Sarah's Birthday

I asked Sarah to schedule a 1/2 day off work Monday a few months back so I could "kidnap" her on her birthday. Since her weekend is Tuesday and Wednesday, it would be less time off for her. I didn't tell her where I was taking her or what we would be doing. She guessed often, though never guessing correctly...she did come close to the destination, but never the "what".

Just north of West Branch, she started guessing again and went back to one of her first guesses; Mackinac or Mackinac Island. I again told her no but gave one more hint...and Saint Ignace was finally guessed. We checked into the hotel late afternoon and while I cleaned up, Sarah went across the street and got us some pasties for an afternoon snack. Just gotta have pasties when you are in the U.P. We finished up eating and Sarah got into some warm weather clothes as that was the dress requirement for the evening. She still didn't know what we were doing that night.

Surprise, sunset cruise in the straights! We arrived at the Star Line main ferry dock around 7:15pm and got in line for the 8pm cruise. By 7:30pm there were already 60 or 70 people in line. We bordered around 7:50pm and were able to get seats on the top most deck which was going to be perfect for photos, although a little chilly once the sun goes down. Sarah had her warm clothes and we both had our cocktails (you can bring food and drink on-board, just no glass containers) and we were ready for the evening. The cruise starts in Saint Ignace, heads over to the island to pick up additional passengers and then out into the straights for the sunset under the bridge. Got some great photos and even ran into one of my brother Mike's best friends from high school, Mike Stirle. Small world! After the cruise we got a late dinner at a little Mexican joint downtown Saint Ignace and then called it a night.

Early Tuesday morning after Sarah picked from several things to do, we headed north to visit the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and then the Tahquamenon Falls. The weather was going to be perfect that day with low 60s in the morning followed by low 70s in the afternoon and not a cloud in the sky. The museum, although small, has a lot of good information on the area shipwrecks and serves as a good starting point for places and dates to read up on. After a walk around the museum and the Lake Superior shoreline, we headed to the falls.

We started off at the lower falls and then finished up at the upper falls. It really was a perfect day. Not very buggy and not too hot. We did see several animals but none of the "big 3" (moose, elk or bear). Mostly cranes and chipmunks. We did however see a moose taking advantage of a poor little bear in the micro brewery at the upper falls. Yup, that is right...a brewery! What a great way to end a walk to the falls. You will find the moose/bear photo in the link below.

Sarah and I had a lot of fun; a really great birthday. The weather was perfect for the sunset cruise and the cooler temps at the falls made for great walking.

Click here for the photos!