Michigan: A visit to Uncle Ric's cabin

Our journey began at 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning when we departed Edwardsville bound for the U.P. That's the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for those who have never been there. We stopped for lunch and a two-hour break at the Discovery Museum in Rockford 4 hours into the trip to give the kids a little break. And Mom and Dad, too. We arrived in Marietta, Wisconsin, at 6:30 p.m. where we to stay at the Comfort Inn The kids did great on the journey. We only had to pull over once and tell them we were going to "turn this van around if they didn't settle down." Just kidding. Just a warning to anyone staying at the Comfort Inn in Marietta, I hope you enjoy trains. Loud ones. At 10:30 at night. 8 a.m. in the morning. Every two hours after that. You get the picture. It's right next to the train tracks. And the walls are paper thin. As if the family all sleeping in the same room wasn't enough for a bad night's sleep. I'm trying out Dropshots, a website that you can upload photos and videos for free. So if you click on the thumbnails, it will go to their website and you'll be able to see the photos bigger. This way, I can post even more photos of Blake and Drew. Isn't that exciting!

Sunday, July 23, 2006
On the shores of Lake Michigan




We really enjoyed the hospitality of Uncle Ric (a Great Uncle to Blake and Drew) and Chris, too. After the trip Drew told me that "Uncle Ric's the silliest." That's quite an honor considering Tim's also his uncle. The kids especially enjoyed all of his bears and his hot tub at Ric's palace - I mean cabin. They can't wait to come back to see the bear bunkbed when it's done.
All in all it was a Yooper time! Even though we didn't get to eat a pasty. To those of you who don't know what a pasty is, it is kind of like a pot pie without the pot. It has a lot of meat in it. I found this quote on a web site: "To many people in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the pasty is much more than merely food -- it is an identifying cultural mark that gives them their own identity." Wow. We'll have to make sure to try one the next time we visit.