Vacation in Michigan: part one

Ben and Jenn went on their first real vacation together in August of 2007. They decided to visit Michigan where their friends Wes and Katie had recently moved. Ben lived in Michigan for nearly two years and was able to revisit some of the areas where he lived.

While in Michigan, they went to visit Wes at work.

They saw some old cars...

And some new ones.

Ben and Jenn wanted to spend a day exploring downtown Detroit, but it ended up being only about 20 minutes.

Here are some buildings in downtown Detroit.

Wes and Katie took Ben and Jenn to the Ford History Museum.

They rode in a real, original Model T Ford car.

They rode a Merry-Go-Round. Here are Wes, Katie and their new baby daughter, Zoe.

Wes and Ben found a huge tree. Just like boys, they had to climb it.

Jenn wan't to climb the tree, too, but she needed some help.

Well, she made it. But what you can't see in this picture is just how scared she was. The branch wasn't that high...

Wes isn't scared. He looks like he wants to jump down.

Ben is so cute. Little tree monkey.

Vacation in Michigan: part two

The second half of their trip, Ben and Jenn cruised up the coast of Lake Michigan to see all the lighthouses. First stop was in Holland, Michigan.

It wouldn't be Holland without a Dutch Village...

...wooden shoes...
...and dancers...?

There was even a windmill.

Quick kiss before they left.

This is the first lighthouse they visited on their trip up the coast of Lake Michigan.

Holland, Michigan.

The beach in Holland was beautiful.

This is part of the lighthouse in Grand Haven.

While walking on the pier to the Ludington lighthouse, a huge ocean liner cruised by. Wow, Lake Michigan is so big it can accomodate ocean liners.

This is the lighthouse in Ludington. It was the last one of the day.

Sunset on the beach in Ludington.

Aren't they cute?

Quick kiss before they left.

Before they lost all the light of the day, they decided to drive around the city.

This is one of the places where Ben used to live.

They stopped at the local Big Boy and ordered one of everything on the menu.

They were pretty hungry.

They slept in the trunk of the car in the parking lot in Manistee where Ben used to work.

The next morning they watched the sunrise at the end of the pier in Onekama.

Then they disturbed all the birds who had stopped to watch the sunrise.

The last lighthouse on the trip was at the northernmost point in Traverse City.

This lighthouse is exactly halfway between the North Pole and the Equator on the 45th parallel.

This was the best vacation, because it was their first together. The best part was buying fresh fruit and maple syrup from road-side stands. They ate the juiciest peaches and spit cherry pits out the window of the car until they were sick. Good times.