A Grand Two Days...

Last week Thursday and Friday I was blessed to be able to accompany my Mother and Aunt to a Win-Some Women's Retreat at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. This was to be my third time to the convention, and my favorite visit so far. We had a WONDERFUL time together. Paul Young, author of The Shack, gave a powerful speech - one I will never forget. If you ever get the chance to hear him speak -- GO! It was really amazing. Gracia Burnham, author of In The Presence of My Enemies, spoke of her ordeal in the Philippians.  To call it an ordeal is an understatement. She and her husband, Martin, were kidnapped by a militant group of Muslims and held captive for 376 days at which point they were rescued but her husband was killed. Heart wrenching to say the least but her testimony was also powerful and inspiring. There was also a talented theater group called Friends of the Groom. The music was spectacular and performed by an all female contemporary Christian group called Point of Grace.

The weather may have been gloomy, but you could still see the beauty everywhere.

This is one view from out hotel room window.

Below are other views.

Round Island Lighthouse

Horses and buggy below and the Grand's pool in the distance.

A closer look at the pool

The shipping lanes

The porches were as lovely as ever. However, we admired from inside the Grand as the wind whipped the flags around during the intermittent rain showers.

We were able to stroll the now quiet streets...

...hoping the rain would hold off...

...so we could enjoy the colors of Fall...

...and the Halloween decorations.

You eat like queens at the Grand -- fancy china and all the GREAT food...

...served to us by the fantastic kitchen staff. This was how our retreat ended - pecan crusted chicken breast, mushroom soup, etc. Some of the waitstaff balanced the trays on their heads -- NO HANDS!

My mood matched the weather on my quiet ride back to the UP while my Mom and Aunt headed back downstate. It was a trip that ended too soon, and I wanted another day! But the memory will make me smile and this post will make the memories even clearer. 

Thanks Mom!!

A Little Get-Away of Our Own

Recently, Steve and I spent a few days at the Grizzly Den. We have been blessed to have MANY bookings since we opened it to renters, but not so much time for ourselves. Fall is so beautiful in our area of the UP, in fact ALL areas in the Upper and Lower Peninsulas have had exceptional vibrant fall colors. We decided we were ready for own relaxing get-away. 

Below are a few pics with captions...

View from the back porch across the river

Up the driveway

Perfect nights for cooking supper on a tripod over a bonfire!

Beautiful fall night

Steve even caught two fish out of the river. It was a splendid mini vacation of hiking, fishing, cooking around the fire, and bird hunting which is in full swing. We saw MANY grouse when we weren't hunting, not one when we were. If nothing else exciting comes along until my next post, I'll show you pictures of our four-wheeling color tour. I hear that while we were downstate for a few days visiting our sons, our area of the UP received 2-5 inches of snow. 

Currently Steve is out bow hunting. No luck yet.

Great Friends and Beautiful Colors

Two weeks ago today, the colors suddenly started to change. Since then we've had friends stay with us from Michigan, Colorado, and Florida, and we've all commented on how all of a sudden the colors began popping out. The past few days the colors have exploded!

We wanted to show our friends our favorite places in the UP. So we visited...

Tahquamenon Falls...

...and Mission Point Hill. All those wind turbines are on the Canadian side of the St. Marys River.

We did some outdoor grilling over an open fire,

and grilled two leftover trout and jalapenos from my garden made into poppers.

We did some four-wheeling, stopping by a few of our favorite lakes.

And I snapped a shot of these turtles hanging out on this log.

Yesterday afternoon Steve and I headed out on a color tour by vehicle. Our destination was the Lake Superior shoreline.

We didn't have to stop at Oswald's and see the bears. We'd seen enough of our own for free!

We parked the car and headed out on this path.

Lake Superior ahead!

I never tire of this view.

Currently we are entering bow season mode which opened today. Steve and I scouted on Saturday to find a spot for his deer blinds.

We'll keep you posted on the hunt!