From July 4 till July 14, Kelly, Margaret and Austin McCarty took a 2000 mile road trip through Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, & Indiana. The trip started with a visit to Mike & Karen’s in Grand Rapids. Chris and Jill were there too. Mike had a barbeque. Good Stuff. Mike grilled burgers and dogs, and Karen prepared a cole slaw/ramen noodle salad (I think she copied a McCarty Metro recipe). We left GR and traveled another 2 hours, and we made it to Ludington where in the morning, we were going to take a cruise on the SS Badger, the ferry boat that runs from Ludington to Manitowac, WI. 

We got up early (before 6 am) so we could be at the docks by 7 to catch the SS Badger on day 2. It was a  beautiful sunny morning in Ludington, and we prepared for a nice cruise across Lake Michigan. 200 yards out of the bay, and we hit a thick fog. Every 2 minutes, the fog horns blew. It was LOUD! Margaret was trying to doze on deck when the first one blew. She jumped a foot in the air. Needless to say, most of the trip was spent indoors. They had bingo in one area, and we saw a movie as well. We got to Manitowac in just under 4 hours. It was a bit overcast there, but not bad. We ate in town at a Pizza Pit. Checked out downtown Manitowac, and headed back to the ship. We sailed back to Michigan, and the waters were very choppy, and it was chilly. Once again, we spent a lot of time inside playing Badger Bingo and Badger Trivia. Margaret won a 3-minute sketch of herself by the ships artist, I won a free drink, and Austin won a sailor hat. For the last 2 hours of the cruise, we decided to go back on deck where it was windy and choppy. We looked like 3 drunken sots staggering our way to the deck. 

The following day, we packed up the van and headed to Mackinaw. It was a nice ride up the western part of the state. Lots of small towns and we grabbed glimpses of Lake Michigan every so often. We got in to Mackinaw City around 3, and were disappointed with the Bayview Econolodge we were staying at. The brochure bragged about the park-like setting overlooking our room. The park-like setting advertised in the brochure was a construction area, a parking lot, and a barbed wire fence. We also realized that there was no remote control in the room, so we contacted the front desk to get one, along with some extra pillows for the bed. Rather than wait, we walked to the downtown area, and did some shopping in the big outdoor mall. There was a walking magician who scared kids half to death while threatening to chop of kids arms. Well, most people were in a panic, so we decided to eat at the famous Dixie Saloon. On the walk back, there was an outdoor bandstand with a band playing, so we stopped and watched for an hour in the grass. Got back to the room around 10pm to still find no remote, no pillows, and that God-forsaken barbed wire out our park-like setting window. So Margaret (after all, she IS the only man in the family) said if she wasn’t back in and hour to bail her out of jail because she was going to the front desk. She returned shortly with pillows, and the manager with a remote control apologizing a lot.

It’s Mackinac Island day! Got up at 6:30 to write in my journal, had breakfast, then caught the ferryboat. When we got to the island, we took the horse drawn carriage ride right away. After riding around the island, we were left off at Fort Mackinac. Saw some reenactments of a court-martial, musket firing, dancing, plus walked around and soaked in the atmosphere of the time. We walked back down to the main street and had lunch at the Pink Pony restaurant. Just a perfect table on the patio, right on the waterline. Couldn’t have been better. We needed to walk off our lunch, so we took a hike around the island. After a lengthy walk, we decided that Austin would go to the arcade, Margaret would shop, and I would rest. GOOD CALL!!! We all hooked up for some ice cream, and then caught the ferryboat back to Mackinaw City. 

We got up early the next morning, had the breakfast, grabbed one last glimpse of our park-like Alcatraz setting, and headed to the Upper Peninsula. First stop was Mystery Spot. We promised Mike we would go their in honor of his honeymoon. It was just as I remembered… pretty lame, but we all were picked at least once to be guinea pigs for some demonstrations. After the 20-minute tour, it was back on US2 towards Iron Mountain. After a couple of hours, we came to the iron mine, so we pulled over for the tour. It was just as I remembered it, and the 40-degree temps in the mine felt good after 90 plus outside. We found a place to stay the night in the city of Iron Mountain.

The next day, we knew it was going to be a long day. A 300 mile leg of the trip on a two-lane road winding it's way through dozens of small towns. Entertainment on the ride was reading the signs entering towns, like Prentiss, population 93. There were no fast food restaurants to stop for potty breaks, so we stopped at a gas station and picked up a few munchies. We came to a town called Ladysmith, population 3,742, and they had a DQ, so we stopped for lunch and dessert. Back on the road, we entered Minnesota. Ran into I35, north of Minneapolis, and stopped at a rest area to pee and check out the city map. A reporter for the Star Tribune stopped us and asked us if we were aware of the state government almost shutting down. We said no, but what would have happened? She said that this rest area would have been shut down. I said, “It’s a good thing the government stayed open cause I really had to go!” She laughed and said “can I use that for my story?” I agreed, so now Minnesota knows that I peed in their rest area. The article is on the Metro News page. We continued on to our hotel, another Super 8, which was about a mile from the Mall of America on I494. We made it there around 3:30 CDT. It didn’t take long to get to the Mall as Margaret signed us up for the 6 pm shuttle there. Checked out the mall for about 3 hours before heading back to the motel.

It’s Sunday! The plan was simple. SHOP SHOP SHOP!!! Margaret and Austin got an early start, and the plan was for me to come up in the afternoon and meet them. Austin checked out Camp Snoopy (amusement park) while Margaret shopped some more. I hooked up with them about 3 pm and we hung out at the mall until 5pm, then went to IKEA for another hour. 

After leaving Bloomington, we drove to the Dells in Wisconsin. Just before getting there, my van hit a milestone. The odometer reached 111,111 just before we got to Chula Vista, the resort we were going to stay at. For the next two days, we just relaxed at the many pools of the motel which also had two water parks. We also took in a show. It was just a very pleasant and relaxful two days of our trip.

On the final two days of our trip, we drove back home with a stop for the night in Benton Harbor, and a tour of the Kelloggs factory in Battle Creek. After 10 days of driving, packing, and unpacking, we were relieved to be home.

Camp Snoopy @ Mall of America

Austin coming down the waterslide in the Dells

Kelly & Mike Pick & Grin

Who's Sailing This Boat Anyway?

Arch Rock on Mackinac Island

Mom, I think I'm standing in horse poop!

Musket firing

The biggest mystery in Mystery Spot is "why did we stop?"

Getting ready for some minin' at Iron Mountain

The world famous Mall of America

Tony said Margaret was Greeeaaaat!