Family Reunion in Michigan

We spent a few days last week with Matt's family in Michigan. We stayed at a house they rented in Gaylord, MI.

On Monday, we took the ferry over to Mackinac Island (aka Mackinaw Island). No cars are allowed on the island. We got to the ferry, but it was pouring rain. So, we hung out at a pizza place to wait out the rain.

We took the Arnold ferry over around 12:30. By the time we got over to the island, the weather was sunny and perfect! We really lucked out! Once we got there, we rented bicycles to ride around the island on the 8 mile bike path that circles the island.

The bike ride was very nice - beautiful weather, gorgeous scenery! I worked on snapping pictures while riding the bike. I got a few shots of my hair and of the pavement. But, I got a few that turned out ok, too!

Ready to go!

Action shot

Ruth biking behind me

The water was crystal clear

Afterwards, we grabbed a snack and a drink at the Pink Pony patio. Live music, sunny weather, the lake right by us... it was awesome!

At the Pink Pony patio bar

We walked around the main street, had some gourmet ice cream and bought a ton of fudge!

We headed back from Mackinaw Island and stopped off for a view of the Mackinac Bridge. It's 5 miles long and connects lower Michigan to the upper peninsula of Michigan.

That night we had dinner at Legs Inn, a Polish restaurant by the lake. The food was really good! The decor of the place was interesting. : )

I think this is a pierogi (???)

On Tuesday, we drove over to Traverse City and visited the wineries on Old Mission Peninsula. We went to 5 of the 7 wineries (the other 2 closed before we could make it to them, which was a bummer!) We had lunch at the Peninsula Grill. We also stopped at the Mission Point Lighthouse. So many good wines and gorgeous views! Matt and I came back with 9 new bottles of wine!

At Peninsula Cellars - in an old schoolhouse

Helen and Ruth at Bowers Harbor Vineyards

Love this vase

Wine in the making

At Mission Point

Old Mission Point Lighthouse

View from Chateau Chantal

Ruth, me and Helen at Chateau Chantal

We walked around downtown Traverse City and shopped at the Cherry Republic and the Cherry Stop. Matt picked up some hot cherry salsa, which is surprisingly really good!

We drove back to Gaylord that night and had dinner at the Big Buck Brewery.

As always, we had a lot of fun hanging out with Matt's family! Before we left on Wednesday, we played bags and enjoyed the cooler sunny weather.

Nice form John!

Ladies turn

Gerene was a ringer!

Enjoying the sunshine in the backyard

Delaney and Addison terrorizing Matt... or it may be the other way around!

View from the backyard

More pics from the weekend are on our Shutterfly site (link at the top right of this page).

Das Auto ist kaputt

Matt's car is taking a vacation from our parking garage to the auto shop. The thing wouldn't start before we left for Punta Cana and we weren't able to jump it when we got back.

Of course, once we towed it to the shop, they were able to get it running in less than 10 minutes. Figures.

There's still something wrong with it, so it's going to get a little tune-up.

Amy and Barry's Wedding

This past weekend, we drove down to Harrisburg, IL for Barry and Amy's wedding. The setting for the wedding was on Amy's parents' property, which had a nice pond and was a perfect place to get married. Everything was really beautiful (besides the 95+ degree temps)!

You may kiss the bride!

Love the cakes!

Lauren scored our table a bottle of champagne! Nice work!

Massive game of flippy cup broke out!

The videographer gave Keely a mic... I would love to see those interviews!

On our way there, we saw some people selling "REALLY GOOD JERKY" (accoding to the signs) from their car on one of the 2-lane highways we were on. On the way home, Matt tells me he's definitely stopping to buy some. He asked the guy if it was really good and they gave him a taste test. Must have been, because he bought three bags of the stuff!

We had a bbq at my parents' house on Sunday. My brother and Sandi drove down and some other friends came over. My Dad made homemade ice cream, which was delicious! That's the one leftover we unfortunately can't take back to Chicago with us.

More pics from the weekend are here (password = mattstacia).

Punta Cana

We had a great time in the Dominican Republic!

We soaked up the rays at the pool and the beach, read some books and relaxed!
Matt enjoyed the swim-up bar in the pool... the drinks were really strong!

The spa staff handed out cucumber slices for our eyes - very refreshing!

Nice, Matt!

We saw some cool shows put on the by the entertainment staff. Our favorites were the Cirque de Soliel type show and the fire show/bonfire.

We had some fun dinners at the resort. Our favorite place was definitley the Japanese hibachi restaurant. We ate there twice!

Drinking the "mama juana" = rum + red wine + honey soaked in sticks for a few days

Erin got to cook for us the first night we were there

They made me cook the next time we went

Our chef balanced two forks on two toothpicks on a wine bottle - crazy!
This is Brielle - she was doing her own tricks with spoons in the background!

The guys enjoyed the "casino", which had a couple blackjack tables, a roulette wheel and some slot machines. It was connected to a dance club. Ross and I got massages at the spa one day. I think I should schedule more of those back here in Chicago! We liked the lobby bar and hung out there a few nights before/after dinner.

Chocolates and liqueurs in the lobby bar - yum!

All too soon, we had to head back to reality...

There are more pics from our trip here (password is mattstacia).