up from the campgroud and drove 2 1/2 hours to Mackinaw City. On the way we stopped in Petoskey and searched fro special petoskey stones. When we got to Mackinaw City we stayed at a hotel. That night we shopped in the city. There were so many cool shops! I got some pins for my backpack. Then we ate at The Pancake Chef. Next we headed back to the hotel and swam in the pool there. We also waded in the lake by the water, but the water was chilly! It was very foggy. Here is a picture of the Mackinaw Bridge right by our hotel. It is five miles long and leads from Michigan to the Upper Peninsula!
The next day we took a ferry to Mackinaw Isalnd. MY FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP!! The island is amzing. There are no cars, so everyone uses bikes to get around. There are bikes everywhere. People have baskets attached to them in order to carry things. I saw a man with his dog in one!! People set their bikes on the side of the road and go into stores. No chains! And they don't wear helmets. There are taxis on the island in case you need to carry luggage.They aren't cars though- they are horse-drawn carriages. The horses poop in the roads, so they have these people who ride around on bicycles with big crates and shovels to scoop up the poop! It's so cool. :) Some of the carriages go to the GRand Hotel-the biggest summer hotel in the world. We walked through it and it was sooo fancy and gorgeous. All the rooms are different and so pretty. They have a little shop heer you can buy the towels, soap, pens, and evn beds that they use there. In the morning we also went to Fort Mackinaw-a military fort- and saw some cool buildings and listened to some demonstrations. It was fun! Then we rented bikes and rode around the island-8 miles! We also saw this rock arch which is this natural rock arch. You had to climb a bunch of stairs to see it. We also shopped and bought some of Mackinaw Islands famous fudge! IT IS SOOOOO AMAZING! I love Mackinaw island. It is totally where I want to live when I grow up!! Here's some photo's!
A horse-drawn carriage
The Grand Hotel (built in 90 days)
All the bikes along the road!!!
Making fudge. The crazy thing is, I think we met this guy! :)
After the island we headed back to my grandparents! It was so fun and definitely one of the best vacations I have ever had. Well, this concludes my longest post ever, and if you are still with me, I'm REALLY surprised! So, my super long vacation post. Yep.
Kayla
