Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Joseph & Dad Tour Michigan

In mid-October, for Joseph's Fall Break, Dad travelled to Michigan so we could tour around the state together.

Starting in Ann Arbor on Friday night, we first drove west about two hours to the shores of Lake Michigan and stayed in Holland. The following morning we hiked to the top of Mount Pigsah, a 150-foot sand dune on the lake, and then drove north from there. We stopped about two hours north in Cadillac, a town where Joseph's great-great-grandfather was once the Postmaster. We saw the Post Office as well as the Gaffney family homestead! From there we continued north to Petoskey and then across the Mackinac Strait to the Upper Peninsula (barely), staying in Saint Ignace on Saturday night.

On Sunday morning we took the ferry to Mackinac Island, a beautiful vacation destination Dad and Mom had vacationed at a long, long 26 years ago! Joseph and Dad stayed at the same hotel and hiked around in the cold and a bit of rain. The following morning we took the ferry back to the mainland and drove back down I-75 practically the length of Michigan back to Ann Arbor. It was great to see the sites of the great state of Michigan!

At the bottom of Mount Pigsah ...

... and at the top of Mount Pigsah

The Cadillac, Michigan Post Office, built in 1914, while Great-Great-Grandpa Gaffney was Postmaster

At Arch Rock on Mackinac Island

Fort at the top of Mackinac Island

Joseph in front of Island House Hotel, roughly the same spot ...

... that this picture was taken at in 1991!

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Night-Time Ferry Ride

On the way back from camping, we took a late ferry back from Bainbridge to Seattle. Some great views of the city lights!



Fall Camping

The last two days of September we went camping at Salt Creek park. 

The park is right on the Straight of Juan de Fuca, which is a waterway separating Washington on the South from Canada to the north, and connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Puget Sound. We had been out to this park several times before for Joseph's Cross-Country meets through the years, and picked out some campsites to visit in the future. We had two adjacent camping sites overlooking the water. We climbed around some rocks down by the shoreline, hiked through the park to an old fort built during WW2 to protect against a naval attack. Jack and Dad also went over to Olympic National Park to check out the ski hill setup there that will be opening up in a few months. As all too often has been the case for our camping trips, we wound up leaving a little early because it was raining. 

Here are some photos of our trip.