On Saturday, July 22 we finished packing up our van and headed out to begin our Michigan Adventure. Our first destination was my parents' house in the Upper Peninsula so we headed North. To make the day a little more exciting though we planned a couple of fun stops along the way.
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| I posted this picture on FB and there were a lot of people interested in the drawer system I used between the boys. Since we would be staying at a different location most nights of the trip, I wanted to have easy access to the boys' clothes. Thus, I packed full outfits for them in individual bags and then filled the bottom drawer with Avery's clothes and the middle drawer with Asher's clothes. The top drawer was for pajamas, swim suits and warmer clothes as needed. The consensus is that it worked very well and I would definitely do it again, possibly using a drawer in the future for car games, toys, snacks, etc. My only criticism is that when the system got less heavy as clothes were moved to the laundry bag, it got less stable and would sometimes fall over if we made a quick stop or sharp turn. Next time I think I will find a way to tie it down so that I can't fall over. |
As is typical of a trip with a toddler and preschooler, we made it only about one hour in the car before needing to stop for a potty break. Since it was also almost lunch time we decided to head to McDonald's to fill up and also let the boys burn off a little steam before we continued on.
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| Avery & Asher playing in the McDonald's Play Place. |
After our stop for lunch, we made our way to Green Bay and our first planned fun stop: Bay Beach. There we spent the remainder of the afternoon enjoying the rides and some frozen treats to cool us down from the hot sun (it had been overcast our entire drive until right before we got to Green Bay. Then the clouds moved away and we were in full summer sun with little breeze).
When we arrived in the parking lot, a man passed us with some kids and asked if we had just got there. When we said "yes", he gave us his remaining tickets for free which got us through most of our time at the park! With no need to purchase ride tickets right away, we headed into the park where the kids chose the helicopters as their first ride.
After one ride going around and around in circles, Eric and I quickly realized our age and decided that we would let the kids go on the rest of the (similar) rides by themselves...so we headed over to the little kid rides for a bit.
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| Avery's look on his face "driving" his car was hilarious! He was so serious the entire time like if he didn't focus the car would end up driving off a cliff! |
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| Avery starting to loosen up :) |
From the Race Cars we headed over to the Granny Bugs and Lady Bugs (where they made a friend and picked up a passenger).
Next up was the Boats...
After riding a bunch of the little kid rides, Asher was ready for a big kid ride so he and Eric headed over to the Bay Beast, which is like a small, simpler version of Disney's Tower of Terror. Although Avery was tall enough (barely) to ride the ride, Eric and I did not think he could handle it. Instead, he and I waited on the sidelines to watch Asher and Daddy. The line was long and after a bit Avery got impatient. Thinking we had time, we walked over to look at the lake for a few minutes while we waited, planning to head back and see the bigger boys on the ride. As we walked back, however, we realized that they had been allowed to jump on the rider sooner than expected and we missed! :( Eric said that Asher had a blast and got a huge smile on his face when the ride dropped him. Apparently Asher even held up his arms in total rollercoaster fashion, completely unprompted by Eric! I guess our boy is one brave little dude! I am totally bummed that I missed it and have no photos or video. We went back later in the day because Asher wanted to do it again and I wanted to see it, but as they waited in line the ride was shut down for the rest of the day (not sure why).
After Asher had the chance to ride the ride he most wanted to go on, it was Avery's turn to pick the ride he wanted most: the Bay Beach Train! It was a nice way to cool down a bit and rest a little as the kids were both getting tired due to a lack of nap time and a lot of sun.
After our train ride, we headed over to the Merry-Go-Round, which turned out to be our family favorite of the day. :)
Video: Merry-Go-Round
After the Merry-Go-Round, we were all in desperate need of something to cool us down so we headed to the concessions for a treat. Asher picked a sno-cone and Eric and I picked slushees, but Avery picked a Spiderman ice-cream bar which matched his shirt! :P I took way to many pictures of this, but I just couldn't get over how cute he was!
When our treats were gone (well most of them...Asher's was too big to finish and Avery couldn't keep up with the melting of his and it ended up falling off the stick and onto the ground), we headed over to watch the Bumper Cars for a little bit and then enjoyed a few more rides before getting back on the road.
Video: Avery on the Lady Bugs
Once we were back on the road, we headed to Oconto for dinner. Although our ultimate destination for the evening was my parents' home in the U.P., they were actually not going to be there. Instead, they were camping with friends in Oconto, WI for the weekend, so we mades plans to meet them at their campsite for dinner. There we enjoyed some delicious fajitas, fun at the playground, sitting around the campfire and then more ice cream treats for dessert (can't say no to Grandma when it involves ice cream, right?...). With the continued heat of the day and the campfire Avery again could not keep up with the rate that his ice cream cone was melting. This time, he was such a mess that I actually saw ice cream drips flying off his hand when he waved it through the air. Thus, before putting PJs on and heading "home" for the night Papa gave him an outdoor shower at the camper.
Once the boys were cleaned up and in their PJs, we said our goodbyes to Grandma and Papa and then drove the rest of the way to their home to spend the night. Both boys quickly passed out on the drive, but Avery woke up about 10 miles from home. This was the first of what would be several times on this trip that Avery would wake up screaming and immediately want to be out of his carseat. He screamed and screamed and while I tried to calm him and keep him from waking Asher it started to pour at a rate I'm not sure I've ever seen before. It was pitch black out, with an inch or two of water immediately covering the road making me wonder if there was even a road there any longer as we were listening to the rain pelt the van's rooftop and our two year old screaming uncontrollably from the back. The last 10 miles were quite stressful to say the least but we did make it home, and thankfully both boys went to bed with no issues (Asher not even waking up as we transferred him), sleeping till the morning...Day 2.
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