Paradise MI (is it?)

 For days 3 and 4 we were in Paradise, MI.  We stayed at I think the only hotel in town with one of the two functioning restaurants.  The burgers and food at The Inn we ate there both days because it was a limited option. 

The coolest thing about this stop was the

Tahquamenon Falls State Park

The lower falls are more fun to play in though.  We didn't bring swimsuits, but many people do and hang out most of the day.  The weird part is that the water looks like Root Beer at the falls.  Lots of steps and hiking, but good times. 

 

Munising MI - Day 2 UP Vacation

 Day 2 we woke up and decided to try a little bit of hiking.  

The main stop in the morning was to see as much as possible on this map.  Reality was that we stopped in to see Miner's Castle and lucky we did because it was the only place to get the park pass we needed for the rest of the journey.  

Now we were seeing things from the top, instead of the water like last night.  We traveled all the way to the lighthouse on Au Sable Light Station.  It was very interesting and being inside the tower was a bit scary to me.  We got to the top of the spiral stairs, listened to the guide, then he opened up the door for us to go outside.  Not me!  I bolted down the stairs as fast as my Crocs would go.  Heights have become a thing I'm not fond of as I've aged a bit.  

Check out the pictures and youtube tour on the official page

https://www.nps.gov/piro/learn/historyculture/ausablelightstation.htm

We came back a ways on the beach and saw some shipwreck debris.  It was a long hike and ate up a lot of our day.  Back to town and ate at Border Grill

It's a bit of a less option Chipotle.  Decent food at the end of the day.  The best ice cream of the trip came from https://fallingrockcafe.com/ 

Vacation to Michigan Upper Peninsula

 Recently we went on a family vacation to the U.P. in Michigan.  I have never been there and my wife had backpacked on a bug filled island back when she was in high school.  This was not that kind of trip.  Hotels and no roughing it for us at this stage of our lives.  

 The first stop was in Munising, MI.  We stayed at The Country Inn and Suites there was no pool, but the views of the water were really cool.  The lawn area also was good for playing catch.  I was glad we brought a baseball and some gloves.  

 We took a boat tour of the Pictured Rocks with this company https://picturedrocks.com/

 It was a sunset cruise and the guide did a great job sharing details about the different rock features. 

 The weird thing about the UP is that depending on where you are there are few dining options and they seem to all close around 8PM.  

 However this gem was open Eh! Burger

A very small area to eat, but we got it to go and the Black and Blue burger was great.  We were all happy with the late food and it was good to eat after a long drive day and time on the boat tour.