spring and out

waiting for the floating dock to make its way back to the landing so we could hop on and see the sights.

look at how perfectly clear that water is!

everyone enjoying the amazing weather and cool view.

it doesn't look that impressive on camera, but that sand is over 80 feet down!  those fish must be huge!

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with levi back in charge, it was time to head back.  'no really, levi, i think we can make it all the way around the island in time...'  oops.

at one point i decided it would be cool to sit at the front and let my legs hang off... we were going much to fast for that though!  every time i stuck my feet in i was blasted by cold water spraying up at me!

diana, enjoying the beautiful day.

as we got to end of our time out on the boat, as the sun was beginning to set, the chill of the air settled back in and i had to give up my hoodie to my cold wife!

back at the dock, only an hour or so late...

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when we pulled up on the beach, the two girls were obsessed with getting as many pretty rocks as they possibly could!  we stopped there for lunch, and neither of them even bothered to eat!

levi and i, on the other hand, had no problem at all digging in and enjoying the wraps we had brought with us!

they were so focused on collecting rocks that we finally had to give them a deadline- only five more minutes of rock hunting until we pulled off back into the water!

one more minute!- got to get those last few rocks!

back out to the open water to see the amazing sights!

as you can tell, i am pretty excited about that waterfall!

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the delicious homegrown place we stopped at for a little snack before heading to the baot.

we really got lucky with getting the newest boat in the fleet!

levi captaining it up!

ooh- feel the power and speed of that engine!  i took a picture of it because it was so exciting to have such a fast motor after being so used to our five horsepower electric boat motor at home...

just enjoying the beautiful views.

rockin' out on the back of the boat...

one of the rock formations along the coast.

we tried to go through the tunnel, but the water was just too shallow.  it being a rental and all, we didn't want to chance it...

those pesky boat tours- the boats are so big that he wake they leave shoved us back and forth- one of the times it shot a huge wave of water up onto the boat, soaking miranda!

park and rec

group photo at the waterfall!

it really was beautiful- and so peaceful!

the stream as it poured into lake superior.  this was a favorite place for levi's grandpa, he told us.

diana trying to navigate the cold waters in search of a perfect shiny rock!

they could have spent hours here checking out the pretty rocks if we had let them!

levi and i getting all romantical on the fallen log...

around grand marais

a beautiful view of the cape, with boats tied up for the night.

enjoying a tasty meal!

one of the strange/quaint sights to see in grand marais!

off roadin'

along the beginning of the trail we found a beautiful clearing, so we got out and wandered around checking out the flowers and rocks.

now thats a high performance off road machine right there!

taking a little breather after the life-threatening journey there!

looks like the lake took this tree by surprise too...

hip- hip- marais!

the room was nice and cozy, perfect for what we were looking for.

a great part of the motel was that they had decorated the room to match the feel of the town: just a cute little hunting and outdoorsy place, replete with tree slices and decorative bears...

we were on the first floor, so unpacking was easy- we just pulled right up to the door!

da yoopee

miranda and levi have been going to the u.p. for a long time, so they knew some of the better spots to check out, among them was the dixie saloon in mackinaw city.  always up for going out to eat, we said yes!

it was a really cool place, a two story restaurant with some great food and a beautiful view!

apparently you can write on the walls, so we took advantage and i drew a little heart with our initials.  we both are looking forward to coming back here in the future and seeing it again!

we also stopped by the old lighthouse, enjoying the beautiful view of the bridge. (yes, we did get out of the vehicle, but i thought this was such a great view so i'm including it!)

i totally love riding on bridges- and this is one of the greats!