Vacation!

We just returned home from a little jaunt over the pond to Wisconsin. I don't have my pictures uploaded to the computer, yet, but I'll post those soon. The kids had a wonderful time, and we enjoyed the trip very much.
We decided to take the car ferry across Lake Michigan this time instead of sitting in the car for 8-10 hours straight. It was a perfect solution....probably due in large part to our good weather for both the going and return trips. I've heard the boat isn't much fun if it's storming....and judging from the number of puke buckets strategically planted all over the place, I'm very thankful we did have good weather. The SS Badger was formerly used for transporting railroad cars over the lake. It was designed to run year-round and could cut through ice without a problem. It's now strictly a ferry boat used for transporting people to and from Michigan and Wisconsin. State rooms are still available for rent during the crossing and there is a small variety of entertainment and dining on board. It's just fun to experience, and affordable considering gas prices these days.
Wednesday we drove to Ludington, MI to stay in a hotel before boarding the ferry on Thursday morning. The kids loved the hotel as it had a water park style pool slide. Even Owen really like that! We had to be at the dock at 7am on Thursday morning to board. The trip over the lake takes 4 hours. Our final destination in Wisconsin was Appleton where we visited my childhood friend Iva and her family. We took the kids to a very cool children's museum on Friday, and then to the zoo on Saturday. Sunday we drove to Two Rivers where we went to meeting with Gene and Kathy LeClair. They have the closest meeting to Manitowoc, and since we needed to be at the dock by 12:15pm, we decided it would be best to go to a meeting not far away.
So, watch for picture postings later today or tomorrow (I'm still doing laundry and unpacking!) and for anyone who's interested in seeing the SS Badger's website, here it is:
http://www.ssbadger.com/