2008 Summer Vacation

This summer we did the unthinkable - we accepted a discount vacation deal over the phone! You know one of those, you can get this great vacation package for next to nothing - but the catch is you have to attend a tour of their resort (and talk to a resort rep). But it was a great deal! For $59 (yes, fifty-nine), we got 3 days and 2 nights in Petoskey, MI, along with a gift voucher for an additional family vacation package that includes 4 days and 3 nights accomodation, a $50 voucher for nearby amusement park, a $30 restaurant voucher, and a $50 gas card. Who cares if we have to attend a tour of a beautiful resort? It's worth the great vacations we lined up for ourselves!!

Petoskey was beautiful. A quaint little town right on the shores of Lake Michigan. Downtown Petoskey is full of little shops and boutiques (although we never had time to look). Also home of the Petoskey stone, a fossilized coral stone with a magnificent natural pattern. They even have a park named Sunset View because it has the most beautiful view of the sun setting on the Lake. Andersen enjoyed the park more than the view of course...

We went to Avalanche Bay, an indoor waterpark in Boyne Mountain. I've never been to a waterpark, and being a shabby swimmer it's not my first choice of attractions to attend. But Hendrik swims like a fish, and Andersen seems to enjoy being in the water, so we thought, why not? I took a few pics of us at the waterpark with my old 35mm camera that had some film left in it from years ago (I came across the camera when I was preparing for my garage sale in June). But I haven't developed it yet because I need to actually take the roll of film to a store... I've gotten quite spoiled doing everything electronically lately. Anyways, back to Avalanche Bay, I would highly recommend to any family that enjoys that type of thing, but better to get admission through staying at the resort, or some type of discount. Paying full price is not worth it.

We also took a day and drove further up to Mackinaw City and took the ferry over to Mackinaw Island. It was a chilly, overcast morning and we needed jackets! But luckily for us, we caught the right ferry because they just happened to be running a special - side trip to see the bridge (connecting UP and LP Michigan) was included in a round trip to island. Whoo hoo. Best part of Mackinaw/Mackinac? Their FUDGE! Close second best was the fish and chips we had a Scalawags in Mackinaw City on their boardwalk. Awsome fish dudes! Sorry no pics for this part - forgot the camera in the car. (Doh!)

On our way back to Ohio, we detoured to Frankenmuth, MI. Their own little bavarian town. Always heard of it, but never seen it before. So we looked around Bronner's Christmas Store (superstore - not quite in the holiday mood yet, but we got a train ornament for Andersen and was thrilled about that), and strolled the shops at their outdoor mall (it's where BEAD HAVEN is!!!!), and planned to eat there in town. BUT, one look at their famous chicken restaurant menu, and we knew we weren't going to pay $20+ for a chicken dinner! YIKES!!

All in all a very nice vacation. We decided we'd go to Frankenmuth again someday, maybe overnight, to see more of the town and also hit the outlet at Birch Run. Petoskey was beautiful so I'd recommend it to anyone headed up that way.