Fall - no way - not with temps in the 90's!

We are braving through the heat. In an inspired move, we vacationed up in Michigan! I really hadn't been anywhere outside Detroit except to visit Jackson, about an hour west of Motor City. How Fantastic it is! We made sure to visit some varied locations, but you just have to stop in each direction by hitting a massive lake! A Great Lake! We went to an adorable town, Holland complete with reproduction Dutch Villages, gardens and an authentic Windmill. We took our first look at Lake Michigan from the shores of Holland State Park. We took a picture in front of the "most photographed lighthouse" in the state, Big Red. We visited Elisabeth Park, in Trenton, a little jewel directly on the Detroit River. Driving North, we crossed the Mackinac Bridge, entered the UP (Michigan's Upper Peninsula) and headed up to the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie. We watched two boats going through the lock system and stopped in the museum before devouring some fudge on the main street. There isn't a fee, but there is a security check. We took pictures at the Mac Bridge heading south along the western shore until we hit Petoskey. I was determined to find Petoskey stones, the state stones that are commonly found in the bay. We stayed in a hotel right across from the bay and first thing the next morning, we found our stones at East Park. Traveling a little farther southwest, we hit the Sleeping Bear Dunes.Our pace was like that of a kid running down a boardwalk full bore, then hitting deep soft sand. You can't help but to slow to a stop noting the change. The Dune Climb was tall, and all three kids went up, up, up. We even continued over some more of these amazing perched dunes, looking back over incredibly blue lakes glistening below. I hadn't even noticed these interior lakes on our way in. It was so very quiet, aside from the wind. We fell in love with that place. But it was time to head down, sliding and running when you could and I am sure a lot of sand gets moved around, in addition to the migration of the dunes, from little footfalls. We headed back south and it was almost a tangible different the moment we were back in lower Michigan again. The trees were mostly the same, and the restaurants too. Something was different, still beautiful, but maybe a little less wild. We hit our last landmark the day before we left, The Parlour for ice cream. Tin Roof Sundae, Baby!