From The Great White North

Katie and I arrived in the U.P. (Upper Peninsula of Michigan) Wednesday evening.  There has been a few hiccups along the way, but  nothing major.  One of the hiccups was the car rental company, Thrifty.  I usually rent from National, but they didn't have any cars available for the Hilton Honors Reward program, so I ended up going with Thrifty.  All though the girl at the counter was very sweet, my Hilton certificate was a first for her and just confused her.  They also did not have a car seat, so she borrowed one from Avis.  She informed me that Avis charges $60 for the car seat.  Well, that's not my problem, I am renting from Thrifty.  Second hiccup was that we arrived at night.  I was going to drive the 2 hours to my mom and dad's, but I could feel a headache coming on.  Added to that was the fact that the lo-beams on the rental car seemed lacking.  Either my SRT8's are really bright or the rental car's are really dim, but regardless they threw about as much light as two flashlights with dying batteries strapped to the front bumper.  I had a hard time seeing more than a few feet in front of the car.  I was going to be driving through deer and moose country and didn't want to do it in the pitch black of the U.P., so Katie and I got a hotel room in Ishpeming for the night and started out for my Mom and Dad's early Thursday morning. 

The weather has been rainy and cold.  Well, cold compared to Texas.  Like a fool I packed Texas summer clothes and not U.P. clothes.  So I had to purchase a long pair of pants for both Katie and I at Pamida.  The temperature at night is in the 50's and during the day, mid 60's to 70's.  Today, Sunday, we are supposed to see the sun.  Wahoo!!  Below are a few pictures from our vacation so far.

Katie's attire for a U.P. "summer" day.  She doesn't wear this much clothing in a Texas winter.

Katie crying because I told her she couldn't play ball with Grandma any more.  My Mom was tired and Katie was devastated.  This is after my Mom played with her for about a hour.

Katie and her Grandma with a doll that her Grandma made.

 As usual, we celebrated Katie's birthday with a cake, hats and singing.

My Mom and Katie