I returned back home from the Upper Peninsula on Saturday the 16th, and so here we are NEARLY a month later, and I am finally giving a recap. It was quite a fun vacation! Here’s my Mel-icious recap…you know me, I have to give details!
Friday, September 8: My Aunt Peggy and I drove up to my parents’ home in Croswell. My Dad and I packed the car so we could get an early start the next morning.
Saturday, September 9: We left Croswell earlier than planned. Of course, we almost lost all the time we gained on our early start because we had to return back to the house to get my Mom’s purse. How does a woman forget her purse? I don’t get THAT! HA!
We arrived in Paradise, Michigan and found our rental cabin to be a bit under par. OK, the truth is that we pulled into the drive way, and I thought our cabin was the garage of the cabin next door. Not a good start to our relaxing week in the woods! HA! The cabin next door looked better, and I took photos of it just to say that it was the cabin we were “supposed to have” rather than what we got.
First of all, it was small. Really small! The kitchen, dining room and living room were all one room. There were 2 bedrooms as promised, and so that was a plus, but everything was really dusty and musty! It was obvious that there hadn’t been any one in there for a LONG time. We later found out from the rental lady that this cabin had only been rented one other time the whole summer. I KNOW WHY. I think she was doing the owner a favor by putting us in there. When we called to inquire about available cabins, I think she thought we sounded like suckers…HA!
Secondly, there was no hot water. We eventually got hot water late that night even though my Dad and I were praying that it wouldn’t get hot so that as promised the rental manager would move us to another cabin. But alas the water got hot, and so we stayed in the same cabin for the whole week. We also had to buy and change the fuse in the fuse box because the hot water kept going out. It was weird.
Thirdly, it was marketed as a “cottage with a small beach area.” AHEM! Believe me, it was an extremely small beach are, almost non-existent and the dock out to the water that was also advertised was rotten. Literally, my Dad stepped through the wood when he walked out on it. Plus, the end of the dock had collapsed and was leaning against the other part of the dock. It was sad. So, it was kind of difficult to get down to the water…you had to risk life and limb, if you will. HA! There were good things about the cabin, I guess, and eventually we got used to the quirks and odd set-up, and it became our “home” for 7 days!
Sunday, September 10: We visited the small Paradise Baptist church, where we (along with 7 other visitors) put the attendance up to 30. Population in the UP is sparse. There are bigger cities like St. Ignace, Sault Ste. Marie, Iron Mountain, etc. but mostly the UP is full of tiny little burgs that dot the peninsula, and Paradise is one of them. The people are friendly and kind, but they are definitely used to a different lifestyle.
After lunch, we drove to Tahquamenon Falls. It’s a family tradition to always visit the falls, and they were lovely as always. The tannic acid in the water keeps it the color of ice tea or root beer, and it foams just like root beer does when you pour it. It’s rather spectacular to see.
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