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A look back at some of the photos from our time in Michigan that didn’t find a home in our other posts.

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Thanks to a tip from Rachel’s friend Suellen, we visited a place called Pond Hill Farm with Rachel’s Aunt Jo and Uncle John, and found plenty of mischief to get into.

It had the usual jams, jellies, honey and other goodies, along with a cafe, winery, and brewery with local craft brews on tap. They also offered a hay ride of their grounds, which included a stop at a trout pond teeming with massive rainbows that fought for food like the carp at Cedar Point. No fishing allowed of course.

But the highlight was the Squash Rocket, a giant slingshot you can use to propel various vegetables into the pasture to their sheep. The squash were out of season, so we used potatoes, which were no less entertaining.

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For one week every summer, Charlevoix explodes with people, music and a carnival atmosphere known as the Venetian Festival. We had good weather and a great location (our place was a couple blocks from all the action), so we were able to experience everything the wild week had to offer.

The week included art galleries, carnival rides (we did not partake), an appearance by the Guess Who, and fireworks. The highlight was a boat parade on Lake Charlevoix/Round Lake. Aside from some pretty long waits in restaurants, the week was a lot of fun.

Rachel was kind enough to secure us seats at Charlevoix’s outdoor pavilion to see the Guess Who. I was excited to go, but as I started doing the math … they were popular in the late 60s, and were probably in their 20s at the time, I started to worry. I tried to tell the family I was fine to go alone, but we had a picnic ready and nothing else planned, so we went as a family. Turns out the only original member who played that night was drummer Gary Peterson, who walked on stage with a cane.

After a bit of a slow start and some awkward jabs at the age of the crowd, the band picked up steam. I took some friendly abuse from Nate and Rachel for my musical taste, but by the finale, even those with creaky knees were trying to dance to “American Woman.” When we got home, I let Viv (my one potential Guess Who ally) listen to some of the original songs with Burton Cummings singing, but … no dice. Just a polite “They’re OK I guess.”

I rocked out to their old stuff the rest of the vacation.

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One of our best days in Michigan was spent in the Upper Peninsula during our final week. We packed up the dogs and headed to Whitefish Point so the kids could experience the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum (and hear “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” a time or two).

Rachel and I visited the museum in the summer of 1997, and we were struck by how much it’s grown. Back then it was a bit of an outpost highlighted by one small building with the artifacts and Gordon Lightfoot’s song blaring on a loop.

Today, the museum itself is vastly improved, and the grounds also include access to the Lightkeepers Quarters, the Surfboat House (Viv and I are fans), and a boardwalk to the Superior shoreline.

Poor planning meant eating vending machine “uncrustables” for lunch, but the place was a hit with the kids, who later were able to skip stones in Superior.

On our way back to Charlevoix we visited the upper falls at Tahquamenon State Park and were not disappointed. Nathan (13) and Vivian (10) are at ages where scenic views don’t move the needle much, but this was an exception.

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Nathan and I crossed the Mackinac Bridge twice during our vacation, and on the second trip the girls and the dogs tagged along. In the right weather it’s a majestic ride.

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The sunsets never get old in northern Michigan, and we apparently never grew tired of snapping photos of the sky. Enjoy.

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By Nathan — On July 15th Dad and I took a weekend trip to the Upper Peninsula to see an old high school buddy of his, a cool guy named Herb. Herb and his family live in a town near Munising and have a place on a resort they call “Camp.” Herb has two sons and a wife who all love to ride four-wheelers and snowmobiles, so when they go to camp they can ride them. The first night Dad and I got to camp, we waited for Herb to come meet us, because his oldest son was having surgery on his toe. When they got to the cabin and everyone was settled, we rode the four-wheelers to a restaurant nearby.

The four-wheelers where very fun to be on and very easy to ride. The next morning we got up and had breakfast, then went on a glass-bottom boat tour on Lake Superior. The boat tour was great! We went to a few different wrecks, both you could see clearly, and the narrator even explained what parts of the ship we were looking at and how it sank.

When we got back to the house, we got on the four-wheelers and rode a little while with the intention of going to a grocery store to get some pop. It started raining on us halfway through and Herb pulled over and asked if we wanted to keep going. Dad and I were both fine, so we kept going. Then it really started pouring. Once it started raining harder, we would just splash through giant puddles which was really fun. Once we got back to camp, Herb made hamburgers for dinner and we watched a movie. The morning after, we had pancakes for breakfast and then Dad and I left. My first trip to the UP was awesome, and I hope to have many more.

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By Vivian — In between Charlevoix and Petoskey was the Kilwins headquarters. To put in perspective how big the Kilwins is, it used to be a supermarket. My mom, Nathan, Nani, and I all went to the Kilwins. We all took a tour, not entirely because we were interested, but because you would get a free chocolate at the end. After that, Nathan and I got ice cream, we all sat at a table and the man who gave us a tour came over with four pieces of what they call sea foam. Sea foam (the way he explained it) was a piece of sugar and a few other things that they cooked down and covered in chocolate. It kind of tasted like peanut brittle. Right before we left, Mom tried some of their “Saltwater Taffy.” So Kilwins was fun, and I liked it a lot.

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By Nathan — We went to Sleeping Bear sand Dunes on one of my Dad’s last days off. We drove about an hour and a half to a town called Glen Arbor to have lunch with my Aunt Kris. It was super fun to see her after such a long time. We ate lunch and shared some good stories, then dropped her off at her friend’s house on a small lake overlooking the Dunes.

Afterwards, we drove to the Dunes. Man were they huge! Viv and I got out of the car and it felt like a massive wall of sand right in front of you. We ran to the top and waited for Mom and Dad. Once they came up, we decided on a hiking trail to take. We took one that was about two-miles long to a small town called Glen Haven right on Sleeping Bear Bay. It had a boat museum and informational signs about the town.

At the end of the day, as we were coming back from the hike, we passed a steep slant on the side of the trail — a sand dune that had to be at about 80 degrees. As we were coming up on it, Dad said “Twenty bucks for whoever can make it to the top” and I took off. I eventually got to the top and almost beat them to the car, too. The Dunes were a great experience for me, and I really hope to go back.

Editor’s note: “Eventually got to the top” is right. This probably should have been a timed challenge. Nathan also fails to mention that about half way to the top, he tried to renegotiate terms. “How … How about (deep breath) … How about 15 bucks for half way?!!” That said, I don’t think the rest of us would have attempted this for $200. He certainly earned the $20. — Dad

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By Vivian — Up near Mackinaw City there was a place called Headlands. It is a park, and in the park was the Dark Sky Park. It was a one-mile walk to the Dark Sky Park. There were pictures (they were plastic cutouts and about as big as me) of philosophers and gods and what they had to do with planets and constellations. When we walked past them, my dogs Bandit and Trixie barked and growled at them. After the first two Trixie stopped, but Bandit kept barking at them — except the very last one. After the first two I would pick Bandit up and walk him up to the picture and he would just growl at them, but unless I would do that he would not go near them.

When we got to the beach, we set up the chairs and sat down. To our left there was this nice man. He sat down next to me after he asked, because nobody was sitting there. He knew some constellations and he told me about Walleye. He left before it became completely dark. We saw planets — Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury. We also saw constellations like the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, a bear one, and Scorpio. All through my mom’s phone app of course.

On the way back to the car, tons of people brought their cars in on a one-lane road, and that was because they ignored the sign that said “No cars. Foot traffic only.” So when we left, tons of people who were trying to leave with their cars were stuck on the one-lane road. So it was dark, with tons of cars trying to get out, but we did not have to walk that far. There were mostly adults there, so I just did not get it. When we got back to the parking lot we shut the gate so that maybe people would pay attention to the sign, but then someone in a car came up, got out of the car, moved the sign, and went on his way without shutting it again. The Dark Sky Park was very cool and very fun. I liked it a lot.