The kids and I left mid-morning Friday and planned to take our time, stopping whenever we needed to since I was the only driver and I had no idea how the kids would do on the 5 1/2 hour drive.
After a couple of hours, we discovered we were just about ten minutes ahead of Grampy & Maria and the car with cousins Casti & Fritty riding in it, so we waited and followed them on their detour to Maria's cabin. There we did some exploring and picked up MANY ticks to take along for the ride north.
We met up with Auntie Em at Sven & Ole's for pizza, and then Grampy took the older boys on a hike out to the lighthouse where they could walk out on the rocks of Lake Superior.
Then it was up to the lodge where Grampy took the boys out to the beach to throw rocks and explore before bed.Early the next morning, Auntie Em & I took the kids into town for breakfast and a stroll out to the beach.
And then it was back to the lodge to gather up everyone for a short hike to the Lower Falls.
At the end of the hike, everyone got to enjoy our favorite hiking picnic lunch of all time: Hawaiian bread with cream cheese, jelly, and peanut butter. Snacks likes them all together on his bread...
Afterward, Sissy was so pooped she took a little nap...
and then a few of us piled back in the car for another trip to Ben Franklin to stock up on the kinds of things only a Ben Franklin in a small town would have...
Before dinner Grampy took Snacks to climb on the rocks down the beach at the lodge.
Sunday we were off on a hike to Pigeon Falls...
followed by an impromptu gathering on the beach back in town. I think this was my favorite part of the trip. We sat in the sun next to the warm rocks while Snacks and Casti climbed around on their "castle" rocks and the little ones played on the beach. We ate all different kinds of homemade fudge from the candy shop and munched kettle corn and enjoyed the company and the view.
And then it was time for the bonfire on the beach back at the lodge with hot dogs and s'mores.
It felt colder than usual this year, but the s'mores tasted just as good!
