Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
the Best Vacation Ever!
_______________________________________________________________________
We drove from New Braunfels, TX to Grayling, MI this summer (July 2008). The drive each way is a little over 1525 miles.
WEDNESDAY, 7/9/08
Here we are crossing into Michigan on the second day of driving:
THURSDAY, 7/10/08
We got to B-n-R late at night. However, first thing in the morning we did the traditional ringing of the bell!
After so much time on the road, it was time for a day of swimming in the Au Sable, relaxing around the cabin, and checking out the new bunkhouse. Kerstan drove into town to stock up on supplies...
FRIDAY 7/11/08
On the second day we lazed about some more. Whittling. Reading. Sculpting with river clay. Birdwatching. That night we built a fire down by the river and roasted marshmellows...
SATURDAY 7/12/08
The next day (Saturday) Uncle Rob and Aunt Phyllis showed up! On the first day Rob took us on a canoe trip from Kellogg's Bridge down to B-n-R. We also hiked through the forrest on the far side of the Breakey Bridge...
SUNDAY 7/13/08
The next day (Sunday) he took us on a canoe trip down the Mason Track (a trip down the Au Sable through over 20 miles of unspoilt forrest). This trip was highlighted by what we've come to call the Great Mason Track Dunking of 2008! Andrea and Kerstan tipped over their canoe just as they came to the chapel in the forrest midway through the trip. Oi! However, the canoe was righted, the trip completed and a good time was had by all.
Note that the picture above of the Chapel in the Woods is the last picture taken before the Great Mason Track Dunking of 2008!
MONDAY 7/14/08
We spent Monday relaxing around Brush-N-Rod. Kerstan wrote poetry, the kids swam, and Andrea communed with the chipmunks. It was an amazingly relaxing day. Unfortunately, we took no pictures because our camera had been dunked.
TUESDAY 7/15/08
On Tuesday we turned into Super Tourists again! We drove to Traverse City, bought a cheap & new camera, swam in Lake Michigan, visited Sleeping Bear Dunes, and a Cherry Farm. We bought two pints of fresh cherries (amongst other things) at the roadside farm and spent the next couple of days enjoying the sweetest cherries we'd ever had!
WEDNESDAY 7/16/08
The next day was a "hangin' around the cabin" day.
THURSDAY, 7/17/08
On Thursday we went to Amish Country and visited the Our Lady of the Wilderness Shrine.
Note the book that Connor is reading: it is a very old copy of Dungeons & Dragons. As a matter of fact, it is the same version that Kerstan first bought in 1982 when he was 12 years old (and it is in excellent condition). You never know what you'll find at the Brush and Rod!
FRIDAY 7/18/08
Come Friday and we were back on the road again. Next stop: Hartwick Pines. Kerstan and Andrea hadn't been there since 1993 and were blown away by the beautiful new Visitor's Center there. We watched a film about the logging industry that used to dominated this area a century ago, learned about the current ecosystem, visited an old CCC logging camp, and walked amongst the giant pines... That evening we returned to Brush-n-Rod, tubed the Au Sable several times, and Kerstan, Connor and Katy played with the very old D&D set...
SATURDAY 7/19/08
On Saturday morning Kerstan got up very early to enjoy the misty, cool air.
After a hearty breakfast the family hit the road for Uncle Rob and Aunt Phyllis' house. We played in the pool and they cooked for us. We had a lovely time. Then they took us to swim in Lake Huron. After swimming we visited the Brown Trout festival (check out the size of the fish that festival judge holds up for us to look at before he weighs it!).
SUNDAY, 7/20/08
Sunday was a day jam-packed with travel and discovery. Phyllis and Rob took us to their friends' house on Long Lake. The kids had never been in a speedboat before and they loved it! After that we visited (and climbed) a lighthouse at Presque Isle (not really an island... as a matter of fact, "Presque Isle" means "False Island"). There was a cool museum next to the lighthouse dedicated to the men who used to man the lighthouse. After that it was on to Mackinaw City, the Mackinaw Bridge, and the Upper Peninsula! Noteable things we saw (besides the mind-boggling 5 mile long Mackinaw Bridge): an old British Fort (seen from the bridge on the way back down to the lower peninsula), the Grand Hotel clearly visible out on Mackinaw Island, Castle Rock, an Indian Casino up on the UP (the inside of the casino looked exactly as Hollywood movies had led us to believe Casinos looked like... we were curious and Rob and Phyllis let us pop our heads in for a look), and Clyde's Drive-In (the absolutely best burger joint we've ever been in!).
MONDAY, 7/21/08
Our last full day at Brush-N-Rod was Monday. It was a day dedicated to cleaning up, packing up, and getting read for the two day drive back to Texas! Thank you, Sue & Jay, for everything you've done to upkeep and improve B-n-R and for allowing us to come up and refresh our souls there! Thank you, Phyllis & Rob, for being such gracious and adventurous hosts!
Love, Andrea, Kerstan, Connor, and Katy Copeland
PS We drove over 900 miles on the 21st. We drove through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and into Arkansas that day (stopping for the night at Forrest City, AR). We spent the 22nd driving through the rest of Arkansas and then the seemingly endless trek across Texas to get home (Texarkana to New Braunfels is a long way)! In all we drove over 4000 miles on this vacation: just over 1500 miles up, about 1000 miles of touristing up there and then just over 1500 miles back.
Saying Goodbye to Brush-N-Rod
The following space will have various videos from our Summer 2008 trip to Brush-n-Rod in it. Unlike Everything above and the small pictures to the right, the videos below will not be in chronological order. Rather, we will just put them there as we get to them in any ol' order. Peace.
We drove from New Braunfels, TX to Grayling, MI this summer (July 2008). The drive each way is a little over 1525 miles.
WEDNESDAY, 7/9/08
Here we are crossing into Michigan on the second day of driving:
THURSDAY, 7/10/08
We got to B-n-R late at night. However, first thing in the morning we did the traditional ringing of the bell!
After so much time on the road, it was time for a day of swimming in the Au Sable, relaxing around the cabin, and checking out the new bunkhouse. Kerstan drove into town to stock up on supplies...
FRIDAY 7/11/08
On the second day we lazed about some more. Whittling. Reading. Sculpting with river clay. Birdwatching. That night we built a fire down by the river and roasted marshmellows...
SATURDAY 7/12/08
The next day (Saturday) Uncle Rob and Aunt Phyllis showed up! On the first day Rob took us on a canoe trip from Kellogg's Bridge down to B-n-R. We also hiked through the forrest on the far side of the Breakey Bridge...
SUNDAY 7/13/08
The next day (Sunday) he took us on a canoe trip down the Mason Track (a trip down the Au Sable through over 20 miles of unspoilt forrest). This trip was highlighted by what we've come to call the Great Mason Track Dunking of 2008! Andrea and Kerstan tipped over their canoe just as they came to the chapel in the forrest midway through the trip. Oi! However, the canoe was righted, the trip completed and a good time was had by all.
Note that the picture above of the Chapel in the Woods is the last picture taken before the Great Mason Track Dunking of 2008!MONDAY 7/14/08
We spent Monday relaxing around Brush-N-Rod. Kerstan wrote poetry, the kids swam, and Andrea communed with the chipmunks. It was an amazingly relaxing day. Unfortunately, we took no pictures because our camera had been dunked.
TUESDAY 7/15/08
On Tuesday we turned into Super Tourists again! We drove to Traverse City, bought a cheap & new camera, swam in Lake Michigan, visited Sleeping Bear Dunes, and a Cherry Farm. We bought two pints of fresh cherries (amongst other things) at the roadside farm and spent the next couple of days enjoying the sweetest cherries we'd ever had!
WEDNESDAY 7/16/08
The next day was a "hangin' around the cabin" day.
THURSDAY, 7/17/08
On Thursday we went to Amish Country and visited the Our Lady of the Wilderness Shrine.
Note the book that Connor is reading: it is a very old copy of Dungeons & Dragons. As a matter of fact, it is the same version that Kerstan first bought in 1982 when he was 12 years old (and it is in excellent condition). You never know what you'll find at the Brush and Rod!FRIDAY 7/18/08
Come Friday and we were back on the road again. Next stop: Hartwick Pines. Kerstan and Andrea hadn't been there since 1993 and were blown away by the beautiful new Visitor's Center there. We watched a film about the logging industry that used to dominated this area a century ago, learned about the current ecosystem, visited an old CCC logging camp, and walked amongst the giant pines... That evening we returned to Brush-n-Rod, tubed the Au Sable several times, and Kerstan, Connor and Katy played with the very old D&D set...
SATURDAY 7/19/08
On Saturday morning Kerstan got up very early to enjoy the misty, cool air.
After a hearty breakfast the family hit the road for Uncle Rob and Aunt Phyllis' house. We played in the pool and they cooked for us. We had a lovely time. Then they took us to swim in Lake Huron. After swimming we visited the Brown Trout festival (check out the size of the fish that festival judge holds up for us to look at before he weighs it!).
SUNDAY, 7/20/08
Sunday was a day jam-packed with travel and discovery. Phyllis and Rob took us to their friends' house on Long Lake. The kids had never been in a speedboat before and they loved it! After that we visited (and climbed) a lighthouse at Presque Isle (not really an island... as a matter of fact, "Presque Isle" means "False Island"). There was a cool museum next to the lighthouse dedicated to the men who used to man the lighthouse. After that it was on to Mackinaw City, the Mackinaw Bridge, and the Upper Peninsula! Noteable things we saw (besides the mind-boggling 5 mile long Mackinaw Bridge): an old British Fort (seen from the bridge on the way back down to the lower peninsula), the Grand Hotel clearly visible out on Mackinaw Island, Castle Rock, an Indian Casino up on the UP (the inside of the casino looked exactly as Hollywood movies had led us to believe Casinos looked like... we were curious and Rob and Phyllis let us pop our heads in for a look), and Clyde's Drive-In (the absolutely best burger joint we've ever been in!).
MONDAY, 7/21/08
Our last full day at Brush-N-Rod was Monday. It was a day dedicated to cleaning up, packing up, and getting read for the two day drive back to Texas! Thank you, Sue & Jay, for everything you've done to upkeep and improve B-n-R and for allowing us to come up and refresh our souls there! Thank you, Phyllis & Rob, for being such gracious and adventurous hosts!
Love, Andrea, Kerstan, Connor, and Katy Copeland
PS We drove over 900 miles on the 21st. We drove through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and into Arkansas that day (stopping for the night at Forrest City, AR). We spent the 22nd driving through the rest of Arkansas and then the seemingly endless trek across Texas to get home (Texarkana to New Braunfels is a long way)! In all we drove over 4000 miles on this vacation: just over 1500 miles up, about 1000 miles of touristing up there and then just over 1500 miles back.
Saying Goodbye to Brush-N-Rod
The following space will have various videos from our Summer 2008 trip to Brush-n-Rod in it. Unlike Everything above and the small pictures to the right, the videos below will not be in chronological order. Rather, we will just put them there as we get to them in any ol' order. Peace.
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