Vacation Adventures

Thanks to all who sent anniversary and "happy vacation" wishes!

We headed to Michigan about 1 1/2 weeks ago. We spent the weekend with my in-laws. We went to our niece's open house. That was a great time of seeing friends and family members we haven't seen for quite a long time.

Monday was an interesting day. I had only planned to do some laundry and re-pack. As it turned out, my mother-in-law got sick that morning. Thankfully, by noon, she was feeling much better.

Hubby and I headed north on Tuesday morning, leaving the kiddos with their grandparents. We stopped off in Frankenmuth, MI, another of my most favorite places to visit! We didn't do much, but really enjoyed the time to just walk around, look in the stores, and just be together. We left there and went on to the in-laws' cottage. The boys and the in-laws joined us there that evening.

After a night of little sleep (4 people in one bedroom...), hubby and I headed north again on Wed. (our 20th anniversary!). It was raining (pouring at times), but by the time we got to Mackinaw City, it was only overcast. We boarded the ferry in St. Ignace, and got to the island before noon. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't do well on little sleep. My nerves were bad that day. I felt a little better by the time we got over to the island, though. While touring St. Anne's Church, I suddenly got very, very sick. Thankfully, some parishioners were meeting there at the time, and one of the women was a nurse! She assisted me to the ladies' restroom, and made sure I got a cool cup of water. Someone else made sure my hubby knew where I was. After about half an hour, I was doing much better, and we went on our way.

We spent the night at our bed n' breakfast, which was just okay. I must definitely say, too, that the food choices in St. Ignace are not the greatest. Our food was overpriced, and not very tasty. We did take a nice walk along the boardwalk afterward, though. It's right on the water, and a nice way spend an evening! We also walked over to St. Ignatius of Loyola Church, and enjoyed being in the quiet of the church for awhile. It was beautiful.

The breakfast we were served the next morning was excellent. We had fruit cups with strawberries and bananas, followed by some type of egg dish, baked into a shell of Canadian bacon. Hard to describe, but very yummy! This was served with a side of ham and English muffin toast (bread that tastes similar to sour dough bread). Very, very good! And the service was excellent, too.

We headed south after checking out, and stopped in Indian River, at the Cross in the Woods Shrine. We stayed for noon Mass, had lunch at McDonald's, then headed back to the folks' cottage. When we got into town, we called ahead to see what they were up to. They were just about to take the boys on a boat ride. They held up for awhile, until we got there, and we all enjoyed a couple of rides around the lake. That evening, we had a wonderful roast dinner, then tried to have a campfire. I say tried, because the wood was still wet from the previous day's rain. We were able to get enough of a flame to roast a few marshmallows...but that's about it. Hubby and the boys played a little "baseball," then we headed the kiddos to bed.

We stayed about 1 1/2 days longer at the cottage, then headed back south to the Detroit area. Near the end of our trip, we got into some heavy traffic congestion on I-96, which was caused by construction. A few miles past the end of that construction, we were almost to the I-275 exit. A sign said, "275 traffic, keep right." So we did. However, shortly before the actual exit, we saw a flashing arrow...followed by barrels in our lane! Hubby's dad hit his brakes, then maneuvered around the barrels. We tried to do the same. We were coming to a stop, when suddenly we heard a loud screech, followed by two crashing sounds, and then we were hit! The impact forced the front of our car into the back of my in-laws van. SCARY! After a couple of seconds, we all got out to check out the damage, etc. Thankfully, my kids and in-laws were unharmed, as were both of us. Our vehicles didn't even show any real damage. However, the three vehicles behind us were not so fortunate. The car behind us had a little front-end damage, but the back of her car was demolished. The van behind her had more front-end damage, but the back of their van was smashed. The big van behind them...the front was a mess. The great thing, though, was that no one was seriously injured. A kind man had pulled over to see if all of us were okay, and to make sure the police were called (I had already called 9-1-1, though). In a few minutes, a pickup stopped. An off-duty police officer jumped out with his emergency pack and ran along the vehicles to make sure we were all okay, too. He stayed until the state police showed up. Also, a passing van full of guys hollered out to us, "Do you need us to call for help?" A couple of people from the one van did go in an ambulance, just to have some bumps checked out. Overall, though, it turned out much better than it could have, considering the amount of traffic and the situation!

Needless to say, by the time we arrived back at my in-laws' home, we were all pretty shaken up. Thankful, though, to be sure!

We spent a relaxing Father's Day morning attending church, having lunch, and then watching an episode of Perry Mason together (a new favorite of my kids now!). Then we headed home...and, thankfully, it was an uneventful trip!

So there it all is, in a nutshell. Next week...we head to Kansas!