Memorial Day adventures are just what the doctor ordered.

Last week was challenging.  Life felt a little out of my control.  There is so much going on both at work and my life outside of work,  it was a bit overwhelming.  Add to that several changes that are coming soon, and I felt overwhelmed.  More on that to come another time.

I don't like feeling like I don't have control over my own life and choices, and that feeling of being a pawn in someone else's plan is so frustrating.  All of those emotions came to a head last week, and I realized that I just needed to step back, take a deep breath, and know that ultimately everything will be okay.  

Momday and Tuesday were pretty much a blur of activity and craziness.   Busy days of work, weather that wasn't ideal for Peaches, Bumble recovering from his neuter surgery...we didn't even get out for a walk on Monday.  So on Tuesday,  I made sure to get them out for a walk around Old Town with a stop at Preuss Pets.  That ealknwith them really helped my mood.

On Wednesday, I was happy to get out for our Wednesday evening shelter dog walk.  We walked two of the nicest dogs... Sea Salt Sally and Captian Joey.  Walking  with a shelter dog always improves my mood.  It's just nice to feel like you are making some small difference in their lives.

Then I came home to cute little Bumble and my girls.  

On Thursday, I used my lunch hour to get new tires on my car and to get an oil change.  Then, after work, I took Bumble and the girls to the South Lansing Farmer's Market. 

We were all happy to visit our favorite treat lady.  

Then we headed into Feeder's Pet store for a visit, and Mina took part in the trick contest they were holding.  While she didn't win, I was proud of how good she was I the midst of chaos.  Bumble absolutely loved this visit, and he was a big hit with all of the employees.   It was a fun visit for us all.

Friday finally arrived.  I had a half day of work before we would he heading out of town for Memorial day weekend.  Bumble could not join us on our trip, and I was thankful another volunteer had offered to foster him for me for the weekend. 

Before leaving home to take Bumble to the shelter, I decided to throw him a little ice cream party just in case someone showed up to adopt him that afternoon.   He loved his ice cream!

After dropping Bumble off with his foster for the weekend, the girls and I headed to pick up Vanessa, and then we started our journey North for our annual Memorial Day weekend UP trip.

We made a quick stop in Mackinaw City before crossing the Bridge and continuing our drive to our Airbnb in Rudyard.  We got settled in and I fed the girls dinner while Vanessa cooked our dinner.

Then after we ate, we all took an evening walk down the road before settling in for the night.  

We had the perfect lazy start to our Saturday and finally headed out for our day of adventures around 10:30.  Our first stop...lunch at Clyde's!

Then we stopped at Straits State Park for the Bridge view and some geocaches. 

I loved this container made to look like a roasted marshmallow.

I was also happy to finally get the girls' picture with the State Park sign here.

We continued our geocaching fun around town.  Boy oh boy was it windy and chilly!

We also got out for a walk along the St. Ignace boardwalk which is also part of the North Country Trail.   While Vanessa visited the Museum of Ojibwa Culture, the girls and I continued to walk back and forth along the trail while we waited.  When we got back to the car, we had completed 2.1 miles on the trail, putting us over 95 miles for the year.  We're almost done!

Then we continued our journey west of town, starting with a stop to climb the tower for a Mackinac Bridge view.  It was windy and foggy and we couldn't see the Bridge at all, but we were determined to do all the silly touristy things in town that we hadn't done before.

Our next stop was the Mystery Spot.  I hadn't been there in years and it was Vanessa's first trip.  It's a silly, fun stop that everyone should do at least once. Before leaving, we treated ourselves to some ice cream.

Then we continued our drive toward the Fiborn Karst Preserve.   It was an eventful drive after I missed a turn, but that just added a little more fun to our adventure!

I was excited to check out this area because it is part of the UP that was completely new for me.  I was not disappointed by this stop.

We had a great walk around, explored the quarry and old buildings, and found several geocaches along the way.

This was one of the most unique places I've visited in the UP and an unexpected favorite stop.

We picked up a few caches as we made the drive home, and arrived back at the Airbnb before dark, Once again, I fed the dogs dinner while Vanessa made us our late, and very delicious, dinner.

Then the girls went straight to bed!  We had had such a good day, and we all slept well!

Sunday morning we were up and ready to move on to the next part of our adventure.  We packed the car and left our Airbnb behind, and headed to St. Ignace to start our day with breakfast at Java Joe's.  Then we picked up a couple more geocaches before it was time to check in for our ferry ride over to Mackinac Island for the night.

The girls did pretty well on the ferry ride over, although neither of them wanted to sit still for long.

It was rainy and chilly, so we took a short walk around the upper deck and then headed back downstairs and inside.

And in no time at all, we arrived in the Island.

The initial crowds and all of the excitement, noise, and horses, were definitely a little overstimulating for Mina, but I was so proud of how quickly she acclimated. 

We had a couple of hours to fill before we could check into our hotel, so off we went to explore.  Unfortunately,  it was rainy, but we were determined to make the most of our time.

We walked up the hill by the Fort and then took a nice walk to Arch Rock.

Then we headed down the stairs to M-185 to start the walk toward our hotel for the night.

We arrived very soaked and happy to be there.  After we checked in, we were ready to get out of the rain and to relax in our room for a bit.  

Then we headed out for dinner and a post-dinner walk.

Thankfully the rain had stopped for our evening walk and we enjoyed exploring the Island a bit.

Finally, after a busy day of adventures, we headed back to our hotel and settled in for the night.  The girls crashed after all of the day's excitement and slept soundly all night.

On Memorial Day, we woke to warmer temperatures and sunshine for the first time thia trip.

I got the girls out for their morning potty walk while Vanessa got ready.  It was a beautiful morning. 

When we got back to the room, we packed up, dropped our luggage with the Bell Hop, and headed out to enjoy the rest of our time on the Island. 

We enjoyed some more geocaching, enjoyed the pretty views, and the girls even got pup cups from Starbucks when we walked by and a very nice lady asked if she could get them the special treat.

Of course we had to make a stop for a picture in front of the Grand Hotel!

And Peaches was so happy that she was able to roll in the grass!

And before we knew it, our 24 hours on the Island came to an end and we were back on the ferry to St. Ignace. 

The girls were very good on our trip back and several people on the ferry commented on how well behaved they were.  I was such a proud mom!

When we got off the ferry, I got the car while Vanessa got the luggage and called Clyde's with our lunch order, and I fed the girls lunch in the car as we drove away.  Then we stopped at the gas station for a beverage and to top off the gas tank, and picked up our lunch from Clyde's.  We stopped at one of the Bridge view parks nearby to eat and then hit the road toward home.

It's always so strange to leave from St. Ignace because it's such a short drive home for us.  We returned Vanessa safely home before 7pm and then headed home ourselves.   I unpacked, fed the girls dinner, did a load of laundry, and took a nice hot shower before sitting down to relax for the night.  

It had been an excellent weekend and just what I needed to refocus, relax, and recharge for the next few weeks.  

And today on my lunch, Bumble came back home with me.

I think he's happy to be back, and we're glad he's safely with is again too.  Now to get this boy adopted!