Elizabeth's 14th Birthday Celebration

From upper left corner, going clockwise: the Fort on Mackinac Island with lilacs in bloom; a freighter heading toward the Soo Locks; the Mackinaw Bridge at dusk; Elizabeth, Chloe and me with the bridge as a backdrop.

This past weekend (June6-7-8), I took Elizabeth and one of her friends to Mackinac Island for the weekend. (Actually, we stayed in St. Ignace just over the bridge in the U.P. because it was a lot cheaper!) Elizabeth wanted to run in the Lilac Festival 10K race for her birthday. So....instead of presents, she got to run in a very tiring race on a gorgeous day and got to spend the weekend with her mom and her good friend. We enjoyed the sites of the area....the Mackinaw Bridge, the Island, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

The race had a very steep incline after the first 1/4 mile through the shopping area of Mackiac Island to the center of the island. The run went through the center of the Island, down to the road that surrounds the island, and then ended at the public school. We biked the first part of the race in the afternoon.....had to walk our bikes up the steep hills....the ones Elizabeth had to run! We ended up biking around part of the island facing the U.P. and enjoyed spectacular views!