Sunday, July 24, 2016

{Road Trip} Day Nine - Lansing, Michigan and The Henry Ford

After a swim in the hotel pool, we started out the day in Lansing with a rainy (and therefore, solo), run up some state capitol building steps!


Lansing, MI
B's 33rd set of state capitol steps scaled...
#capitolstepschallenge




From Lansing, we headed over to Dearborn, MI (right outside Detroit) to spend some time at The Henry Ford... 




Wow!  We could've spend days upon days in here exploring...  What a collection!

Among a ton of other things, we saw...

the chair that President Abraham Lincoln was sitting in when he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre...




the car that President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated...





the Wright Brothers' first aircraft...





and the actual bus on which a brave lady named Rosa Parks made history...


 
 


We can't wait to come back and visit again one day.  There was so much to see in the museum alone that we didn't even make it outside to the Greenfield Village portion of the museum!

On the way out of town, we stopped at the apartment complex where President George H. W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, once lived many years ago...




and on down the road at the grave of Vice President Schuyler Colfax...

 


Schuyler Colfax served as the 17th Vice President of the United States under President Ulysses S. Grant.
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Saturday, July 23, 2016

{Road Trip} Day Eight - Sleeping Bear and President Ford

We started the morning off with a quick trip to the Sahara...  Didn't see that coming, did you?




Nah, just kidding...

Make that Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, where we had fun climbing and exploring the dunes...


The view from the top of Glen Lake is just beautiful!


 {I'm a sucker for a good littles picture from the back}

 
Though we'd originally planned to go cherry picking at a local orchard, we decided to continue on down toward Grand Rapids where we quickly learned that while cherry picking season may be going strong up north, it ain't so much so just a couple hours south!  Next time...
Once in Grand Rapids, we paid our respects to President Gerald Ford...
and did a tour of all the spots he lived while growing up in the Grand Rapids area, including this boyhood home...  


 


before continuing on to Lansing for the night, where we grabbed dinner at local dive, Dagwood's Tavern & Grill...




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Friday, July 22, 2016

{Road Trip} Day Seven - Soo Locks and Mackinac Island

What a FUN day, and a nice change of pace leaving Ohio and its presidents behind (no offense, guys!)...

After driving late into the night and making it clear up through the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, across the Mackinac Bridge, and into the Upper Peninsula, we started the day in Sault Ste. Marie learning about the Soo Locks.  




Luckily, we got to see them in action when a tour boat came through...





After grabbing lunch at the Lock View Restaurant...




We crossed back over the Mackinac Bridge...




and caught the ferry over to Mackinac Island, where we were in for such a treat...




We had the BEST time biking the perimeter of the island...

 


8.2 beautiful miles, and one of the best bike rides I've ever taken...



After grabbing dinner, we caught the ferry back to the mainland and continued on our way.  Hopefully, we'll get the chance to visit again one day!

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Thursday, July 21, 2016

{Road Trip} Day Six - Ohio Presidential V + State #40!

This morning we traced the life of our 29th Commander in Chief, President Warren G. Harding.

From the site where his birthplace once stood in Blooming Grove, OH...





to his boyhood home in Caledonia, OH...

 
to the home in Marion, OH where his front porch campaign was born...
 

{photo from museum collection}
 {yes, I'm totally guilty of making him do this!}

Before leaving town, we grabbed lunch at Stewart's Drive-In...




 and made a stop at the Harding Memorial...



before continuing on to Fremont, OH and Spiegel Grove, home of President Rutherford B. Hayes...


Though we barely missed the last tour of the day, we enjoyed exploring the beautiful grounds...

 


These gates were originally used at The White House!



President Hayes is buried on the site of his beloved home...
 



From there, we continued on to MICHIGAN, and the 40th state for these three little bits!!!





NOW, they are caught up with me...  Darn if that Hubby didn't pass me somewhere along the way!  :)

Lots of FUN on tap for tomorrow...

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