There is nothing better than using your own bathroom & shower after a vacation! We did a ton of walking this week & I was happy to see Randy be a trooper about it.
We left Monday and went to Petoskey.
The sunset was nice, except for the bank of clouds lurking on the horizon.
We kept joking around and calling Lake Michigan "the ocean"
On Tuesday (in a break in the torrential downpour), we went to Old Mission Point & Lighthouse.
People made stuff out of rocks.
Stacks, & words & shapes.
Old Mission Point Lighthouse
Hiking out to the Point.
Looking back at the lighthouse. It was about a mile.
Wednesday, we went to Traverse City.
Grand Traverse Lighthouse
At the Woolsey Air Strip
We also went to Sleeping Bear Dunes & the Coastie Station.
We did NOT climb the dune.
I could have if I had to, but I had Mr. Gimp (aching knee)
and Gimp Jr. (sore hamstring) with me.
So I didn't have to!
View from a scenic overlook.
Beautiful!
We found a little park on the way to Muskegon to watch the sunset.
There is a freighter below & to the right of the sun.
Thursday was my birthday! Being on vacation helped to keep my mind off the fact of turning 40. It was just another day, so no tears.
We went to Michigan's Adventure. We didn't take many pics, since the ride attendants got hostile if you had a phone or camera out. I was stuck on a ride since they wouldn't open the bars while they were questioning a guy who had the nerve to take a picture of his small child on their ride!!
But we did sneak one picture. Angel is such a rebel!
It was warm, so most people were in line for the water rides. That left us able to walk right up to the roller coasters & ride them multiple times! There wasn't as much to do as at Cedar Point, but it made for a fun day.
Friday we went to Grand Haven & Holland parks, then went over a friend of Randy's to stay the night.
This pier gets covered in ice in the winter.
Grand Haven Lighthouse
Holland State Park
I was getting the evil eye since I had no food to share.
Holland Lighthouse in the background.
Someone was showing off since she saw some little girls (likely cheerleaders) doing some stuff on the pier.
Holland NOAA station
We'd seen on the news that the Moving Vietnam Wall was going to be near Bob's house so we went there Saturday morning.
This was so awesome!
There were a lot of people from the Grand Rapids Veterans Home and a lot of bikers there.
The first pass, these Vietnam-era planes were in a diamond formation.
The second pass, the second plane from the left had it's lights & smoketrail on. It peeled off and left the other planes in the Missing Man Formation. Gave chills!
After that (which nothing could top) we immersed ourselves in culture and went to the Frederik Meijer Gardens. They had a bunch of sculptures out in the gardens and also greenhouses with themed rooms to explore.
Of course we can't behave.
"Mad Mom"
"The American Horse"
"Neuron"
"Lying Man"
one of the only human sculptures that is clothed.
In the Children's Garden, exploring senses.
Oooh!
So I didn't get to weigh in while on vacation. I had my book with me, but we were always on the run, so it didn't happen. I'm pretty pleased with my activity, of course. I'm sure my weight will be up, since I didn't go crazy with my eating, but I also didn't stay 100% on plan, either. I took 100 calorie packs of almonds & healthy snacks in the car with us. So that helped.
I thought Friday would be more, since I was working my ass off to finish everything I possibly could at work before leaving. Left there at 6:15 when I'm usually out at 3:30. Tuesday doesn't surprise me much, since Traverse City had flash flood warnings & 3 inches of rain dumped down in that area. We stayed mostly in the hotel (after driving thru the temporary outdoor pool in the parking lot).
So 2 more days of vacation for me, 1 day for everyone else. Angel starts her junior year of high school! I will be going to the grocery store tomorrow to re-stock food in the house & get back on the healthy-eating wagon!
