My sisters and I had planned a trip to Mackinac Island in Michigan. Amazingly we got all 7 sisters, plus Del's wife Lori and even my mom made it work to come to Michigan for a weekend. It was really great to see all my sisters and even better that we didn't have kids or spouses around...just us girls. I had been to Mackinac Island when I was 9 years old so it had been a while but it was really wonderful then and it was still a great place to visit. The weather was amazing and we had so much fun together. We certainly don't get together that often but it's nice that when we are all together we can get along and still be friends and have fun.
I sent this photo to Hyrum and the boys as I was boarding the airplane. I don't seem very happy or excited but it's only because I had been traveling so much in the month of September and I was just tired of traveling at this point. I never thought I would get to the point of being tired of traveling but I guess even I want to sleep in my own bed every once in a while!
Paige and DeNae flew into Detroit earlier in the day and rented a car and ran to Costco for some treats before picking me up at the airport. Then Paige found us the most delicious Lebanese restaurant in Detroit for dinner!
Lots of people drove to Michigan from different places or flew in on different flights but we all ended up meeting in Petoskey. This is the first photo of all of us together!
Kilwins fudge and ice cream shop in Petoskey...super yummy!
The ice cream and hot fudge here were the best!
My mom got a bit messy but it's all good when you have chocolate!
We waded into Lake Michigan to find "Petoskey Rocks" which are petrified coral you can find along the shores in this area of Michigan.
We checked into our Airbnb for the night. The "little sisters" had to share the bunk room!
It was great to have a house all to ourselves. We could stay up watching movies and laughing and eating and we didn't bother anyone:)
Since we were staying in St. Ignace we had to take the ferry back and forth to Mackinac Island. It was so lovely out on the water and the weather was fantastic.
The beautiful Grand Hotel
We took a carriage ride around some of the sites on the island. It was a lot of fun and the driver tells you history about the island.
Part of the carriage ride takes you into the State Park. The trees were changing colors and it was very pretty. Not to mention it was nice to be in the shade!
We stopped at a beautiful overlook...not everyone wanted to get out of the carriage:)
After the carriage ride we walked back into downtown.
Such a picturesque little town
This church has windows made by the Tiffany company
We went to the Grand Hotel for afternoon tea
After tea we got to explore the old hotel for a bit. It was built in 1887 and was a destination holiday for many.
The dining room, there is a dress code to eat here
The movie "Somewhere in Time" was filmed here. It was one of our favorites to watch growing up. We re-watched in one of the nights we were all together and we agreed...it didn't age well 😜
The hotel has the "longest porch" in the world. Not sure if that is true but it's what the carriage ride guide told us:)
Can't believe we could all be together
The grounds for the hotel are also beautiful
Silly sisters
Serious sisters
It's not a sisters trip until someone starts braiding hair! After a fun day on the island we came back to the house and had pizza for dinner and watched a movie
Back on the ferry for day 2 of Mackinac Island fun
We rented bikes to make the 8 mile loop around the island. My mom got an electric scooter that only went maybe 3 mph...it was the longest 8 mile bike ride ever, it took us almost 3 hours. BUT, we weren't in any hurry, we could stop and enjoy what we were seeing and we just enjoyed being together. Sadly, Eryn wasn't feeling well so she stayed at the Airbnb
Paige
DeNae
Taking a break to enjoy the view
Went for a very small walk through the state park. The 1/2 mile trail pointed out plants and animals native to the island
What a great day for a bike ride
Riann and Paige took off their shoes to wade in the water but the rocks were not fun to walk on so they had to crawl back to their shoes!
We stopped to get a photo with this cool rock arch
Even though it made the ride VERY slow I'm glad my mom could join us on this little adventure.
This was a scene from the movie "Somewhere in Time"
DeNae and I had to stop to recreate the scene by the very same trees!
That evening we went to Darrow's Family Restaurant in Mackinaw City for dinner. I got the white fish that is supposedly fresh from the lake. It was delicious. We got an apple pie and sang Happy Birthday to DeNae because her birthday was going to be in 2 days.
Overall this was a wonderful trip. It's always a bit nerve wracking to get together with so many people because everyone is trying to anticipate what everyone else wants to do and no one is willing to actually say what they want to do for fear of offending other people. And it's hard to get this many women together and not find things to argue about, especially with the past we have all grown up with. BUT with that said this weekend was perfect. It was just 3 days of togetherness which was great, not enough time to bring up past wounds. It was nice to reconnect without other family distractions. I can genuinely say that I love all these ladies...I just don't necessarily want to spend more than 3 days with some of them!
