Showing off Esky

The last weekend in June, I was lucky enough to be visited by my Aunt Jacquie. She was on the first leg of her around Lake Michigan Journey that would take her down state and follow the coast back to Chicago. While she was visiting I tried to show here some of the few gems that have caused me to fall in love with UP. When she first arrived, I brought here up to my home for the summer, Janet's tremendous view and home. We had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed great conversation. The next day, we had plans to drive to Marquette for the day and tour some of the sights.

However, before leaving town, Aunt Jacquie had to visit the Swedish Pantry. She had heard a great deal about it from the Uncles and my Dad during their journeys and the experience was one she needed to have for herself. Also it provided us a wonderful starting point for the grand tour of Escanaba where we hit all the sights. The Swedish Pancakes were wonderful as always, but the clocks didn't chime quite as often as they had before.

After breakfast we left and began the tour, starting off right across the street at "Bras that Fit." We then stopped into the gallery that Janet helps run and took a look at the tremendous artwork displayed by the local artists. We drove by the original Wickman home on Lake Shore drive, and down to Ludington Park before returning home.

We then proceeded up to Marquette and caught the first glimpses of Lake Superior as we drove in. The view from the highway was spectacular, and only got better as we drove into town. We made a couple of quick stops along the shore. One included a quick shower courtesy of a chocolate lab in dog heaven swimming in the lake. Our first major stop was at Presque Isle, a small peninsula that juts out into Lake
 and has some incredible red cliffs. The water was spectacularly blue and clear, and there was a beautiful breeze coming off the lake.

After touring Presque Isle, we headed downtown. Marquette has many local galleries and shops offering local artists' creations or products. We went through almost all of them and then broke for lunch. I heard from several sources that the Cajun restaurant was a must stop. Lunch was incredible to say the least and it will definitely warrant a return trip.

On our way back from Marquette, we drove a little bit out of the way and headed to Laughing Whitefish Falls which had long been on my list of a stop I wanted to make. Our timing was great as the sun was starting to set and we were able to capture the waterfall at its full glory. Its amazing how this beautiful of a sight is right in the middle of some farm land.

Needless to say, I had a great time showing her around one of my favorite spots. It was a great time and hopefully there will be time and reason for her to visit again!