A Trip to the U.P.

We ventured up to Houghton for a long weekend...our first visit since our wedding in '99. Wow! It was so nice to be up there again. It was a beautiful weekend and so nice to see our old haunts, visit with some old friends & enjoy the lovely scenery. Although it was a little different being up there with little ones in tow!

Our first stop, after a long 10+ hour car ride (with plenty of stops for the potty-trainee and the baby who does not enjoy being in a carseat), was the Houghton beach. We had a picnic, played at "Chutes & Ladders", and took a dip in the Portage. Well, Claire did anyway! We had dinner at the Library and looked on in envy at the couples that got to stay out and party while we took our children back to their beds. Although we did partake in some pints on the deck at our hotel w/ baby monitor in tow.

The next day, we took a self-guided tour of campus---a lot has changed, including the addition of a beautiful fine arts center, of which we helped raise funds for during our days of jazz singers & jazz tech while at Tech.

We had dinner with our adopted/honorary grandpa, Vince. Afterwards, he gave us a tour of his retirement community, overlooking Houghton. He carried Liam around continuously and loved showing the kids off....so cute.

On Saturday, we headed out to McLean State park and what began as "putting our tosies into Lake Superior" turned into a buck naked almost-3-yr-old storming through the cold water (even though it had "ice cubes" in it)! Claire proudly boasts that she pottied in Lake Superior.

After enjoying our favorite tostado pizza from the Ambassador & trying to get the kids to nap, we met our old jazz teacher Doc at a great new microbrew joint in Houghton for some yummy pints and a nice catch-up. Then we headed out to eat again w/ Vince & crew. We love that he is in our life - and Claire says she really likes her "other grandpa Vince".

Before heading out on Sunday, we picked up some frozen pastys at the Suomi, took advantage of a photo op by the lift bridge, and headed south. We stopped at Canyon Falls for a quick snack and stroll before continuing on to Illinois. What a fantastic weekend! We can't wait to go back....perhaps sans kids next time:-)