Traverse City Mini-Vacation

This year for Father's Day, the kids and I surprised Joe with a little family getaway. He's been working so hard on house projects, we wanted to steal him away for a bit.  So we headed North for two days. 

DAY ONE

We wound up at Great Wolf Lodge.  We had never been there, so when a Groupon popped up, offering a good deal on an overnight stay, I thought this was our opportunity to check it out.  

"Smile Georgie!" obviously translated into "Stick out your tongue Georgie!"

First things first!  We were off to the water park.

Henry is a bit more timid in water, and Claire is much more adventurous.

But both kids really liked these water slides.

George's ability to pull himself up on pretty much anything is quite amazing.

Taking a break from the water, we explored the Lodge for a bit.

We asked Henry to take a picture of us love birds.

I think it turned out pretty good.

Take Two

A bit blurry, but at least our heads are intact....

along with our Great Wolf Lodge fuzzy ears.

After a full day of fun, the kids were in their p.j.'s, awaiting story time.

A selfie with my boys, who were quite intrigued by the 

song and dance show during story time.

And once the kids were in bed, it was time to break out the cards.

Joe and I continued our new interest in a quirky card game Joe got from my parents for his birthday. It is called Guillotine...where one wins by getting "a head".  Yes, I know.  But it is quite a hoot.  

DAY TWO

A little breakfast in our room before we hit the ground running.

First thing on our agenda, the kids signed up for a Junior Lifeguard Class.

Claire's turn to close her eyes while the dummy is placed in the water.  

She then had to find the dummy as quickly as possible.

And now Henry's turn.  They both did a great job 

finding the "drowning child" right away.

Learning a bit about basic first aid and CPR.

They completed the program and received their certificates, which means they are ready to rescue....so long as they have their swimmies.

As a reward, the Junior Lifeguards were recruited to turn the water on for the water park that day.   Pictured above, they listen to instructions before turning the large yellow water wheel.

After their class, we spent some more time in the water.  Claire and I went down the BIG water slides about a dozen more times.

Craft Time

Claire's picture of her favorite memory, tubing with Mom.

Then around lunchtime we thought we would venture into town for a bit.  It was a beautiful day to explore Traverse City.

We started out by the big lake, but the wind was a bit much for the kids.

We headed towards downtown where we found a fun little spot for lunch and then sampled a bunch of cherry treats at The Cherry Republic.

Then we found a small inlet with a marina where the kids enjoyed watching the boats and splashing a bit.

We had a fun time with this dog we met who was named Henry and was 5-years-old!  We wanted to keep him for a souvenir, but his owner put a stop to that. 

The big kids surfing.

I love that Henry's instinct was to hold George.  Brotherly love.

After we left the marina we walked over to the library, which happened to be just starting their story time!  Oh how we love a good story time!  The kids did a craft, and they each got to pick a brand new book to take home.  

Outside the library was what they called their Children's Garden.  It was a beautiful garden with some fun things to play on for the kids.

Joe and this tortoise are kindred spirits.  

Love this picture of Henry who was wandering a bit too far from us.  When I called him back, he had great difficulty concealing his displeasure.

He was quick to get over it once he found this Captain's ship.

Once our stomach's started to rumble again, we ventured out to the E.L.F. Cafe, which came highly recommended by the locals.  E.L.F. stands for Eat Learn Frolic. Which we certainly did.

Henry and Joe enjoyed the Lego table.  No surprise there.

A little Hobit House outside the Cafe.

And our last adventure for the day was a walk through the woods, searching for Fairy Houses built along the marked trail. 

Henry poses by the first fairy house he found.

Each fairy house was so intricate and unique.  We were certainly intrigued.

Also along the trail, we came across this large, uprooted tree.

George was very interested in climbing to the top of the tree.  He showed no fear, but once it came to the point where neither Joe nor I could comfortably reach him anymore, we had to pull him down. Sorry George.  Maybe in a few more years.

We ended up exploring the city for much longer than we expected, but one adventure led naturally to the next.  Each one such a pleasant surprise.  Great Wolf Lodge was wonderful, but we usually enjoy traveling off the beaten path a bit, so we appreciated the chance to do that as well. 

Well, it has been fun looking back on our mini-vacation.  We are thankful for the great memories packed in these two days.