I really do love fall

Last night we stayed at the lodge at Maumee Bay State Park. Got up early (thank you, time change!) to go for a walk on some of the trails. 

Well, I say "trails," but really it was a boardwalk. The leaves smelled every bit as good when we crunched through them as I had hoped.

Swamp grass is so pretty in the sunlight...

Days 2 and 3 in Chicago

Again, in app-mandated wackado order:
- Shark embryos, sea jellies, and sea dragons (oh my!) at the Shedd
- Goofing off on the Ledge at The Tower Formerly Known As Sears
- Sue, Mr. "Look I Have A Goose," and a kid willingly eating chicken sate.

Chi-Town

Spring Break + Mythbusters exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry = a perfect excuse for a road trip. Photos in an app-mandated wacky order show The Tower Formerly Known as Sears, the view from our swanky hotel room overlooking the river, proof that we survived the Metra trip to the MSI, proof that interleaved phone books really ARE that hard to pull apart, a creepy shot of my kid's future at Clown College, and proof that Jason doesn't drive the Mars Rover any worse than he drives a Nissan.

Next up: "We're going to take the El to the Shedd today, right, Mom?"

You know you have too many fossils when ...

The highway department uses these to make the steps down to a fishing spot next to the highway:

Ah, Brookville Lake - you're just filthy with fossils.

It's comin' right at me!

In Metamora, IN, long after the last train of the day.

Why you should go to Mackinac Island on vacation, even if you don't stay in the Grand Hotel

The hotel may have geraniums, but the rest of the island has hollyhocks (and lilacs in the spring) and gorgeous gardens planted in front yards and tucked away next to stables.

They've got a giant rock with a hole in it.

They've got lots of rocks, as a matter of fact.  So many that tourists have taken to leaving behind cairns just about everywhere, on land and off shore.

Bring some water shoes (the shore's mostly smooth stones, but they still hurt to walk on barefoot) so you can wade around in the absurdly clear water.  You probably don't want to swim, though - the lake never gets that warm.

You don't have to fight your way through crowds to get to the water, either, like you do in traditional beach towns.

They don't allow motorized vehicles on the island, so even the delivery trucks are pretty quiet.

Two butterfly houses.  'Nuff said.

Hiking up to the fort is good exercise, and they stuck a nice restaurant up there to give the non-history-fans something to look forward to.

There's another fort that hardly anybody visits that doesn't have a restaurant, but it's cool anyway.

It's almost always windy somewhere on the island, so it's always Kite Time.

Did I mention the cairns?

No cars = lots of bikes available to rent, even tandem ones set up for a little stoker.

The clouds make it all scenic and stuff.

Did I mention it's a bit windy?

It's an island and there's no bridge, so you have to take a ferry (or a small private plane) to get to there.

Well, there is a bridge, but it doesn't go to the island, it goes to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  But it's all scenic and stuff, too.

So basically, you go to Mackinac Island to enjoy a slower pace of life with scenic vistas, cool breezy weather, and places of historic interest.  And rocks.  And fudge.  And letterboxing, but that's a post in itself.

I am now one step closer to dying happy

So here it is: the hotel I've been waiting to stay in since 1970-something.

This is the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, MI.

It's all old and fancy and stuff, with eccentricities and a dress code.

It's so fancy, even your luggage gets to ride in a carriage from the dock to the hotel.

Even the retired ashtrays are fancy.

There's plenty to do - you can kick back on the world's longest porch.

Or splash around in a pool that was once used by Esther Williams.

You can engage in civilized sports, like croquet and bocce.

If you have lots of time, you can try to count how many geraniums are planted at the hotel.

You can play "spot-the-geraniums" everywhere you go, since they're on everything - posters, napkins, hand soap, even the furniture.

Not pictured: Eating a ridiculously expensive breakfast while practicing our best manners and being called "Princess" and "Milady."  Being carded - seriously - to prove we're guests and don't have to pay $10 to enter the hotel.  Listening to the harpist in the lobby while playing Oven Break on the iPod.  Taking the stairs rather than the elevator because we though it looked more elegant.  Trying to refrain from taking ALL of the geranium-scented bath products in our room to send to my mother.  Watching the hotel photographer taking shots each night on the porch, and being glad we raised our own photographer and brought her with us.

Jason was stuck in a conference room all day, but ironically he probably enjoyed more of the hotel amenities (especially breakfast and lunch) than Liza and I did.  We girls spent most of our time out and about, not learning about "lean innovation" and networking over lunch at the Jockey Club.  But everything we did do at the hotel more than lived up to my hopes and expectations. It was fancy, and sorta stuffy, and hilarious, and awesome.  I'd go back again in a heartbeat ... especially if Jason has another conference there someday!

Mackinaw-some! (groan)

When Jason learned he had an opportunity to take a seminar held at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, he realized it was a great chance to learn some stuff while giving me a special treat.  Staying at The Grand, you see, has been a pipe dream of mine since my parents brought me to Mackinac Island as a wee thing.  At something like $400 a night, it was going to stay that way ... until the wonder of corporate training dropped a boon on our doorstep.

Liza wasn't sure how much of a boon it was during the car ride up there, though.

We were doubly lucky to have access to a cabin in Mackinaw City that belong's to Jason's sister's husband's family (that makes them, what? my in-laws-squared?).  While we waited for the family to return to the cabin, we killed some time at the ferry dock checking things out in advance of our voyage.  Meanwhile, Jason made a cool discovery ... you don't see to many DeLoreans sitting in parking lots, even in Cleveland.

That afternoon we met with the Hathaways, and Liza especially enjoyed playing on their Lake Huron beach with the youngest of the grandchildren visiting this week.

One branch of the family brought their pet lizard with them - guess it's hard to find a lizard-sitter for weeks at a time - and it was really friendly to everyone but me.  Apparently I'm evil, as far as lizards are concerned.

After dinner we went out to the cabin the Hathaways loaned us, just in time for the sunset.

Liza wasn't about to let a little thing like fading light keep her from checking out the beach.

Meanwhile I was taking advantage of the view from the living room.

The next morning we did some serious shell-hunting (better selection that at our beach on Lake Erie).

We braved the chilly - but very shallow - and super-clear waters of Lake Michigan.

Liza added onto the existing complex of sand castles and giant beach holes with her walled, moated, humpbacked island of awesomeness.

I supervised.

This is my kind of beach - empty, shallow, and cold enough to wear a sweatshirt over my swimsuit.  Perfect!

By lunchtime we were ready to pack up and head for the island, which I'll have to post about tomorrow, as it's getting to be bedtime now.  In the meantime, thanks again to the Hathaways for their stupendous hospitality to virtual strangers.  You guys rock!