August 13- Mill Creek

Yeah, we’re definitely still on summer vacation.

We got an early start after breakfast with Aunt Delores. We moved the girls to the car while they were still asleep, and Anna wondered if Aunt Delores even knew that we had left.

We drove for about five hours total, including time for lunch at Bob’s Big Boy. Then we arrived at Mackinac City. Julie had been hoping to go to Mill Creek Discovery Park, so we headed directly there. It’s the site of an old colonial era sawmill. The mill itself and several of the buildings associated with it have been reconstructed. It’s interesting to watch the saw demonstrations and the explanations of the workings of the machinery. But the reason why Julie wanted to go was the Adventure Trail and the “Soar With the Eagles” zipline. She and Anastasia paid the extra to don the straps and the helmets. They walked up a path to the canopy bridge where they crossed over the mill pond while connected to a safety line. Then they circled around and came down the zipline, crossing the length of the mill pond for more then 400 feet. Dad and Emma watched them go sailing by. We explored some of the buildings and nature trails and Anna tried her hand at a rock wall. We climbed a tower to view the canopy of the trees and the panorama of the bridge and island of Mackinac in the distance.

We checked in to our hotel and the girls were barely able to wait for the pizza delivery guy for our dinner. They were excited because the hotel not only has its own beach on Lake Huron, but it also has an indoor water park connected with it. There are two three-story water slides, a “lazy river” for tubes, and lots of other activities. The girls enjoyed the evening playing here and digging on the beach.