In August we had the privilege of getting to stay at The Huyck's Hideaway in St. Ignace, MI for a few days to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and we absolutely loved it!! Everyone, including Nana and Papa that got to come with us had a blast!! You can really tell that they have thought of everything here and take your stay seriously - just have a look through their booklet to see all that they provide - items and information!
Jessica was also very easy to reach when and if we needed anything - house related, as well as things to do in the area. For example, I had some questions about where they typically send off the fireworks during the summer, and she was able to assist us in finding a good place to park in order to watch them! Such a nice family - be sure to read their about them section in their booklet above as well!! :)
You can book with them directly and save some money here:
Or you can book with them through their airbnb listing here:
Check out our video walk through below:
Day 1 - Monday, August 8th:
We pulled into St. Ignace, MI on day one around 9am (we are the crazies who like to drive through the night - avoids traffic, and there are fewer - zero stops for food and potty breaks for the kiddos! It's a win in our books even if we are a little sleepier on day 1!) Our first stop was to find some breakfast, and Java Joe's did not disappoint! Everything was so delicious - the coffee was nice and hot for our rainy morning arrival - service was super fast and friendly - and best of all, the kiddos were entertained by getting to draw on the tablecloth! They thought this was the coolest thing ever, haha!
Java Joe's Cafe
959 N State St, St Ignace, MI 49781
Watch our video below:
After our yummy breakfast and caffeine recharge from our long overnight drive - we headed to town to browse some souvenir shops while we waited for Nana and Papa to make their arrival to St. Ignace as well! When Nana and Papa arrived we met them at the Mystery Spot - thankfully the address isn't a mystery as well - and was very easy to find, haha!
Mystery Spot
N916 Martin Lake Rd, St Ignace, MI 49781
The Story of the Saint Ignace Mystery Spot per their website:
In the early 1950’s, 3 surveyors named Clarence, Fred and McCray came from California to explore the Upper Peninsula. They stumbled across an area of land where their surveying equipment didn’t seem to work properly. For instance, no matter how many times they tried to level their tripod, through the use of a plum-bob or level, the plum-bob would always be drawn far to the east, even as the level was reading level. As they continued their research of this land, they noticed a constant feeling of being light-headed. Later, realizing their queasiness and problems with the surveying equipment only occurred in an area about 300 feet in diameter, they felt they had discovered a “Mystery Spot”!
We all had a lot of fun here feeling like we were defying gravity - the adults even felt a bit light headed and out of whack just like those 3 surveyors did in the 1950's! Very weird feeling, but really cool to experience! It took us all a minute to adjust back to normal!
Watch our video from our visit below:
Next up we headed to the local grocery store to grab a few things for our bonfire that we planned to have later that night. We wanted to make pizza sandwiches over the fire! After grabbing what we needed we all headed to the house to get situated and take everything in. The rainy clouds or the rain at least cleared away for a little bit so we all decided to have a visit to Bridge View Park! Thankfully we still had our beach towels in the van, because of course the kids ended up soaked... from skipping rocks, haha! It was so much fun - cold, but so much fun, and totally worth it! We just could not get over how clear and beautiful the water is there... absolutely incredible!!
Bridge View Park
W69 Boulevard Dr, St Ignace, MI 49781
Check out our video below too:
Once we got the kiddos back in some dry clothes at the house we started our bonfire so we could make our yummy pizza sandwiches over the fire! That last pic there is Nana and I being our usual goofy selves, haha - showing off our caveman food as we called it, being so proud we cooked it over the fire!
Highly recommend the cast iron sandwich cookers! You can order them here on amazon at:
Day 2 - Tuesday, August 9th:
Day 2 was an extra special day because Tim and I were celebrating our 8 year wedding anniversary - and as I always say too, 10 years of kisses since we married exactly 2 years after our first kiss! XOXO!
On our way to Mackinac Island!
We spent the day visiting Mackinac Island - a first for everyone including Nana and Papa, and we all LOVED it!! The kids loved getting to spend some time at the playground when we first arrived. We then headed over to the Pink Pony for lunch, our anniversary gift from Nana and Papa!! SO good, and came highly recommended! All of our meals were great - but our favorite was our appetizer that we all shared! Smoked Whitefish Dip... the island favorite - just get it! You won't regret it!!
Check out their lunch menu here:
Pink Pony
7221 Main St #103, Mackinac Island, MI 49757
After lunch, we checked ourselves in for the Mackinac Island Carriage Tours. Highly recommend!! For us with the little ones it was much easier to get to and see some of the sights that would have been too far for walking - and biking just wasn't feasible with the hills, keeping up, etc... So we really enjoyed keeping everyone all together on one carriage from place to place. The only thing that I wished for was more time while visiting Arch Rock. They only give you 10 minutes to visit - and for me that just wasn't enough time to get to truly take in the sights, getting 3 little ones to cooperate for a picture - and being back on the carriage so you don't get left behind. Not to mention other people visiting aside from your tour that could cause a line to wait as well! An extra 10 minutes to visit at least I would say is needed for what I would say is the highlight of the tour! So beautiful... we just couldn't get over how much the water looked like we were in the Caribbean!
Mackinac Island Carriage Tours
7396 Market St, Mackinac Island, MI 49757
Check out the video below of our fun filled Mackinac Island day:
Of course while on the Island you HAVE to get some fudge! We stocked up on our fudge and some peanut brittle from Murdick's Fudge Kitchen! So very yummy!!
Murdick's Fudge Kitchen
Hoban Rd, Mackinac Island, MI 49757
Once we were back on the main land, Nana and Papa so kindly offered Mama and Daddy some time away from the kiddos for our Anniversary! So while they put the kiddos to bed, we headed out for a late night dinner at The White Buffalo Bar & Grille across the bridge in Mackinaw City! We were actually able to catch the sun setting as we crossed the Mighty Mac... absolutely gorgeous!! Once we crossed, we found a place to pull off at and snap a quick picture together with the afterglow of the sun setting! Dinner was fantastic, and the drinks were very good! I wouldn't think to add actual blueberries to a beer - but, wow!! So good!! After dinner they set off fireworks just for our anniversary!! Can you believe it?! Haha, kidding! In the summertime they set fireworks off every Tuesday and Friday in Mackinaw City - but we were lucky enough to have our anniversary fall on a Tuesday - so it did make it feel extra special for our night out, and with a full moon in the night sky too! After the fireworks ended we were not ready to head back quite yet - so to the casino we went! We walked away big winners with an extra $25 in our pockets, haha! Such a fun night out celebrating each other!
The White Buffalo Bar & Grille
312 E Central Ave, Mackinaw City, MI 49701
Odawa Casino Mackinaw
1080 S Nicolet St, Mackinaw City, MI 49701
Check out our Anniversary date night out below:
Day 3 - Wednesday, August 10th:
The majority of our day 3 was spent traveling even further into Michigan to get to visit the Tahquamenon Falls, also known as the root beer falls - but before we did so, we had to make sure we had our strength for the walk to see both the Upper and the Lower falls... Lunch at the Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub was just what we needed - and it was great that it was already within the park, and we were able to stay parked in the same parking spot while we visited the falls too! The paths to the falls are great, and all paved until right beside the lower falls where you can actually go down into the falls to walk, and swim around. Great for family hikes, including all of the friendly doggies we saw too!
Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub
24019 Upper Falls Drive, Paradise, MI 49768
Tahquamenon Falls
Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Luce County, Michigan
As you can see, it is just absolutely beautiful here... I would love to come back and visit in the Fall next time. I am sure it is breathtaking with all of the leaves changing colors!
Check out our video from our visit here:
Once we returned back to the St. Ignace area we took the kids over to the American Legion Memorial Park and Playground! What a great place!! The kids were able to run and play and we were able to just enjoy the sights and sounds of the kids playing and laughing, and the gorgeous lake and lighthouse behind us...hearing the waves softly touch the beach. What's better than playing at the playground you ask? Playing at the playground and then walking over to get ice cream afterwards, of course!! The Mackinac Double Decker Ice Cream was so delicious!! Highly recommend trying their Mackinac Island fudge ice cream - vanilla ice cream with bits of fudge in it... to die for!! Add a few scoops to one of their homemade waffle bowls or cones. So so good!!
American Legion Memorial Park
200 N State St, St Ignace, MI 49781
Mackinac Double Decker Ice Cream
251 S State St Saint Ignace, MI 49781
Day 4 - Thursday, August 11th:
Sadly our last day... this trip felt like it flew by!! We were all dragging our feet not wanting to leave... nonetheless, we packed up all of our things in order to checkout of the house on time. Then we headed back to the same park with the thought in mind to let the kiddos run off some energy before our long drive back home. We of course stopped for some coffee and baked goods first though! It was so nice to get to enjoy them at the park while we watched the kiddos all play too!
Coffee and yummies came from,
Wild Blueberry Breakfast and Bakery
645 I-75BL, St Ignace, MI 49781
After the kiddos played some at the playground, we walked over to visit the Wawatam Lighthouse!
Wawatam Lighthouse
Saint Ignace, MI 49781
Check out these aerial shots from our drone below:
The kids had fun here pretending the "coin operated tower binocular" was a camera taking pictures of all of us! We also found a painted rock here from Deford, MI - if they ever happen to read this blog, we took the rock and hid it all the way in Marblehead, OH at the Marblehead Lighthouse - your rock traveled 5 hr 47 min, or 386.6 miles away! I wonder where it will travel to next!
We couldn't leave town without trying the famous pasties we kept seeing and hearing about - so for lunch we headed over to the Mackinaw Pastie & Cookie Co, and it did not disappoint! Very yummy!!
Mackinaw Pastie & Cookie Co
698 US-2, St Ignace, MI 49781
After lunch we crossed the Mighty Mac one last time on our way to Mackinaw City. We stopped in at Mackinaw City for one last souvenir browsing stop - again, dragging our feet... not wanting to leave, haha! Such a cute area with lots of shops to browse, and we loved being able to look out and see all of the boats docked and the beautiful lake. It was giving all of the perfect lakeside vibes!
Atlas is was time to leave though... next time we head this way again we plan to add a few extra days to our stay for sure!! It was a great little getaway for all of us, don't get me wrong - but Michigan and this area was just so great and beyond all expectations that we already had! We were soaking up every minute that we could!! We will be back again - very soon!!
Bye for now!
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