Passing Freighters

Today was rainy. My take on that is, "At least it wasn't snow!"

This post is titled "Passing Freighters" because that's what I took pictures of today. I don't take a ton of pictures in the rain.



We got to school a little ahead of schedule, and the rain had paused. So my little one climbed the boardwalk railing and watched the straits. (She really enjoys that.)





This freighter was passing in front of the school shortly after 3pm this afternoon.





There is the 3:00pm ferry!











The preschool had a family day and fundraiser for a field trip. They want to go to the Gaylord Discovery Center. It had a nice turnout! We also watched the movie The Lorax, which the kids have been reading in class. I had fun, and the kids certainly seemed to as well!


Foghorns keep sounding tonight; it's foggy out. It is a lovely sound!

Cold April

The wind chill was 25 degrees this morning. I am still wearing my winter coat, mittens, and hat. (Snowpants would have been fine too.)
My youngest loves to climb on the boardwalk railing and look. Today, she said she wanted to watch the ice. And the ducks. She often prefers this to the school playground.


The Grand Hotel got new mattresses, and I believe the former ones are heading to the Hope Chest in St. Ignace:


It's a lot of mattresses!


There are still snow banks downtown:


The fire department was busy this afternoon:


No emergency! Must be a drill of some sort, this happens every once in a while. Look at the beautiful older engine on the right!


Cool, right?


The girls played on the school playground for about an hour after school (little sister taking a couple of breaks to look at the straits)


There are flowers coming along at Mission Point Resort!


What a welcome sight!


Even though it's chilly, spring prevails!

Playing at Marquette Park

It's the middle of April and the ice on the shoreline is finally melting away!


Blue skies!


My kindergartener wanted to play at Marquette Park today. We haven't been there for months. It was cold, but the girls had fun!


She cracks me up sometimes!


This was big sister 's idea. She had an idea for a good picture and little sister was happy to follow her instructions!


A freighter passes as the last ferry of the day was loading (I could actually hear the beep of the scanner!)



Not long after, this interesting boat passed too:


Beneath the fort:


View from the Father Marquette Memorial:


View of the statue of Father Marquette:


The girls have as much fun circling the statue as they do on the playground:


Seriously, these two are so much fun! (I also earn my sleep!)


Buds with the art museum in the background! I'm ready to experience spring!

April Showers, Hope for Flowers

When I checked the weather this morning, it said zero percent chance of rain for my first trip to school. It lied. Fortunately, it was wrong before we left, so we put on our rain gear.


Puddles may be messy, but I do enjoy reflections:


Today was a smidge foggy:


The bridge is hardly visible:


The roads are fine for biking, but the parking is still snowy:


Heading into school to pick up big sister:


Here is the sign of hope today: some flowers are showing their colors!

Sunset Ride from Mackinaw City in July

The snow is melting, and I thought it would be nice to look back at warm summer days. I took these photos on a ferry ride from Mackinaw City to Mackinac Island last July.


Sunsets are one of my all-time favorite things!


A cool cloud stretches above St. Ignace:








The amazing Mackinac Bridge:





The lights of Mackinac Island:


Can you see the Grand Hotel?

















The moon (it's hard to get a decent shot of the moon on an iPhone):


I'll be honest, I don't remember what these lights are exactly... But I think the blue lights were from a boat.



Less than 3 weeks until most everything opens on the island! The slow boat is still running, which is unusual for April, but there really is ice left in some spots. There's a 30 percent chance of snow showers on Friday, but that's a few days ahead. I am officially tired of snow. The roads were clear for biking today (yesterday was a workout)! Take care all!