It's beginning to feel like Fall

This week the weather changed and it really started to feel like fall.  Gray, rainy, cool days with the occasional peek of sunshine in the quickly fading fall colors highlighted the week.   Although, the weather on Monday was beautiful.  

Monday was my first day back at work after my vacation, and by the end of the day, I was exhausted.  I really didn't feel like doing anything after work, but the sun and two crazy girls convinced me to get out and enjoy the nice day because colder days are ahead.  Ultimately,  I never regret enjoying a beautiful fall day.

We actually found a couple of smaller parks that we hadn't visited before and I decided that checking them out would be a nice way to spend our evening.  The color and pretty views along the river made for a really beautiful backdrop for our walk and the girls were happy to be in the woods. Even if the trail wasn't very long.

We ended our little adventure with a walk on the East West Pathway just before sunset.  I was really glad that we'd gotten out to enjoy the day and so were the girls.   The fall colors were beautiful. 

Rain moved into town on Tuesday, limiting our ability to get outside.  Luckily we were all happy to just stay home and snuggle up for a quiet evening at home after work.  

On Wednesday I spent my lunch roasting vegetables and doing some other meal prep.  I had veggies from my garden and the farmer's market that I needed to use and a rainy day lunch was the perfect time to get this done.  A couple of crockpot meals, roasted veggies, and potato and green bean soup cleared all of the veggies out of my fridge and I had meals for the rest of the week and some meals that I popped into the freezer for some quick dinners in the future.   

On this rainy Wednesday afternoon, I was surprised to see this beautiful tom turkey standing on the neighbor's front porch.  In all my years living in my house, I've never seen this before.  I had to get a picture.   

After work, I made the drive to the shelter for our Wednesday night dog walk.   I was very happy that the rain stopped so we didn't have to walk in the rain.  We had 4 very nice dogs walk with us, and they all loved bring out of the shelter for a while.

The girls had come along for the ride so that we could head to Fenner Nature Center immediately after dog walking because there was a fun geocaching event that we wanted to attend.  We finished the evening with a bonfire and some snacks.  It was a beautiful way to end our rainy day.

After work on Thursday. we visited the final South Lansing Farmer's Market of the season.  The girls were very happy that their Fur Real Dog treat lady was there to spoil them and I picked up a few things before we headed home.  We're going to miss the Farmer's market until it returns in the spring.  

The best part of our week was Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona coming to town for dinner and for Jack O'Lanterns Unleashed at the fairgrounds.on Thursday evening. 

Fiona loved this event last year, and I love that they offer dog friendly nights on Thursdays so that I can do something fun with all of my girls.

We enjoyed our walk around checking out all of the awesome pumpkins.

Then when we were done, Fiona happily posed for a few pictures with the girls.  These are some of my favorites.

I think all of their personalities come through in these.  I sure do love these girls!

Friday was a busy morning at work as I prepared to be out of the office next week for a work conference in San Diego.  

We left home late Friday afternoon to head to Farmington Hills for the night so I could fly to San Diego on Saturday morning.   While I didnt have to be in San Diego until Sunday  I decided to take advantage of the trip and head out a day early to explore town since I'd never been to San Diego previously. 

Aftrr an uneventful drive,we got settled into our hotel before heading out to meet up with Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona for a hayride which was being held by the Nature Center where Fiona goes to preschool. 

It was great weather for a hayride, and Fiona was very excited to be in the wagon.  It was a beautiful evening for it, too.  

I was really glad that everything worked out so well, allowing me to join them on the hayride and then for dinner afterward.  I love spending time with them.

After dinner,  the girls and I headed back to our hotel so we could turn in for the night for my early Saturday flight.  I was sad to be leaving them behind, so I took full advantage of all the puppy snuggles I could!

I was up and out of my hotel room by 6am to drop the girls off for their stay at Canine College, and then it was off to the airport for my flight.  I was so excited that my path crossed with this adorable little TSA pup as I was just entering security at the airport.  It certainly brightened my day.  And I have to say, despite the current government shutdown, I probably had the best TSA check-in experience ever.   It went quickly and the TSA agents were all great.  

After I was through security, I grabbed breakfast, and headed to my gate to wait for boarding.  I saw the sunrise from the airport, and by 8:30 we were off for the trip to San Diego. 

It was an uneventful flight and I landed in San Diego just after 10am.  I was through the airport and in an Uber to my hotel quickly.  Luckily the hotel had a room ready so that I could check in early.  It was nice to drop off my luggage, get changed into some shorts and then head out to find some lunch.  It had been a long day already and I was starving!

I enjoyed some delicious Mexican food sitting outside on a beautiful day then walked around a bit to see what I could see in the Gaslamp Quarter.  Then I headed off for an afternoon at the San Diego Zoo.

I had a good first day in San Diego and I'm looking forward to some more fun tomorrow before work takes over for the next few days.  It should be a good week here, though.  I'll share all about my San Diego trip next week.  For now, I'm heading off to bed after a very long Saturday!

Hope you have a great week, too!

Sometimes you just need to get away

Oh, what a nice week we had.  After making the drive from Minneapolis to Copper last Sunday, we were happy to wake up to a beautiful, quiet, fall morning in our quaint little cabin at the Minnetonka. 

We started our day with our morning walk around the Harbor.  It's always our favorite way to start our day.   When we returned to our cabin for breakfast, we were excited to meet Louie the GSP who was staying in the cabin next to us. He was a very sweet boy and I'm always happy when I get the chance to meet another GSP and crazy GSP owners.  

After breakfast, Peaches enjoyed watching the world from the screen door.  It was such a beautiful day and we had no specific plans.  I really just wanted to enjoy a relaxing few days up north.

We eventually headed out for a visit to The Genny to pick up some lunch.  The girls always wait patiently outside for me while I shop and they usually have at least one visitor while we're there.  They are very popular!

After eating lunch, we hit the road for a trip out to Bete Gris for a little beach time.

Unlike the Summer, this time of year it is much more likely that you'll have the beach to yourself.  We were happy to be able to get out for some quiet beach time and a nice walk.  It was even warm enough that I took off my shoes, rolled up my pant legs, and waded in the water as we walked.  

Before we got back in the car, I made the girls pose in the middle of the road because we could.  

Then we were off for a trip down the Gay-Lac LaBelle Rd.  

The color was lovely along the side of the road which made the drive even more scenic.  It was just beautiful in the sun.

We had a very nice stop at Brunette Park next.  We don't often stop here, so it's always a nice change to stop to explore.

We left Brunette park and continued our journey toward Gay, then headed toward Calumet, and then made the drive along 5 Mile Point Road back to M26 and through Eagle River and Eagle Harbor.  It was a lovely drive checking out the fall colors along the way.

When we returned to the Harbor, we took a short break before heading out for our pre-dinner walk and visit to our horsey friends, Benjamin and Chance.

It was a beautiful late afternoon walk that we all enjoyed very much.

Then we walked over to the Genny to pick up dinner.  As we left the store,  we ran into our awesome friend Scott and had a very quick visit.  I'm always happy to see Scott when we're in town.

After dinner, we settled in for a very quiet evening.  It had been a really great day.  

We woke to a much cooler morning on Tuesday.  Of course we started with our morning walk around town.  The weather forecast promised high temperatures around 48 and some windy conditions,  something we aren't used to yet, so I wasn't sure how much time we'd spend hiking, but I knew we'd still have a fun day.

I decided this was the perfect day to pick up lunch from Four Suns.  The wind wasn't as bad in Hancock, so we were able to continue our normal tradition of sitting outside at one of the picnic tables to eat.  The girls had their lunch while I ate mine, and I shared a few bites of my fish and fries with them too.  As always, it was a hit.

Then we headed out to make the drive to the Gratiot River County Park.  

The colors were beautiful along the drive and the girls enjoyed sticking their heads out of the windows to smell all of the smells.

I was so happy that I had decided to make this drive. We all really enjoyed it.

Finally we arrived at the beach.  I was surprised at how many people were there when we arrived, but we were able to get away from the crowds by walking down the beach.  We even found a hiking trail in the woods to explore. 

While it was a little windy, we still really enjoyed exploring the beach here.  

On the way back to Copper Harbor,  we discovered a little lookout with a nice view of the area from above.  I love these kinds of places.

I knew it had been a good day when Peaches settled in for a nap in the front seat.

After getting back to the Harbor and having a little break, it was time again for our pre-dinner walk out to see Chance and Benjamin.

We had a nice long walk and, when we were heading back to our room, we ran into Tom on his way to feed the horses, so we turned and headed back to the horses for a nice visit with Tom.

We made a quick trip up Brockway before sunset, but it was so incredibly windy I thought I was going to blow over.  We didn't stay long because i have never felt wind quite so strong.  

Wednesday morning was gorgeous.  While it started a little cloudy, the temperatures were perfect and the wind had stopped.  On our morning walk, we stopped at Jamsen's and I was happy to see they had a wild blueberry turnover on the menu.  I had to try it, and it was delicious!

After breakfast we drove out to Fort Wilkins.  We all love walking here.  I was looking forward to a nice walk, but with the crazy squirrels out in force preparing for winter, the girls were losing their minds.  Somehow we still got in a good walk, but boy was it exhausting!

After our walk, we took a short drive down Mandan Road to check out the new East Bluff bike park.

Then I made myself a sandwich and grabbed some snacks, and we headed out to Manganese Lake for lunch.  The girls and I all ate our lunch with a beautiful view in this peaceful setting.  

After lunch we took a drive to Esrey Park for a visit.

Then we drove the Eagke Harbor Cutoff Road to Garden City Road to Eagle River.  I got the girls out to stretch their legs at the dog park in Eagke River and Mina even got to play fetch.  

We did our pre-dinner walk a little earlier on this day and we made a late afternoon trip up Brockway to enjoy the views before the sunset crowds arrived.

We had a nice little walk around on Brockway enjoying the views. It was a pretty day at the top of the mountain. 

We finished our evening with a potty walk around the Harbor before bed.  

For the first time of our whole vacation, Mina was up before the sun on Thursday morning.  It was our final morning in the Harbor, and I was glad we had the chance for this pre-sunrise walk.  

After breakfast, I packed the car, and we prepared to leave. I'm always sad to go, but so thankful for the time we spent and memories we made.  But before we could leave the Keweenaw,  we had one more stop to make.

We arrived at Great Sand Bay ready for a nice visit with Bryce and Hope, and we immediately headed to the beach.  Hope and Mina had a great time running and playing chase.  Then we took a walk down the beach.  It was a great visit and so wonderful to see them.  This was the perfect end to our trip. 

As we made the drive home, we stopped in Baraga for lunch at a burrito place on the bay.  It was a beautiful day to sit outside for lunch.

As we continued our drive home, I knew we'd make a couple more stops along the way.  The first of those stops was at a trailhead for the North Country Trail along M28 outside of Marquette. 

The trail here was mostly gravel, so we moved along pretty quickly.  We didnt have time for a long walk, but we were able to get in 1.5 miles before loading up the car and continuing our journey. 

Our next stop was at Wagner Falls in Munising where the trail was recently moved off of M94 and into the woods near the waterfall.

I was so excited to quickly check out the trail here.

We only hiked a half mile, but we saw a lot of squirrels and some pretty views. I look forward to having more time to explore this new section of the trail.

I had to make a quick stop at Wagner Falls too.  It is my favorite waterfall and we had a few quiet minutes here all by ourselves.   It was perfect. 

Before leaving town, I topped off the gas tank and got ready for the rest of the drive home.  Thankfully we successfully made the rest of our trip home without anymore stops.  It was dark and later than I would have liked, but we were safely home.

I wanted to take advantage of my Friday off by taking the girls to Chelsea to finish our Chelsea Trails Bark Ranger challenge.   

The trails we picked to walk this time were mostly through neighborhoods.  We enjoyed all of the festive Halloween decorations and the fall colors.

With this trip, we officially completed the challenge and I had hoped to pick up the girls' Bark Ranger tags, but unfortunately the Chamber of Commerce was closed while we were there.  I'm really happy we did this challenge this year because it got us out exploring some new areas.  

We ended our Friday with one of our favorite events of the year, Howloween in Old Town.  It was a great success and so much fun.

The goal for Saturday was to get out on the North Country Trail.  I really want to finish our 100 miles before it gets too cold this year.

We have been hiking in Albion so much lately and I wanted a change of pace, so we made the drive to Jonesville to hike the trail there.

With temperatures in the mid-70s, I wasn't sure how far we'd get with Peaches, but she was a trooper and we finished with 3.65 miles on the trail, leaving us just 10.6 miles from reaching our 100 miles this year.  

By the end of the hike, both girls were pooped.  It was such a great day to be on the trail.

When we got back to Lansing, we headed to REO Town for the Happy Feet Pet Rescue's 5th annual Halloween Pawty. 

The girls enjoyed "Pupkin" Pies and bobbing for tennis balls, as well as some other fun activities. 

This is always a fun time and it benefits a great cause, so I'm happy we went.  The girls were happy to be there, too.

My favorite part of the event was the cute paw print artwork the girls created for me.  I love them.

After the event, we took a quick walk around REO Town, then made a short visit to the Apple Butter Festival at Fenner Nature Center.  We made it home before rain moved into the area for the night.  With all of the fun we had, the girls crashed for the rainy evening. 

With rain in the forecast all day Sunday, we didn't have any big plans.  Vanessa suggested a little geocaching adventure, and the girls and I were happy to join her.  We had a nice drive in the country,  enjoyed some fall color, picked up several geocaches, and ended the fun with a stop for cider and doughnuts.   It was a great way to spend a couple of hours before having a quiet day at home...the perfect end to our week of vacation.