Vacation!

This past week we took a wonderful vacation all around Michigan. In a classic "Birmingham" style we drove over 1100 miles, and never left the state. Poor Dave, if only he knew when he married me how much I like to keep on the move during vacations... Luke was a trooper through the whole thing, and really seemed to get that we were going on an exciting adventure.

Here's Luke as we get ready to leave:


We started out in Manistee meeting Dave's whole family (parents, brother, sister, and brother-in-law) at his parents place there. Their place is beautiful, and Manistee is so much fun over the 4th of July. There are fireworks on the beach, a parade downtown, a carnival, and a Native American Pow Wow. Luke got lots of water time, and just loved hanging out and playing in the waves and in the sand. He loved being with everyone, and has been talking about it like crazy. Josh brought up his guitar (and an extra for me), and Luke just thought that was great. He keeps talking about Uncle Josh and Mama playing guitar on the beach. We ended up waking him up to watch the fireworks which worked out really well. Janet and Dee brought him down to the beach after waking him up, and he loved the fireworks. He sat with Uncle Jon for quite some time and said that the fireworks say "Ka-pow!" Luke also loved the parade, and has since been lining up his cars, firetrucks, and ambulances in parade formations. On Sunday, we went to Dave's Uncle Mike's house for an Elgas Family Reunion. Luke charmed everyone with his performance of ABC, and it was great to see so many family members in from out of town.

Here's some of the photos and video from Manistee:











Next we headed to the UP to camp at the Hiawatha National Forest Lake Michigan campground. It was a beautiful site that was really removed from any other campers. Just a 20 yard walk or so through the woods opened up onto the top of a dune and your own private Lake Michigan beach (which Luke loved!). It was beautiful! Unfortunately, it was also a little cold and rainy - especially the first night we got there and needed to set up. We made the best of things and worked wonders with a tarp, some bungee cords, and two 12-foot dog leashes that we bought at the local grocery store. The next day was still a little overcast, so we decided to spend the day on Mackinac Island. I just love Mackinac, and it was just a blast to take Luke there. He loved all the "big boats" (ferries), horses and people on bikes, and got his first taste of fudge. I dragged Dave up to the fort, but we all had a good time in the kids area. Dave even tried on some period costumes trying to get Luke to get the hang of things. I did laugh going through the pictures because Luke is getting harder and harder to get photos of! We have a couple of classics where Dave is trying to manage a squirmy kid, and Luke eventually is even upside-down in one of the photos! We also met up with some of Dave's family members who we had been with at the family reunion in Cadillac and we all ended up going to the Butterfly house. Luke loved watching the butterflies all around, but would jump back whenever one was near. All in all, we had a great time on the island.
Our campsite:



Dave and Luke playing soldiers:


Luke putting himself in "jail" at the Mackinac fort:

Squirmy Luke







We loved having the lake shore of the National Forest, and couldn't believe how pristine and undeveloped it was. Even though it was cold, Luke just loved running in and out of the waves, and I loved just having the whole beach to our family. Watching Luke play in the waves was such a highlight of this whole trip.
Luke enjoying the beach





The funniest thing that Luke has been doing while we were in the UP is talking about being left behind on the bridge. He was definitely impressed when we drove over the bridge. I was driving and Luke shouted out - "Mama did it!" Now he keeps hiding under his blanket and pretending that we left him on the bridge and have to go back for him. Too funny... Our other funny moment of the trip came with Dave's amazing parental instinct. We went out fishing on this absolutely beautiful lake on our last day. I had packed a dinner for us, and we were ready to go. The trip was kind of a bummer the whole way. Dave was bleeding from a hook at one point, Luke fell over when the motor jerked and was bleeding at another point, and the worst thing was that we didn't catch any fish. So, right at the end of the trip, I was trying to help Luke cast to desperately try to reward his patience with a fish that he could reel in. I swung his birthday present fishing pole as hard as I could and cast in the direction where I had seen a fish jump. Unfortunately, the pole slipped out of my hand, and I threw it in the water! I frantically leaned over the boat and started splashing at the water trying to fruitlessly move the boat. I'm going "Dave, Dave, Dave" and Luke is slowly realizing that his fishing pole is quickly sinking. Suddenly Luke's little lip comes out, and he starts yelling, "MY FISHING POLL!!!" Next thing I know, Dave dives out of the boat!!!! I grab onto his legs, am holding Luke to keep him from falling out of the boat, and am trying to keep the whole boat from tipping over. After what felt like forever, Dave emerges from the water with pole raised high!!! Luke yelled "Daddy saved it! He's amazing!" It was the cutest thing ever, and Dave said that made it totally worth it (as he wrung out his shirt...).

The next stop on our trip was Oscoda on Lake Huron, where we met my mom at her condo. We had really nice weather, and a great chance to get Luke back in the waves. Luke and my mom are super cute together, and Grandma Chris finds lots of funny games to play such as "Hide and Seek" and "Splash the Waves." It was a great way to end our trip, and a good chance for us to get cleaned up from our camping trip :-). We got a chance to fish on the pier in Au Sable, check out the beach in Oscoda, go see the Lumberjack Memorial, take Mom geo-caching and go for a hike in the Huron National Forest. We had an amazing time for the whole week, and a great chance to get away from our busy day-to-day lives, and be together as a family.
Hanging out at the pier in Au Sable:

Playing at the Oscoda beach with Grandma Chris:






To see the whole photo book, click the slideshow below: