Final Installation Eagle River Wisconsin, July 2009

Tuesday 4th August – the Tyler household awoke to the excitement of Lily turning 7. After presents she gave her Daddy a big hug and said “Last night I wished on a star for the best birthday ever and it has already come true!” :-)



Tod and Trista (and Henry their dog) took us up to Lake Superior for the day (about a 2 hour drive) while the girls got to spend a special day with Nana. Not too far north of Eagle River you go into the state of Michigan – or the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to be exact. Our first stop along the way was at Agate Falls. It was a lovely spot and would have been good to go for a swim if the weather was a bit warmer – so far there it hasn't been a very good summer in this area.







When we arrived in the Lake Superior area we went into the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. We went to a lookout at the Lake of the Clouds first. You get a spectacular view!





Next stop was at The Batcave. We were surprised to discover the most secret of all of Batman and Robins hideouts :-) Danielle was feeling a little freaked out about entering a cave but was brave and took a couple of steps in!




We had a picnic lunch and a couple of beers at another spot that looked out over Lake Superior – just perfect :-)


The next place we went to was probably our favourite spot of the day – Manido Falls. The way the water had cut into the rock over the years, the sound of the falls, the taste of the wild gooseberries – just beautiful!







We then walked out on to the shore of Lake Superior. You feel like you are looking out on the ocean – it is so massive! It was a wonderful relaxing afternoon of paddling in the water, sifting through the rocks and pebbles, Nana Napping in the sun and gazing out across the lake.







Thanks so much for taking us on the trip to Lake Superior Trista and Tod – it was fantastic! We will remember our trip to the UP always :-)

We spent our last day walking around the township of Eagle River and relaxing at the Tyler's house. Kim and Matt and Jo all came over on our last evening. They were all sensible and went home at a decent hour. The rest of us (to Tod's cries of 'just one more') were not so sensible and went to bed way too late, lol.







Trista drove us to the airport in Milwaukee on Thursday – 4 hours away – and stayed over night with friends of theirs. We were lucky enough to see other parts of Wisconsin along the way. Before we left we were sad to say goodbye to Jo (who shed a little tear), the flowers and Tod (we think he saved his tears for after our departure, lol). We said goodbye to Trista and Henry at the airport and felt like our trip had come to an end.

We had such a fantastic time with Trista and Tod (and their family and friends). It really could have turned out to be a mess but it was just the opposite. We all got along really well, talked heaps, laughed so much we cried and after being together for a week need a month's sleep to get back to normal. We hope we get back to Eagle River with our kids one day and that the Tyler's make it over to Australia so they can see our country and meet our family and friends. Here's hoping!

We fly out of the US tonight and are REALLY looking forward to seeing our kids (although the long flight is not exactly appealing!). Keep reading the blog for Trista's entry of Australian/American interpretations :-). The local paper is also doing an article on us (I know, lol) so we might be able to post that as well.

We hope you have enjoyed our blog and we will see most of you over the next week or so.

Danielle and Julian xxx