The Vilseck group in Mackinaw

We were a smaller group this year than in previous years, but we had fun just the same. Ten of us met in Mackinaw City, Michigan, for our sixth annual reunion. Dale, Jerry, Donna, Sheila and Charlie, John and Linda , Ann and Dick and I had a grand time packing in as much as we could.

The highlight of the trip was Mackinac Island, and we could not have asked for a more perfect blue-sky day.

It was a joy seeing everyone again. Maine was mentioned for next year. Raise your hand if you like lobster roll!

Our first full day, Tuesday, took us over the bridge to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to Sault Ste. Marie where we waited out the fog to take a tour through the locks.

Dale and Sheila are pondering over the map of the locks tour as we cruise along the St. Mary's River out of Sault Ste. Marie. I have told Dale time and time again he should not paint his thumbnail red. He just won't listen. (It's actually a square marker on the map.)

St Ignace, a coastal town on the UP, seemed a likely spot for lunch. Someone had recommended The Galley to Dale, so that's where we went. Afterwards, we walked the town and hit a few (fudge) shops.

The St Ignace walkingtour touted a rock....a huge rock, called St. Anthony's Rock. Once we found it, we were mildly impressed. It's actually a sea stack that became exposed about 2000 B.C. In earlier years, it was the main focus of St Ignace. It is made of a soft porous stone and was formed when the roofs of deep underwater caves collapsed in the nearby waters of St Ignace and Mackinaw.

We've not had a reunion yet that didn't include a boat ride of some sort. This one took us over to Mackinac Island on Wednesday morning. We spent the day there, starting with a 2-hour horse and carriage ride. After that we kinda split up, according to our own interests. We met up again at 5 to return to Mackinaw City.

the horse and buggy ride was two-hours long and took us all over the island, including to this sight, the Arched Rock. It's a natural formation caused by wind and water eroding away the soft rock. In time, but hopefully not in our lifetime, it will completely erode away and collapse.

Some of us opted for The Grand Hotel's buffet lunch. We were served in style, but ate like little piggies....it was sooooooooo good!

There are three modes of transportation on Mackinac Island: by foot, by horse and buggy and by bike. Four of us, John, Linda, Jerry and I, decided to ride the bath pike around the island. It was both flat and scenic, and it took about an hour and a half.

Along the route of the bike path, tourists had outed their whimsical sides and built cairns along the shoreline. We decided to do the same.

All good things must come to an end. We decided to give Annie and Al a call before we all departed our separate ways. At the last minute, they had to cancel out.