WE WENT TO FLINT!!!

We arrived in Flint and our tour guide, Matt Bach and his great kids met us at the entrance to Crossroads Village. We were in for a treat. We stepped through the gates back 150 years. There was no classier way to travel in style in the 1860's than on board a plush passenger train! Top speed...14 miles an hour. =)

But it sure beat walking in those days. The place was authentic. From the wail of the whistle, to the smell of the steam engine, we felt like we were actually on board circa 1860's. I just knew Jessie James was going to ride up along side and rob the train any minute. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. To know that you were traveling the same way your great, great grandfather would have traveled across country was a cool feeling.

WE WENT TO FLINT!!!

From the train, we stepped on board the Genesee Belle. What a peaceful ride. We passed other boaters along the way. The day was cool and the motion of the river made us want to doze off. A great ride for a romantic date afternoon or a calming family voyage.

WE WENT TO FLINT!!!

I love the History at Crossroads Village in Flint. It truly was like stepping back in time. A great little candy shop sold us sweet treats at 1860's prices. Seriously, I got a hug bag of candy for a nickel. Insane! But sooooo cool. They had a working grain mill, an old school house (that was in service until the 1960's) a general store, restaurants and lots of great history lessons.

WE WENT TO FLINT!!

I think by far the most fun our kids had at Crossroads village was on the Ferris Wheel!

It took some convincing, but the family got on board. This Ferris wheel is the oldest working one in THE WORLD! Cool!

WE WENT TO FLINT!!!

The kids really enjoyed how the tour guides at Crossroads village were so accomodating and would let you get right in there to see for yourself how these old fashioned things worked.

Here's one of the tour guides giving the kids a cooking lesson circa 1890.

No trip to the old West is complete without a visit to the gift shop. Of course, the kids looked the part in their bonnets. They were pretty affordable. And it made the experience more fun.

We went to flint!

The Alfred P. Sloan Museum was a treasure trove of fun on the second day after we visited the famous farmer's market.

The kids had no idea cars had been around so long and the history of our great American car makers!

Dad liked it too. I wonder what kind of deal Buick would make me on one of these...

We went to Flint!

Whitney makes a good Einstein.

One of our last stops was the Flint Children's Museum on the campus of Kettering University.

Man, they (and we) had fun. From a pretend camp-out, to rock climbing, to starring in their own play and pretending to be famous leaders...WHAT A BLAST!

WE WENT TO FLINT!

We finished off the last day with a tuckered out ride home. We had so much fun. You can see we used every bit of energy we had. =)

ABOARD THE STAR OF SAUGATUCK

Our Son, Trey Discovers the hypnotic paddle Wheels.

ABOARD THE STAR OF SAUGATUCK

WIND IN THEIR HAIR, SHARK, OCTOPUS AND MORE!

ABOARD THE STAR OF SAUGATUCK

MORE BEAUTY...AND THE CAPTAIN.

ABOARD THE STAR OF SAUGATUCK

FUN FUN FUN

ABOARD THE STAR OF SAUGATUCK

WHERE ARE WE? FIRST BOAT RIDE

VIDEOS FROM OUR DAY IN SAUGATUCK

AT PUMPERNICKEL'S HAVING LUNCH. YUM. WHAT'S IT LIKE THERE?

Saugatuck Part II - CLICK ON PICS TO ENLARGE AND VIDS TO WATCH

We Had Lunch at Pumpernickle's Eatery. What a Great restaurant! We ate on a rooftop arbor patio. The service and food wre great. SOOOOO PEACEFUL.


This was interesting. A Bed and Breakfast in Downtown Saugatuck called the "Ivy Inn." You can See why. How pretty.

The shops were fun in Saugatuck. But the girls went back to Kilwin's Fudge shop 3 times!!!! Wonder why.

We hitched a ride aboard the Star of Saugatuck. This is the channel between the Kalamazoo River and Lake Michigan. Nothing like being out on the water with the cool breeze and the rock of the boat.

We went to Saugatuck on our first Explore Magnficent Michigan Outing!

Saugatuck was BEAUTIFUL! What a great family outing. We rode the Saugatuck Ferry (just a dollar per person) across the Kalamazoo river. You can see the Ferry above. Just a simple chain ferry. But the kids loved it. The kids wanted to run all 300 stairs up over the hill and down to the beach. But we weren't reall up for that. =)

This nice Ferry Guy let our son crank the Ferry across the river. How nice.

Saugatuck has so many cool shops and restaurants. We shopped downtown Saugatuck. The girls found some philosophical writings they were fond of. =)