Mini Vacation

After several changes of plans, Hayley and I had a mini vacation last weekend -- something we don't get very often.

My dad sent me an email last week, saying he and my stepmom were going to take a trip to the U.P. (they live in Northern Lower Michigan) and wanted to know our plans for the weekend. We happened to not have any plans, so he said they'd be spending Saturday with my brother and sis-in-law in Newberry. Then they'd park their trailer at a campground in Munising, pick us up Sunday morning, and we'd go hiking with them (my dad and stepmom) at Pictured Rocks on Sunday.

Well, my brother had to work on Saturday, so he (my brother) suggested we all meet at the Munising City Dock on Sunday and we'd take his boat out to Grand Island, where we'd have some lunch and go hiking. My dad emailed me with the change of plans, and I replied by saying I didn't care where we went as long as I'd be getting photos somewhere other than Marquette.

Then on Saturday, my dad phoned me from the Munising campground, saying my brother sold his boat (he'd been trying to sell it on eBay or something, and wouldn't you know someone buys it just when we were going to use it). So then my dad said it'd be a lot easier if Hayley and I stayed with him and my stepmom (in their trailer) at the campground that night because we were going to rent a pontoon to take to Grand Island. After finally finding someone to watch the dog and cats, I phoned my dad and said the plan was fine -- we'd spend the night with them and meet up with my brother and sister-in-law at the pontoon rental place for 9:00am on Sunday.

Other than Tim and Jan being a little late on Sunday morning, all other plans were still in order -- we'd take the pontoon to Grand Island, do some hiking, and have lunch out there before returning the pontoon by 2:00pm.

The ride out there was great, with very little wave action. Tim drove the pontoon, and showed us where we'd stop for lunch. Then he played tour guide, taking us around to various parts of the island with the pontoon. We stopped at one beach, just to take a look around. When we left there, Tim decided we might as well go all the way around the island. However, the waves started picking up. Not only was it getting choppier, but the waves were also coming from two different directions in some areas. At one point, I was taking a photo of the island just off the front of the pontoon, when a huge wave came up, flying over Hayley's head (she was sitting in front of me), and soaking both her and Jan.

We ended up skipping part of my brother's tour, cutting across bays and channels as much as possible. Dad, Sharol, and Jan all wanted to just forget landing at our original destination on Grand Island, and return the pontoon two hours early. So that's what we did. Then we went back to the campground, Tim and Jan left before we had lunch, then Dad and Sharol drove us back to Marquette -- several hours earlier than we had planned.

At least I got some photos! Right...?