Michigan Vacation Day 9: Call of the Wild

Today we woke up at the cottage, packed up all of our stuff, cleaned up after ourselves, spent a little more time playing by the lake and then left for our next destination: The Upper Peninsula, or more specifically, my parents' home.

Grandma Smiley's cozy little cottage

Asher practicing his sword fighting by the lake.

I had hoped to play on the beach with Asher until Eric was ready to leave, but keep him out of the water.   That obviously was quite silly of me and wasn't going to work, so rather than waiting until I needed to change his entire outfit, I stripped him to his diaper until it was time to go.

Family picture on the dock.

Asher claimed his bed for next time we come! :)

More tradition.

Before we could leave Gaylord, there was one place that we HAD to take Asher.  In Gaylord there is a place called Call of the Wild that has a museum of stuffed animals.  No, these are not play stuffed animals, but rather real animals that have been stuffed for our viewing pleasure.  It is basically the Field Museum of Gaylord, Michigan.  When Eric was a kid and they would go up to his grandmother's cottage to visit, they always went to this museum, so he really wanted to take Asher there.  I wasn't really excited about it, but I knew that it was important to him, so I was game (pun intended).  ;)  Happily, I can say that it was better than I thought it would be.  It was basically like being at the zoo...except none of the animals were alive!  :)

I found these things (I am not sure if they were cards or coasters) in the Call of the Wild gift shop...check out the label in the corner, "Made With Real Poo!"  ...was thinking maybe a good white-elephant gift someday! :)

Listening to the sounds of the animals

Asher wasn't too sure about actually touching one of the animals.

We found this on one of the murals...could it be Vic-ki Smiley?  ;)

Asher saying goodbye to Pokey the Bear, our "guide"

After Call of the Wild, we headed North to Mackinac City, where we enjoyed lunch at the Dixie Saloon and then walked around the main street for a while.  Then we made the 4 mile drive over the mighty Mackinac Bridge and onto the Upper Peninsula soil.

Asher & Emma were both passed out on our way up to Mackinac City.

Lunch at the Dixie Saloon.

Video:

The Mackinac Bridge

I tried to take a picture of Asher enjoying the view from the bridge for the first time.

After crossing the bridge, we made two more stops before making it to Mom and Dad's house.  The first was at the Father Marquette National Memorial.  Eric found out that we could get National Park Passport Cancelation Stamps there, so we decided to check it out.  Now Asher has his first two stamps, one from the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and one from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  The second stop was a McDonanld's for a snack to tide us all over until we could get home and have dinner.  I enjoyed a chocolate shake, while Asher enjoyed some apple slices.  Then, we finally made it home at around 8 at night, had a quick dinner and got some much-needed rest.

Eric getting his stamp.

Asher getting his stamp.

Me getting my stamp.

Asher sitting like a big boy at McDonald's!