Friday begins our travel back to Ann Arbor. On the way, though, we stop to play.
The morning began with packing up and cleaning out the dorm rooms where we've been living for a week. It's a big job, but the kids were enthusiastic helpers and the vans were loaded and "wheels up" by 9:30. We stopped for lunch at a roadside park on the Seney Wildlife Refuge that was originally built as a WPA project. The theme for our short visit was "bug spray" - the skeeters were thick and the bottles were mostly empty before we were done eating.
We arrived in St. Ignace in time to catch the 3:00 ferry to Mackinac Island. The kids were in high spirits and the weather was perfect for the short ride to the island. We rented bicycles and most of the group rode the easy eight mile loop around the lakeshore. A few brave souls headed up and inland, riding on the horse trails through mud puddles and over tree roots to get to Fort Holmes at the top of the island, 96 meters above the lake level.
We had dinner on the island and everyone got a chance to buy fudge and/or trinkets. Naturally, just as we were heading back to the boat docks, another thunderstorm blew into town, dumping torrents of water on everything. Nobody rode on top of the boat going back...
We stayed the night in the St. Ignace United Methodist Church. This is where we do a couple of activities that are the highlight of the trip for many people. First, it's the paper plate awards ceremony, where everyone gets a tongue in cheek recognition for their "achievements" during the week - like "best hair" or "polar bear twins". Then we change to a more serious note and gather for affirmation circles where everyone gives and receives sincere and heartfelt feedback on their best qualities.
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